Systems Thinking and Higher Education: The Vanguard Method

Reforms to the higher education sector in the UK are only increasing competitive pressures between institutions. Universities are therefore looking to gain competitive advantage over their rivals both in terms of student experience and through administrative efficiency. This paper will present an alternative view of how to transform the way that the higher education system delivers service to students in an environment where ‘student choice’ will be viewed as of paramount importance. The paper will argue that the prevailing ‘command and control’ (Seddon 2003) management logic, which can be found at work throughout both the public and private sectors, is the primary cause of inferior, expensive service. As an alternative, this paper will explore the benefits of working in a systems thinking way, whilst comparing and contrasting this with the flawed thinking which currently prevails. The Vanguard Method (Seddon 2008) is one particular form of systems thinking which has been developed for use in service organisations (Jackson et al. 2008) and which has been applied to many public sector organisations (ODPM 2005; Middleton 2010; Zokaei et al. 2010). Using a case study methodology (Yin 2009), this paper will address what has been learnt by applying the Vanguard Method in an HEI environment for the first time.     

The Vanguard Method as Applied to the Design and Management of English and Welsh Children’s Services Departments

This paper follows several case studies where the children’s services departments of English and Welsh local authorities have fundamentally redesigned the way they worked following the application of the Vanguard Method (Seddon, Systems thinking in the public sector, 2008), a particular form of systems thinking. After first studying the way the children’s social care service worked as a system, the social workers in these authorities were able to demonstrate the way that government-prescribed IT and performance measures were restricting the way they could do what was shown to matter to the children in their care. The paper will document how, after being granted ministerial permission to suspend the use of their old performance measures and IT, a new set of operating principles was developed and employed. The redesigned system has shown encouraging early results. Evidence from these case studies (following Yin 2009) is presented in the form of recorded operational improvements and statements from participants. The paper will be of topical relevance to all involved in social care in the light of the government-commissioned Munro Review (Munro, The Munro Review of child protection: final report, 2011). The issues discussed will also be germane to the many other public sector partner agencies involved in the delivery of social care services (e.g. police, health, housing associations).     

Living the Life You Choose: The Introduction of the Vanguard Method into an Organisation Providing Support to People with Learning Disabilities

This article describes the work undertaken to apply the Vanguard Method (Seddon, Freedom from command and control: a better way to make the work work Vanguard Education Ltd., Buckingham, 2003) to a not-for-profit organisation that exists to provide support for adults with learning disabilities. As chief executive of the organisation, the author directly participated in the intervention. This article is therefore a personal reflection on the experience of a leader who has been a participant observer and has changed the way he thinks about the way services should be delivered. Along the way, the organisation uncovered and removed substantial waste whilst improving the way services were designed around the individual.     

Operationalising “Double-Loop” Learning in Service Organisations: A Systems Approach for Creating Knowledge

Learning organisation literature has widely discussed the connections between “double-loop” learning and its significance to organisational performance, but paying little attention to tools and systems that can operationalise “double-loop” learning in organisations. This paper investigates the impact of applying a systems approach for service operations design, expressed as the Vanguard Method (Seddon, Freedom from command and control: a better way to make the work work, 2003), in order to activate “double-loop” learning in service organisations. Two case studies were conducted in the banking mortgage operations and adults’ social care services in the UK, using the dimensions of the learning organisation questionnaire (DLOQ), semi-structured interviews, observations, and documents. The findings of the cross-case analysis support the link of applying the Vanguard Method with operationalising “double-loop” learning through three main factors, namely systematic-operations improvement, organisational capacity development, and outside-in mode of work; that are all embedded into the seven dimensions of the DLOQ. The value of this paper is the introduction of a service operations design tool that can activate “double-loop” learning performance in the fast changing knowledge era. It also provides an impetus for service organisations to creatively influence employees’ competencies to effectively improve internal systems.     

Collaborative Regional Innovation Initiatives: A Booster for Local Company Innovation Processes?

It is widely acknowledged that the rate of innovations can be enhanced through interaction between new constellations of actors, crossing borderlines between different mindsets, knowledge and skill bases (e.g. Brown and Duguid, Org Sci 2(1):40–57, 1991; Cooke and Morgan, The associational economy: firms, regions, and innovation, 1998; Leonard-Barton, Wellsprings of knowledge: building and sustaining the sources of innovation, 1995, p. 64; Stamm, Managing innovation, design and creativity, 2008, p. 335). Studies of economic prosperity have also pointed to cooperation and competition between neighboring actors as a driver for competitiveness and innovativeness, be it for a company, a business area or a region (e.g. Piore and Sabel, The second industrial divide: possibilities for prosperity, 1984; Porter, The competitive advantage of nations, 1990). The hypothesis behind the geographical focus is that geographical proximity between actors promotes interaction and hence innovation. In EU, and also in Norway, this has been used actively as guidance in national and regional policy, where construction of innovation systems such as clusters and interorganizational networks are promoted and funded. To get organizations and institutions in a region to collaborate more is seen as the panacea for innovation, transformation and prosperity. However, companies often treat such constructed initiatives as an add-on to their ordinary, often long-lasting, business relationships between customers and suppliers (Håkansson et al., Business in networks, 2009, p. 13). This could imply that the necessary anchoring of such new innovation system initiatives with the companies’ own innovation processes is weak or missing. The terminology system points to the importance of the different elements (actors) in the system, their interrelatedness and their impact on each other (Meadows, Thinking in systems. A primer, 2009). An innovation system, like a network, cannot deliver innovation if the elements (i.e. the companies) of the systems don’t respond with related actions to the common endeavor. However, the different actors’ intraorganizational innovation processes are hardly mentioned in the innovation systems theories, thus lacking the important system feedback link between the intraorganizational innovation processes within the single company and the interorganizational innovation processes which are taking place in the collaborative initiative. In this article it is argued, supported by a case story, that attention to both of these processes and the nexus between them is needed in order to construct sustainable interorganizational innovation system initiatives. A model for this is proposed, based on a dual organization development process, encouraging system feedback loops and thereby bridging the single participating organization and the interorganizational collaborative initiative.     

Editorial: Constructing Citizenship and Transnational Identity

The landscape of democracy and governance spans local and national boundaries. People are enmeshed in multiple contexts (Held et al. 1999; Held 2004; Held et al. 2005) and their associations (past and current) shape their identity. Some of the contributors to the journal have dual citizenship; they live and work in different places with family spanning continents. Some have experienced being non citizens in their place of birth or citizens without rights. The most vulnerable include the outsiders (immigrants and refugees, for example).     

Social Responsibility: Measures and Measurement as a Basis for Organizational Systemic Action

European Union (2011) supports conditions favorable to sustainable growth, responsible business behavior and durable employment generation. Social responsibility (SR) supports this effort; hence EU urges its member states and big enterprises to promote SR to innovate habits of humans, societies and especially decision-makers-towards requisite holism, based on ethics of interdependence, i.e. systemic behavior. Related criteria for measurement of SR of organizations are drafted here. In Slovenia, the ‘Horus award’ promotes public awareness about meaning and importance of SR and encourages it in organizations.     

Environmental Education: Enhancing Learning and Awareness Through Assessment

Environmental issues are rapidly gaining momentum globally as humans try to find sustainable solutions to the effects of climate change, carbon emissions, and the actions of human-kind (see Olver, Blacklist those who ‘greenwash’. Companies must walk the talk regarding climate. The Times, 2011a; The weather warriors’ war. Real change will come when a few good men and women say ‘enough is enough’. The Times, 2011b). To enhance learning and awareness of environmental issues among Environmental Education students and the community at large, this study situated assessments within communities of practice around the university. Using action engagement within action research students had to work with insiders from the community to identify, formulate action or intervention plans and find solutions to problem situations in the community. Using action engagement within action research in this study definitely enhanced student’s knowledge of their community’s problems. Their personal involvement and the cyclical approach adopted, enhanced students’ emotional understanding and gave them an insider perspective into the situations and problems that required intervention; and trust was built between the students and members of the community as they worked together to accomplish a common goal.     

The Contribution of Innovation Strategy Development and Implementation in Active Facilitation of Pharmaceutical Front End Innovation

Front end innovation (FEI) represents the first building blocks of product development, but is often regarded as a weak link in innovation literature. Various theorists emphasize that a firm??s innovation can benefit substantially by improving the front end of innovation process (Reinertsen, Res Technol Manag 42:23?C31, 1999; Stevens and Burly, Res Technol Manag 46(2):16?C25, 2003; Verworn et al., R&D Manag 38(1):1?C19, 2008) and that innovation strategies play a central role in optimization of innovation (Clark and Wheelwright, Leading product development, Free Press, New York, 1995; Cottam et al., Eur J Innov Manag 4:88?C94, 2001; Morgan and Berthon, J Manag Stud 45(8):1329?C1353, 2008). Innovation strategies are suggested in literature (e.g. Page, J Prod Innov Manag 10:273?C287, 1993; Oke, J Change Manag 2(3):272?C281, 2002; Adams et al., Int J Manag Rev 8(1):21?C47, 2006; Igartua et al., Res Technol Manag May?CJune:41?C52, 2010) as a facilitator of innovation and may therefore also be targeted at FEI support. The pharmaceutical industry has experienced a worldwide decline in the number of applications for new molecular entities to regulatory agencies since 1997. Therefore high pressures are put on pharmaceutical research and FEI to produce more valid candidates and faster for drug development. This paper explores how pharmaceutical FEI can be actively supported through the development and implementation of an innovation strategy. The empirical field and applied methodology is an action oriented longitudinal case study of a Danish pharmaceutical company. The findings and key learnings from the study are presented as propositions of how innovation strategies can be applied to actively facilitate FEI and with measurable results.     

Construction of Social Development Index as a Theoretical Research Practice in Action Research by Using Soft Systems Methodology

This paper provides an illustration of the application of Soft Systems Methodology to construct social development index, based on a sociological concept of development proposed by Wirutomo et al. (Pengembangan Indeks Pembangunan Sosial (IPS) Bagi Sektor Informal di Perkotaan: Menuju Kebijakan Inklusif bagi Usaha Kecil, 2011). An action research (AR) is conducted in the field of street vendor promotion program perceived to be representing the social development practice. While the improvement of fundamental elements of societal life, i.e., social structure, culture, and social process can be identified in the field of street vendor promotion program, it is believed that the same development aspects can be explored at many other development sectors. A preliminary social development index is conctructed by using a single sector development program. It is expected that through a further research agenda, a comprehensive social development profile equipped with its related index can be presented. The findings of this SSM-based AR can be considered ??as primary ??thesis?? derived from ??messes?? or ??surprising facts?? of a real world problematic situation?? as described by Stephens et al. (Syst Pract Action Res 22:463?C474, 2009). As an AR practice, this research is a research interest, instead of a problem solving interest in AR (McKay and Marshall, Inf Technol People 14:46?C59, 2001); it is also a theoretical research practice, instead of a business change practice/empirical research practice and regular business practice (Cronholm and Goldkuhl, The 2nd European Conference on Research Methods in Business and Management (ECRM 2003), 2003), and it is an interpretative actions and theory development actions as mentioned by Cronholm and Goldkuhl (The 2nd European Conference on Research Methods in Business and Management (ECRM 2003), 2003). This paper also provides an illustration of a variant relationship between P and A as introduced by McKay and Marshall (Inf Technol People 14:46?C59, 2001), which is ??there are some elements of P that overlap with some elements of A??.     

管理防御视角下经理人长短期项目选择的可分离均衡

李秉祥和薛思珊运用信号博弈模型分析了具有经理管理防御行为的经理人都偏好实施短期项目,本文在此基础上证明如果给予经理人适当的补贴,则可出现经理人长短期项目选择的部分可分离均衡,即有能力择业成本低的经理人选择长期项目,有能力择业成本高或无能力类型的经理人员选择短期项目,股东根据项目的收益决定是否继续聘任现任经理.该补贴机制能有效减少因管理防御引致投资短视行为,提高企业的投资效率,对股东和经理人实现双赢,对治理因管理防御而导致的投资短视行为有一定的理论指导意义.     

Decoding the Japanese Lean Production System According to a Viable Systems Perspective

The increase in the complexity and variability of the business environment, due to constant and rapid changes in markets, calls for more flexible and effective production systems. Of the most valuable production systems, the Japanese lean production system (LPS) is the best known and studied, but is still not the most widely applied with success outside Japan. The reason for the low level of success of lean production outside its native country is the lack of understanding of the strong interactions which hold between enterprises and business systems. In order to fill this gap in our knowledge, we investigate the systemic interactions according to the viable system view. To develop our analysis, we combine the elements of two of the major viable systems theories: the Viable System Model (VSM) of Stafford Beer, and the Viable System Approach (VSA) of Gaetano Golinelli. We combine these two perspectives to create a cohesive framework that combines the internal structural analysis of VSM with the analysis of links to the environmental suprasystems of VSA. In line with this framework, we examine the peculiar aspects of the Japanese LPS in order to find the relevant correspondences between the Japanese LPS and the Viable Systems perspective. We portray the peculiarities of the lean production system, shedding light on its roots in the Japanese business environment (Dominici 2008, 2010), and we show how it has worked as an incubator to create those managerial practices that represent the LPS. We also show how the Japanese kaisha can be effectively represented as a viable system in homeostatic interaction with the Japanese business environment. We conclude with an analysis of the results and summary of the possibilities for further research.     

基于非对称演化博弈的农业产业投资基金寻租问题

由于农业产业投资基金市场制度的不完善、信息不对称和代理问题的存在,基金管理人的"内部人控制"成为可能,这使得农业产业投资基金在发展运作中存在寻租问题。本文通过非对称演化博弈分析了农业产业投资基金中的基金管理人和农业企业家的寻租问题。通过寻租博弈的四种情况分析了基金管理人和农业企业家寻租策略的演化路径和稳定状态,指出提高政府监管、完善市场制度是解决农业产业投资基金市场寻租问题的最好途径。     

Diagnosis of Organizational Soft Problems in a Peruvian Financial Institution by Systemic Thinking

Managing financial institutions in an underdeveloped economic context has become a real challenge nowadays. In order to reach the organization’s planned goals, they have to deal with structural, behavioral and informational problems. From the systemic point of view, this situation gets even worse when the company does not present organizational boundaries and a cohesive identification for their stakeholders. Thus, European countries have some special financial lines in order to help the development of micro credit in Latin communities in an attempt to help the local economy. However, institutions like Caixa dos Andes in Peru present management problems when dealing with this complexity. Based on this, how can the systemic eye help in the diagnosis of soft problems of a Peruvian financial company? This study aims to diagnose soft problems of a Peruvian financial company based on soft variables like identity, communication and autonomy and also intends to identify possible ways to redesign its basic framework. The (VSM––Viable System Model) method from Beer (1967), applied in this diagnostic study, was used in a practical way as a management tool for organizations’ analysis and planning. By describing the VSM’s five systems, the creation of a systemic vision or a total vision is possible, showing the organization’s complexity from the inside. Some company’s soft problems like double control, inefficient use of physical and human resources, low information flows, slowness, etc. The VSM presented an organizational diagnosis indicating effective solutions that do integrate its five systems.     

A Critical Systems Approach to Elicit User-Centric Business Intelligence Business Requirements

This paper describes an action research study where the researcher developed and tested an alternative business requirements elicitation approach that enables reflection on business intelligence business requirements from a social/organisational perspective and, accordingly, surfaces user-centric requirements that support development of systems that are technically good and effectuate organisational improvement. It is based on critical systems heuristics, a framework that facilitates participative discourse to surface contributing and consequential factors of a planned social system, i.e. relevant sources of motivation; expertise; inflicting and controlling boundaries; and sources of moral and political justification acting as guardians for all that will be impacted upon by the adjusted social reality caused by the new system. Such an approach is valuable to developers of business intelligence systems; it complements traditional requirements gathering approaches. Present-day organisations require efficacious decision-making capabilities to succeed—business intelligence systems enable efficacious decisions. However, business intelligence systems often fail, at great expenses to organisations. They fail due to social/organisational infeasibility, rather than technical insufficiency; they fail when developers lack adequate understanding of users’ business requirements. Appropriate business requirement specifications entail more than definitions of functional, non-functional and technical attributes of new systems. Business requirements must also capture the social/organisational context of a system, i.e. the impact that it will inevitably have on users and the organisational environment, so as to ensure that it ultimately bring about improvement. The approach developed in this study enables elicitation of user-centric business requirements.

     

The business team standard: A means of improving the effectiveness of individual businesses in a multibusiness corporation

The paper describes a project carried out within a major chemicals corporation to improve the performance of the individual businesses. This was to be done by clarifying some of the organisational uncertainties in its structure and improving the way that specialists form coalitions to address market challenges together. The approach used was based on “systems thinking”, which is an intellectual framework of knowledge that attempts to view organisations as wholes and which studies the processes of change in any part in the context of the whole organisation. Some of the important concepts of systems thinking are explored as they might be applied within a business organisation. Specifically the tool used was the Viable System Model of Stafford Beer, which the authors interpreted and developed into a set of statements (“a Standard”) which describe best practice in such organisations. Managers have used this to explore possible gaps in their organisations and, with this understanding, find ways to improve performance.     

基于SD的制造企业物流运作成本仿真与优化

本文使用系统动力学方法构建制造企业物流运作成本的结构模型, 并以天津手工艺品制造企业--- THF为例, 进行模拟仿真并提出优化方案. 结果表明: 将系统动力学应用于制造企业物流运作成本控制可以较好地反映所研究系统内因素间的复杂关系, 该方法可为物流成本控制提供指导与借鉴.     

供给侧结构性改革下海归高管与企业创新——来自公司并购的证据

海归人才能否在我国供给侧结构性改革中发挥积极作用是连接我国人才引进与经济转型发展战略的重要议题。从海归高管角度切入，以供给侧结构性改革中企业并购重组活动为观测场景，实证考察海归高管对公司创新的影响。结果发现，海归高管显著提升重组公司专利创新，海归高管指标一单位标差的增加将使不同类型专利创新提高4%~5.8%。在公司并购前引入海归高管、引入海外学习经历的海归高管、在多元化并购中引入海归高管能够更好地提升重组公司专利创新，在国有企业以及金融发展水平区域中引入海归高管能够提升并购公司发明专利创新。机制研究表明：海归高管能通过提升企业风险承担水平、风险容忍度以及缓解融资约束等渠道促进公司发明专利创新。本研究揭示海归高管的风险承担偏好及控制能力有助于促进企业创新驱动转型发展。为我国供给侧结构性改革下如何更好地推动企业高质量发展提供重要启示。     

基于知识的中药制药企业MES

针对中药制造企业生产运行、管理很大程度上依赖于经验,信息传递不及时、不全面, 管理与生产脱节, 生产指挥滞后等问题,首先分析了中药制药企业对MES 系统的需求, 并在此基础上,提出了以优化整个生产过程为核心的基于知识的中药制药企业MES 系统,给出了系统的功能模型并详细阐述了各功能模块.然后重点研究了系统构建的关键技术: 知识的提取、知识的融合、知识的重用、生产过程优化等.该系统采用开放性的、可扩展的、模块化的、面向对象的体系结构,能实现生产过程的最优计划与调度、药品批次的跟踪、设备的预测性维护等功能,已在贵州某中药厂进行了应用验证, 应用效果良好.     

CADCSC的命令语言

本文分析了解决控制系统问题的基本逻辑过程,由此归纳出了控制系统CAD命令语言的一般设计原则。最后,分析了CADCSC命令语言的基本结构及特点。