Ackoff Center Weblog

The 3rd International Conference on Systems Thinking in Management (ICSTM 2004)

Transforming Organizations to Achieve Sustainable Success

The 3rd International Conference on Systems Thinking in Management (ICSTM 2004) will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA on May 19 - 21, 2004 at the University of Pennsylvania.
The University's Ackoff Center for the Advancement of Systems Approaches (ACASA) and the Association For Enterprise Integration (AFEI) are co-hosting the conference.

The Conference will feature a celebration of over 50 years of contributions to the management sciences by Russell L. Ackoff. In addition, for the first time ever, many of the world's best known systems thinkers will be in one place at one time. This is an event that you cannot afford to miss if you are interested in systems thinking or in transforming your organization.

The conference will feature many of the top systems thinkers in the world, including:

Russell Ackoff, Professor Emeritus, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Chris Argyris, Harvard University and the Monitor Group
Vince Barabba, Former GM Executive, Chairman, Internet Home Alliances and the author of the forthcoming book in systems thinking to be published by Oxford University Press - Surviving Transformation: Lessons from GM's Surprising Turnaround.
Peter Checkland, Lancaster University Management School, UK
Michael C. Jackson, University of Hull, UK
Allenna Leonard, American Society for Cybernetics
Michael Maccoby, author and President of The Maccoby Group
Ian Mitroff, University of Southern California
John Sterman, MIT System Dynamics Group
Margaret J. Wheatley, author and President of the Berkana Institute

To read about the Conference, please click on the link: The 3rd International Conference on Systems Thinking in Management (ICSTM 2004)

Systems Methodology

A Holistic Language of Interaction And Design
Seeing Through Chaos and Understanding Complexities

The version of systems methodology presented in this paper, developed by Jamshid Gharajedaghi, demonstrates a holistic language of interaction and design, intended for use with social systems in which the whole is becoming more interdependent while the parts display choice and behave
independently. This methodology gives us a way to see through chaos and understand complexities.

The foundation of this exciting conception is the interaction of four elements of systems thinking:
- Holistic Thinking -- ”iteration of structure, function and process"
- Operational Thinking -- ”understanding chaos and complexity"
- Systems Theories -- ”a socio-cultural view"
- Interactive Design -- "creating a feasible whole with infeasible parts"

To read this article, click on the link: Systems Methodology; A Holistic Language of Interaction And Design; Seeing Through Chaos and Understanding Complexities.