Creating the Corporate Future: Plan or be Planned For [Hardcover]

Russell L. Ackoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1981 | ISBN-10: 0471090093 | ISBN-13: 978-0471090090

Here's why thousands of readers in business and management turn to Russell Ackoff for innovative and effective ideas: "Russell Ackoff has probably influenced more managers than any other living person.. Two of his books, Scientific Method (1962) and Redesigning the Future (1974), are the cornerstones of much of the theory and methods for systematic analysis of problems in management and planning." --APA Journal "Russell Ackoff is undoubtedly one of the great masters of this art." [of storytelling as a means of conveying information]. --Omega, The International Journal of Management Science The Art of Problem Solving is. "A witty, literate, and most of all convincing reflection.. He shines an often bright light into corners where problems hide, showing the manager how to understand the consequences of his own behavior; identify real, rather than supposed, elements of problems; perceive another's aims; determine what is controllable; and deal with other nettlesome factors." --INC.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Presents a participative, systems approach to corporate development, called Interactive Planning. Shows how to formulate the problems and opportunities of corporate growth, as well as presenting objectives and ideals to be pursued and the means toward those ends. Also stresses the implementation and control of the planning function.

About the Author

About the author. RUSSELL L. ACKOFF is a Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Systems Sciences at the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. in the philosophy of science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1947. Dr. Ackoff is the author or co-author of fifteen other books, along with over 150 articles published in various books and journals. He also performs research for more than 200 corporations and government agencies, and serves as a consultant for a number of major companies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (April 1, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471090093
• ISBN-13: 978-0471090090
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,124,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic revisited, February 23, 2005

By 

Bill Godfrey (Mt Stuart, TAS Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creating the Corporate Future: Plan or be Planned For (Hardcover)

I recently had reason to re-read this 1981 book and, as with so much of Ackoff's writing, was astonished at the freshness and relevance of a book that is now over 20 years old.

Ackoff is a brilliant and original systemic thinker. His concept of 'the mess', which needs to be formulated for planning ends and means, anticipated (1981) much later work based on complexity.

The book consists of two parts. The first Part is on our changing concept of the world, the corporation and of planning. The second Part works through:

* 'formulating the mess';

* ends planning in terms of idealized design, design of management systems and organizational design;

* means planning, expressed as formulating and evaluating alternatives;

* resource planning; and

* implementation and control of plans and planning.

'Formulating the Mess' is a key concept of Ackoff's.

"... a corporation's mess is the future implied by its and its environment's current behavior. Every system contains the seeds of its own deterioration and destruction. therefore the purpose of formulating the mess is to identify the nature of these often conceled threats and to suggest changes that can increase the corporation's ability to survive and thrive."

Ackoff then sets out three types of study:

1. a detailed systems analysis of the state of the corporation and the nature of its interactions with the environment

2. an obstruction analysis - identification of the obstructions to corporate development

3 preparation of reference projections

These together provide a picture of the future the corporation is now in, and provide the basis for ends, means and resource planning to work towards a more sustainable future.

The book was years ahead of its time and describes processes that remain highly relevant and useful. There are strong similarities between Ackoff's approach and that of Friend, J. and Hickling, A. Planning Under Pressure: The Strategic Choice Approach.