International Society for the Systems Sciences: Journals ISSS
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TOWARDS A SYSTEMIC BUSINESS MODEL FOR SMES PROFESSIONAL CONGRESS ORGANIZERS IN MEXICO
No full textDuring the last decades, Tourism has been one of the fastest growing economic sectors across the world, reverting importance by the governments as a key factor in socio-economic progress due to the revenue by the activity, employment and infrastructure investment. Derived from the phenomenon of globalization and the relevance of the activity, tourism experiences a continuous expansion and diversification, for that reason, and the need of organizations to hold events in which information could be updated for their industries, MICE Tourism emerged in the late 1950s, consisting in the organization of Meetings, Incentive travel, Conferences and Exhibitions. The MICE Tourism highlight very specific characteristics: (a) interdependence between the various stakeholders; (b) extent of the phenomenon; and (c) the event and its inter and multi-disciplinarity, which requires knowledge of the economic, social, cultural and environmental context within a systemic vision. In Mexico the number of companies engaged in MICE Tourism has increased; however, many have been created as a market opportunity, without reference to the requirements of the segment and a structured business model that allows their long-term growth and generate value for all the stakeholders; in addition, most companies that make up this sector are Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which have many deficiencies generated by various factors, which does not allow them to develop more and in some cases can lead to its demise, reason why their study is relevant, not only to prevent the failure of these enterprises but accelerate growth and level of global competition. It is for the above explained that this research describes how building a systemic business model can generate value for Professional Congress Organizers. Because of the magnitude and interdisciplinarity that involves the operation of Tourism SMEs, the research develops a holistic view from the systemic approach due to their ability to study the system as a whole and covering its complexity, allowing the study not only of the intern problems of the company, but the external factors that affect it. Specifically in this research, is used the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) by Peter Checkland. The diagnostic of the Professional Congress Organizers in Mexico using the SSM and Strategic Management was developed as preliminary results of the research, showing the current situation of these enterprises, their strengths and weaknesses, the elements of the system and the approach of the Business Model according to the diagnostic
Architecture and Second Order Science
No full textSince around 1980, Ranulph Glanville has put forward the idea that rather than seeing research in design as one form of science, we instead see scientific research as a specific form of design. This argument, based on the way that scientific research inevitably involves design activity but not vice versa, and others like it around that time consolidate a shift during the 1970s in thinking about design, from a concern with the scientific method to the idea that design has its own epistemological foundations as a discipline. The attempt to base design on a linear version of the scientific method failed for reasons that have been pointed out by Horst Rittel amongst others: because design involves the creation of the new, design questions cannot be exhaustively formulated in advance. This has marked something of a parting of the ways between design and science as being incompatible in terms of method. Given Glanville’s argument this is not what we might expect: if science is a limited form of design, shouldn’t scientific approaches be commensurable with design even if they are not a basis for it? This apparent disjunction is only the case if we follow the changes in how design was thought about during this period without also following the comparable changes regarding science. Both broadly parallel each other, moving from a concern with method in the 1960s through a critique of this in the 1970s to new foundations from the 1980s onwards, focusing on what designers and scientists actually do in practice. Indeed the key critiques of method advanced by Feyerabend and Rittel, in science and design respectively, have similar structures and, so, what seems at first sight to be a rupture can also be read as a parallel journey. Using this account as a basis, and in the light of recent discussions regarding the idea of second order science, I suggest that we can understand contemporary design research as one example of second order research practice, as is indicated by its continuity with cybernetics. More speculatively, and with reference to the Fun Palace project of Joan Littlewood and Cedric Price, to which Gordon Pask also contributed, I suggest that architecture can itself sometimes be thought of as facilitating such a reflective and participatory enquiry
Governing in the Anthropocene: what future systems thinking in practice?"
No full textTo what extent can governing, researching, managing,.doing what we do when we do what we do...be understood as a praxis (theory-informed practical action) able to respond to the 'problematique' that an Anthropocene framing reveals? Reflecting on this question what possible futures emerge for systems thinking in practice and for a society committed in name to an internationalist discourse that to date revolves around 'the systems sciences'? What institutional forms and praxis innovations are needed to carry us forward, to be capable and seen to be capable, of responding to the Anthropocene? Responses to these questions will be grounded in 35 years of researching experience
Wholeness in Complex Socio-Technical Systems
No full textHighly complex social and technological systems are ubiquitous in the modern world. Many of these systems are associated with high levels of energy; potential, kinetic, and human. The consequences of system failure can be extreme. Observation of catastrophic technological failures such as two space shuttle disasters, the nuclear power plants at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Fukushima, and many others, show clearly that creators and managers of these systems must take great care with system design and operations. Human system failures such as those seen in espionage or mass killing cases also highlight the need for both responsible and humane organizational management and sustained attention to defensive measures. Lack of attention to any of vast systemic issue both social and technical can result in organizational or defense system defects. These defects can be described as holes or shadow aspects and these pertain to the technical systems, the human systems and the socio-technical system interplay. Responsible technology and social system design requires addressing these holes and shadow aspects to eliminate them and therefore make the system complete or whole. Organizational wholeness is a continuous process of attention to and mitigation of these types of defects. Sustainability in this context is the continued focus on safe and secure operations and life affirming human dimensions to respond to environmental changes and adjust defenses accordingly. This paper will describe propose a model that may be useful for hole and shadow aspect identification and issues related to their management or mitigation
A critical systems approach to business intelligence system development
No full textBusiness intelligence is becoming increasingly important in organisations. Business intelligence systems are very expensive to implement. Unfortunately these systems often fail to realise business benefits, even when they are technically very good. Traditional development approaches enable developers to develop technically good systems. However, a business intelligence system is a social artefact as well as a technical artefact; it should aim to improve the organisational context of its users rather than merely automate existing business processes. Yet, traditional development approaches do not enable developers to incorporate these social and organisational dimensions into their artefacts. Methodologies in the critical systems thinking paradigm aim to also explore the relevant social dimensions of a problem context in order to provide richer and more meaningful solutions. This paper describes an action research study whereby critical systems thinking principles (operationalised by critical systems heuristics) were applied as part of a business intelligence development project; the principles were applied during the business requirements analysis phase. The aim was to emancipate participants to explore: what is relevant; who needs to be involved in determining what is relevant; and how to handle conflicting views regarding the new business intelligence system
Balancing Individualism and Collectivism in an Australian Aboriginal Context
No full textEpochs have occurred throughout the history of the earth. A move from one epoch to the next can be considered to occur when there is a major transition which has a geological impact on all of life. A transition from the Holocene to the Anthropocene is now considered to have occurred in about the year 1800 with the Industrial Revolution. Dramatic changes to global conditions have occurred in a little over 200 years since then, with the consequent impact on the environment and all living things. Along with a geological change, a cultural transition has occurred. An individualistically oriented style of thinking has come to prominence with an objectification and exploitation of the environment. Yet, amongst Indigenous cultures, this change has not taken place. They retain a collectivist style of thinking and behavior and a deep respect for the land and all it contains. One of the values we can gain as participants in the Anthropocene is a recognition of these different types of knowledge existing in cohabitation, a comfortableness with an individualistic and relational identity occurring alongside each other. How much more valuable for this epoch to become an inclusive era when the collectivist perspectives from Indigenous cultures are appreciated alongside individualistic perspectives of developed nations
RELEVANCE OF STAKEHOLDERS FOR TOURISM MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF THE EL CHICO NATIONAL PARK, HIDALGO, MEXICO
No full textEl Chico National Park (ECNP) is one of the most important protected areas in the state of Hidalgo. Tourism management of this protected area involves numerous stakeholders with different needs, resources and perceptions of nature. There are four forest communities that are involved in the tourist use of this park, but other stakeholders are also behind tourism activity in this PA: federal government agencies, state government agencies, municipalities, unorganized smallholder entrepreneurs. Tourism management of this protected area is a complex issue, particularly, when decision-making process is centralised by government bodies. This study explores the relationships’ structure among government agencies and community tourist associations (CTA) based on the tourism management of El Chico National Park. It presents a descriptive analysis of collaborative networks among ECNP’s stakeholders, using a qualitative research
A Systemic view of the Value of Environmental Conservation: The Case of Bono Takyiman, Ghana
No full textFrom a systemic point of view it can be understood that the physical environment is important to every living being because it supports and protects life. It contains the ecosystem of which humans, animals and trees interact. All living organisms depend on the environment for survival. With the increase in world population, pollution, and climate change, environmental conservation has become the dominant concern of everyone: individuals, communities, nations, governments and international organisations. From time immemorial the indigenous people of Bono Takyiman in Ghana have depended on their cultural beliefs and practices to conserve the physical environment. Although the indigenous conservation approach of the Bono is based on traditions, the practice is in tandem with modern scientific methods of environmental protection. In fact the indigenous people seem to be ahead of others in environmental awareness and the general concerns of environmental degradation. Using the relevant literature on environmental conservation, this paper discusses two major approaches which the indigenous people of Bono Takyiman employ in protection of the environment. In the paper I set out to share with others from so-called developed and developing countries alike this indigenous orientation to saving the environment. I discuss the worthiness of the approach and I consider lessons that can be learned from it for our way of addressing the Anthropocene. 
Sense-Making between and across Stakeholder Perspectives
No full textThe CX Tool© provides a visual Tool© for creating congruence between what is known, thinking, and what is done, doing, within a socio-technical system. It guides the analyst by identifying six elements contained within thinking, Organizational Intelligence, and doing, Performance Management, dimensions. Three elements define Organizational Intelligence: Essential Ideas; Essential Processes/Protocols/Structures; and Essential Assessments/Audits. Three elements define Performance Management: Essential Actions; Essential Standards; and Essential Deliverables. The CX Tool© allows analysts to assign congruency scores between elements horizontally and vertically while allowing comparisons between current and desired state of the system. The CX Tool© does not distinguish between stakeholders’ perspectives, a feature that, when faced with complex and/or complicated systems, may prove critical. In this research the authors propose a conceptual framework to incorporate different stakeholders’ perspectives into the CX Tool©. A short case study is presented to illustrate how different stakeholders’ perspectives can be incorporated and quantified
Crisis Science for Sustainability
No full textSustainability science requires interdisciplinary and even trans-disciplinary frameworks for research in order to shift from disciplinary and sectorial studies to more appropriate ways of understanding whole system sustainability. While this shift is difficult to achieve within current traditions, an actual crisis seems to trigger many of the characteristics that would also be appropriate for holistic science. Disciplinary research tends to be the norm when we have a carefully planned research agenda and well-posed questions; but when we don’t know the questions, as is the case in a crisis, we instinctively invoke trans-disciplinary modes of learning. We may thus learn a great deal about system sustainability and system research by looking at the characteristics of ‘crisis science’. Here we review personal experience from scientific responses to oil spills in the 1970's.We suggest a general framework in terms of R-Theory (Kineman, 2012), which is a relational holon theory based on four archetypal domains corresponding to Aristotle’s general explanatory hierarchy and many other similar frameworks that have been developed separately in various disciplines and perennial philosophy. We propose general development of “Crisis Science” as a complex systems research field that has strong parallels with holistic paradigms many are struggling to establish in ecology and environmental management. Not only is there a strong theoretical affinity between these two domains, but by promoting Crisis Science publically and in mainstream programs, funding may be more easily obtained for critical integrated research that supports both purposes. As part of a Crisis Science research program it is necessary to train between crisis responses, and shared principles and methods are possible across many holistic problems we face otherwise in anticipation of possible crises. Pursued together, Crisis Science and Holistic Science can establish the Anticipatory capacity we need to avoid crises