Diagnosing the System for Organizations (Paperback)

~ (Author) "in Montreal there is a University called Concordia-a remarkable place in many ways..." (more)
Key Phrases: next lower recursion, variety disposed, variety attenuation, System One, System Two, System Three (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Stafford Beer is undoubtedly among the worlds most provocative, creative, and profound thinkers on the subject of management, and he records his thinking with a flair that is unmatched. His writing is as much art as it is science. He is the most viable system I know." Dr Russell L Ackoff, The Institute for Interactive Management, Pennsylvania, USA.

"If … anyone can make it [Operations Research] understandably readable and positively interesting it is Stafford Beer … everyone in management ..should be grateful to him for using clear and at times elegant English and…even elegant diagrams." The Economist

In Brain of the Firm and The Heart of Enterprise Stafford Beer worked out the scientific laws that govern any viable system. They constitute the basis for this book which is concerned solely with the application of those laws to the understanding of any particular enterprise. In the form of a Handbook or Managers Guide, Diagnosing the System deals with the fundamental problem of management—how to cope with complexity itself. It shows you how to design (or redesign) an enterprise in conformity with the laws of viability, and will help you to diagnose faults in your organizational structure.

From the Publisher

A ground-breaking approach to organizational structure that uses cybernetics--the science of communication and control within systems--to solve inevitable organization and structural problems that occur in business environments.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 178 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 16, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471951366
• ISBN-13: 978-0471951360
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,192,556 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Foundations, January 11, 2009

By	Stephen Parry "Author of Sense and Respond" (Lean Service Transformation Designer London) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A great introduction to systems theory, the system modelling and characteristics are very simple and usable. Makes you think about the organisation in a wider context being influenced by external and internal forces and describes methods for distinguishing between the two. I recommend studying this book, and persisting with its ideas.