Is the Viable System Model of organization inimical to the concept of human freedom?

This paper examines the sensitivity of Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model of organization to the concept of human freedom. The paper notes the many critics who have suggested that the Viable System Model is inimical to human freedom and their especial reference to its application to the social economy of Chile in the early 1970s. Drawing on the work of philosophers, a conceptual analysis of freedom is provided that suggests a complex ordinary language usage of the term. At least three determinants of freedom, that are logically independent of one another, are identified as being of relevance to its ordinary usage. The paper finds that these determinants are implicitly addressed and acknowledged within Beer’s own writings, but that they are ignored by the critics of the Viable System Model and that this makes for a lack of clarity and precision in the debate. The paper also applies a further criterion, formulated in political philosophy, to judge whether the leadership of the government that applied the Viable System Model to the Chilean social economy was itself hostile to political freedom or democracy. This application of the criterion suggests that they were not

Soft OR and practice : the contribution of the founders of Operation Research

This paper explores the work of some 43 founders of operations research. In particular, it considers the links between soft operations research (OR) and these founders. Several of the founders were direct influencers of the soft OR proponents, whereas others related to the context, process, and content of soft OR. Coupled with the deductive and inductive reasoning approaches of soft OR, it is argued that soft OR is a legitimate branch of OR. The paper also focuses on the embeddedness of the founders, and the soft OR proponents, in practice and argues that, for academics, engagement with practice has been and will continue to be an important driver for the health and development of operations research

Harris’s Scientists: Operational Research in Bomber Command

This essay describes the contents of a unique post-war report, available online thorough LCMSDS, by the Bomber Command Operational Research Section (ORS) in which the scientists described their mandate, work and contributions to the RAF’s strategic and tactical bombing efforts against Germany. While ORS reports are extensively cited in various histories of the bombing campaign, the processes by which the scientists did their work are not widely known; this essay provides insights into these matters. The essay also gives historical and historiographical context for both reading the report and appreciating the work of Harris’s scientists

Financial model preparation; Management advisory services practice aids. Technical consulting practice aid, 02

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1090/thumbnail.jp

Management - A continuing book bibliography with indexes

Bibliography of management sciences literatur

Simulation of the lift mix in a highrise office building in Hong Kong.

Kwok Ping Ki.Title also in Chinese.Summary in Chinese.Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong.Includes bibliographical references