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Systemic reflections on our past, present and future
Author(s) -
Gregory Amanda
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.796
Subject(s) - autopoiesis , social system , sociology , epistemology , rationalism , viable system model , work (physics) , resistance (ecology) , knowledge management , computer science , cognitive science , psychology , social science , philosophy , engineering , ecology , cybernetics , biology , mechanical engineering
This paper is about our ability to control the organizations that we have either created or inherited. The discussion draws on work by Luhmann, on time and social autopoiesis, and Zadek, on creating civil corporations. It is proposed that the ability to demonstrate resistance differentiates the autopoietic model from earlier systems models and that this ability is mediated through the system's capacity for intelligence based on its distinction and learning from other systems in its environment. Such a view introduces the opportunity for organizations to shift away from rationalism, involving structural barriers and limitations, to a more integrated form of being in the Future. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.