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Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos and Complexity: A Platform for Designing Business Architecture
by: Jamshid Gharajedaghi

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 003
EAN: 9780750671637
ISBN: 0750671637
Label: Butterworth-Heinemann
Manufacturer: Butterworth-Heinemann
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: May 10, 1999
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
Sales Rank: 477922
Studio: Butterworth-Heinemann

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
In a nutshell, this book is about systems. This book is written for those thinkers and practitioners who have come to realize that while the whole is becoming more and more interdependent parts display choice and behave independently, and that paradoxes are the most potent challenge of emergent realities.

With a practical orientation and yet a profound theoretical depth, the book offers an operational handle on the whole by introducing an elaborate scheme called iterative design. The iterative design explicitly recognizes that choice is at the heart of human development. Development is the capacity to choose; design is a vehicle for enhancement of choice and holistic thinking. 'Designers', in this book, seek to choose rather than predict the future. They try to understand rational, emotional, and cultural dimensions of choice and to produce a design that satisfies a multitude of functions. They learn how to use what they already know and also about how to learn what they need to know.

The imperative of interdependency, the necessity of reducing endless complexities, and the need to produce manageable simplicities require a different mode of thinking, a holistic frame of reference that would allow us to focus on the relevant issues and avoid the endless search for more details while drowning in proliferating information. While organizations as a whole are becoming more and more interdependent the parts display choice and behave independently. This is the dilemma this book tries to resolve. It is a unique, cutting edge work, with a practical orientation and yet a profound theoretical depth, which goes far beyond what is currently available.

Leading edge systems thinking and practice that goes far beyond what is currently available
It deals with the whole, both conceptually and practically, written in a reader-friendly style
Five real cases cited to demonstrate practical application of theories discussed

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- A True Cipher Key To Business Design / Re-Engineering
This is one of the most important books written in the last 30 years. It is about moving beyond process, synthetic and analytical thinking as singular means of improving business. It is a key to understanding that all of these methods are insufficient on their own as a means of creating optimum results, continuous improvement and business development.

We all understand that in the greatest of companies, musical ensembles, theatre troupes, and sports teams, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. However, we remain mystified by that elusive "chemistry" that actually is the necessary final ingredient needed to move beyond simply being very, very good, and becoming extraordinary.

Dr. Gharajedaghi reveals to us that "chemistry" remains elusive because of the way we see it. He demonstrates that it is not an ingredient that we can insert, but it is a product of the interaction and ... Read More

Rating:

- Good presentation of the problem, but weak presentation of the methodologies
Jamshid Gharajedaghi has presented a very nice introduction to a very difficult and complex problem. He has correctly identified the need for thinking about complex systems. The one really valuable insight is his discussion of the evolution of systems philosophies in Chapter 1.

Unfortunately, he does not truly present a unified approach to solving problems. He does explain rather well that choice is a very important component of complex systems, and that a well designed system incentivizes decision makers to do what is best for the group. His idea of holistic iterative design is a correct approach to solving complex systems problems. Yet clear methodologies and simulation approaches are lacking in their discussion, presentation, and illustration.

Simulation is a very important tool for understanding the behavior of complex systems. It should be used as extensively as possible. The presentation ... Read More

Rating:

- One professor's take
I used this for a Ph.D. level course in Leadership Studies and can honestly say that, in almost three full decades of teaching, it was the worst mistake I have made in picking a textbook. Besides the above comment that it is low in definitional accuracy, it is just self-indulgent beyond words. I had the picture of a puppy bringing me a chewed newspaper and waiting to get petted for doing so. The author goes to great pains to demonstrate how bright he is, while demonstrating that his "brightness" is in the manipulation of words and other tools, not in understanding what he is talking about or in helping others to understand what he thinks he is saying.

Unless you like "buzz words" and jargon and the good feeling that comes from superficiality, stay away from this one.

Rating:

- Don't be afraid,
This is really aimed at the reader who wishes to work on the transformation of whole organisations. Demonstrating the multi-dimensional relationships between organisational design, performance and behaviour.

This work has had a profound effect on my thinking and development of management ideas. It integrates many concepts into a systemic whole. I have used this book with many management teams in recent years.

If you are venturing into the world of systems thinking then this is probably the most accessible in terms of simplicity and breakthrough applications.

Putting these ideas into practice with your colleagues or management teams might seem a little daunting but it's the only way to learn and master the concepts which will bring deeper insight into organisational change and provide you with better solutions to some of your more persistent management issues. Don't be afraid.

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