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.     

Revealing Community Perceptions for Ecological Restoration Using a Soft System Methodology

Human perceptions under unstructured forms contain valuable information for ecological restoration (ER). To aid in ER, this paper introduces a working process to analyze the unstructured information for the case study of black bear restoration (BBR) in East Texas where understanding of the perceptions of stakeholders at a community level is needed. We identified the current situation, revealed stakeholders and their interactions, and developed actions for change for BBR. Our techniques included recording discussions in meetings, Soft Systems Methodology, and stakeholder analysis. Results indicated the current situation of BBR with human-bear and human-human conflicts. We figured out that information exchange was interrupted in the public, a potential cause for conflicts. Through a systemization, results showed various roles of key stakeholders and constraints for BBR. We found that local state agencies and local residents (particularly landowners) are the key decision-makers for BBR success. Their collaboration can result in a small portion of success (1/9) that can be increased by more cooperation. The SSM framework introduced in this study can be used for modeling community perceptions in ecological restoration.

     

The Role of Action Research (AR) in Environmental Research: Learning from a Local Organic Food and Farming Research Project

We expand on the FMA model of inquiry elucidated by Checkland and Holwell (Syst Pract Act Res 11:9, 1998) and identify three kinds of research: interactive Action Research (AR), extractive participatory research, and traditional science, that were integrated into an interdisciplinary agro-environmental research project involving researchers from eight countries around the Baltic Sea. The research project held the goal of creating scientific understanding of the ecological, economic and social effects of the sustainable development of local food systems, while also having the explicit goal of implementing change in the studied systems. Based on our experience working as action researchers in the project, we highlight the role that normative goals and facilitation process competence play in complex interdisciplinary research projects. Our reflections focus on project design, including the relation between AR and other kinds of research when employed in a single project, and includes reflections on preconditions for stakeholder participation in AR projects.     

A Systemic Model for Managing and Evaluating Conflicts in Organizational Change

Change or innovation diffusion is a key issue for most business organizations but is yet difficult to implement as the change management process is often complex as it relies on an organized methodology to complement an organization’s commitment and participation. An ambiguous environment surrounding change mechanism tends to develop unintended attitudes, resulting in resistance and conflict. The study proposes a model for the management of such conflicts among change participants (involved and affected) in the context of organizational change. The authors consider organizational change process as an innovation project that treats change and conflicts holistically with the Ulrich’s notion of boundary considerations (boundary critique). A social network setting of multiple stakeholders is considered to effectively help in resolving problematic situations that hinder organizational learning and change. The proposed model provides a theoretical foundation based on concepts governing Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH), change theory, stakeholder theory and conflict management.     

Pricing and inventory control strategy for a periodic-review energy buy-back system

Along with the rapid development of economics and enhancement of industrialization, the power demand keeps rising and frequently creates mismatch between demand and supply in electricity. This provides miscellaneous energy buy-back programs with great opportunities. Such programs, when activated, offer certain amount of financial compensations to participants for reducing their energy consumption during peak time. They aim at encouraging participants to shift their electricity usage from peak to non-peak time, and thereby release the demand pressure during peak time. This paper considers a periodic-review joint pricing and inventory decision model under an energy buy-back program over finite planning horizons, in which the compensation levels, setup cost and additive random demand function are incorporated. The objective is to maximize a manufacturer’s expected total profit. By using Veinott’s conditions, it is shown that the manufacturer’s optimal decision is a state dependent (s, S, P) policy under a peak market condition, or partly an (s, S, A, P) policy under the normal market condition.     

Systems Pluralism in Infrastructure Decision-Making for Socially Connected Greenfield Communities

The problem in planning for relevant infrastructure in new communities is that the community doesn’t yet exist and is not engaged in the planning process. As such, planners draw on available housing and demographic information and essentially ‘best guess’ the future community’s infrastructure and social connection needs. This situation spotlights a gap in the planning literature concerning ways to ‘better determine’ a future community’s infrastructures that enable social connection between residents. In seeking to help address that knowledge gap, the purpose of this paper is to theoretically argue for the process of and illustrate the value of, pursuing a hybrid systems thinking approach to the identification and deployment of the physical infrastructures that may help better facilitate the social connectedness of a future community in new greenfield development areas. This approach combines aspects of Soft systems methodology and system dynamics. Such a process informs the development of a decision support model for Planners’ that incorporates multiple user perspectives in these local planning decisions and contributes to the structural advancement of socially connected communities.     

Competences for Citizen-Driven Innovation in Crisis Resolution

We argue that civic change processes must be based on a broad system understanding, strong values, and citizen participation. This article addresses how each citizen could become a responsible, self-reliant problem solver and troubleshooter by exploiting their own inherent innovation potential. We call for a society, which takes advantage of the collaborative capabilities and creativity of all its members as principal remediators of societal problems, instead of solely relying on governmental action, private sector management, and/or science, with all their oftentimes unwanted ancillary effects, including possibly even a curtailment of innovativeness. We use the C2P2S framework of problem solving competence as a model to describe five competence dimensions which we consider crucial for problem solvers, including citizens, in crisis resolution. Changes within governmental, political, and private sector management policies must accompany citizen participation in order to foster and support collaboration. Supportive measures should include educational tools to help citizen groups become proactive stakeholders and to develop the competence sets required to socially responsibly participate in innovation generation in order to meet society’s challenges.     

A CASE FOR SUSTAINABLE SECURITY SYSTEMS ENGINEERING： INTEGRATING NATIONAL, HUMAN, ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, there is a growing sense of insecurity felt by many citizens around the world. Sustainable security, with roots in the sustainable development and human security literature, seeks positive transformations for the co-evolving and mutually dependent human-environmental condition by integrating (and subsuming) national, human, environmental, and energy security concerns and capitalizing on opportunities provided by human creativity, diplomatic openings, modernization and environmental change. The field of Sustainable Security Systems Engineering is proposed for protecting, restoring, designing, and implementing a set of integrated natural and man-made processes that equitably and responsibly meet the biophysical needs of human communities, while maintaining long-term security, respecting financial constraints, meeting ecological limits, and improving institutional arrangements for transparent and effective governance. Scenario planning is shown to help promote sustainable security by identifying the preconditions of instability and helping to proactively address them in an increasingly complex and uncertain world. The six papers published in this featured collection cross policy domains, geographic, political, and sectoral boundaries and were discussed at forums sponsored by the Systems Engineering and Global Policy group. Collectively, they demonstrate the quality, breadth and depth of systems engineering methodologies that are used to promote sustainable security.     

Migrants from central and eastern Europe: local geographies

This article seeks to develop our geographical knowledge of labour migration into the UK by adopting a local authority approach, using data from the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) for the period May 2004-December 2006. WRS enables us to view at local level the distribution of new national groups (based on citizenship not country of birth as in the Census) and to identify some of the major characteristics of the new flows at local level, including nationality, industry, hours worked and hourly pay. The data allow only a partial view of the picture of immigration from the eight accession states and there are dangers in drawing detailed inferences about local situations. However, it appears that there are distinct geographies associated with this group of immigrants as a whole, with different national groups and in their economic characteristics.     

Participatory Demographic Scenarios Addressing Uncertainty and Transformative Change in Ethiopia

Projections on future population trends provide important decision support, however are confronted with high uncertainty. In contexts of low data quality, missing and contradicting knowledge on drivers of change, such as in many developing countries, participatory scenarios can support the quality of assumptions needed for quantitative projections. We present a scenario approach designed for contexts of uncertain and missing demographic data and illiteracy, which was successfully tested in three study sites in North-West Ethiopia. The four qualitative scenarios for 2030 supported the inter-subjective definition of assumptions for the calculations, which were again validated by members of the rural communities. We argue that the participation process has resulted in more robust and context-specific projections. The collaborative work on the local drivers of demographic change between science and society provided a valuable space for social learning, so that local stakeholders could identify the need for and scope of local mitigation or adaptation measures to demographic transformation.     

反馈系统发展对策生成的顶点赋权反馈图法——-以鄱阳湖区德邦生态能源经济反馈系统发展为例

德邦规模养殖生态能源经济区是国家战略《鄱阳湖生态经济区规划》农业产业区,是要求实现规模养殖和种植循环经济的开发区,是要求实现开发沼气能源减少污染物排放(节能减排) 的低碳生态产业区,是由大学、公司、农户、地方政府等共同参加建设的有普遍意义的创新基地.此规模养种循环与节能减排系统是一个反馈复杂系统, 对此,创建系统动力学三步顶点赋权反馈图的管理对策生成法进行研究. 首先,通过对德邦牧业实地发展进行深入分析,建立了两个增长正反馈环和一个制约负反馈环构成的2005-2009年五个规模养殖生态能源经济区增长制约顶点赋权反馈图,定量揭示现行系统发展的优势和存在的问题. 其次,围绕五个顶点赋权反馈图中两个增长正反馈环和一个制约负反馈环的内涵再提出系统可持续发展实现规模养种循环与节能减排的3条管理对策.最后, 通过五个顶点赋权反馈图顶点值的反馈变化规律,证明了系统发展中必须实施以猪尿资源为原料养殖场开发沼气工程并周边养种结合开发沼液资源,必须实行以养殖场的猪粪资源为原料促进全乡户用沼气池开发且全乡实施沼液种植,必须加大投入实施规模经营改变生产方式3条管理对策的正确性.此三步顶点赋权反馈图法及研究结果有重要理论和普遍实际意义,且为后续定量仿真管理对策未来实施效应评价中仿真方程的建立提供了积累.     

Action Research in Reverse Logistics for End-Of-Life Tire Recycling

At the end of their product life cycle, tires require special handling and treatment in order to avoid damaging the environment and society. Reverse Logistics (RL) is necessary to manage this type of solid waste. In Brazilian cities, collection is one of the bottlenecks. One of the main difficulties in this process is enabling joint-action between the main stakeholders: Final consumers, the government and private companies. The main objective of this paper is to identify e implement opportunities for improvement in the collection phase of end-of-life tires through action-research, involving simultaneous participation between public and private organizations. The motive for this is that the knowledge generated can serve as a basis of information and references which aid in decision-making for public authorities who need to start similar programs or improve existing ones. The Action-Research occurred in a Brazilian city with less than 100,000 inhabitants, which fits the profile of 94.91% of the country’s municipalities. Final results proved the efficiency of the action-research proposal; after implementing the changes, the monthly collections grew by 50% (action), and the Action-Research team was able to generate and document knowledge which can now help other cities to improve their own processes.     

A Conceptual Framework Based on Maturana’s Ontology of the Observer to Explore the Checkland’s Soft Systems Methodology

This paper explores Checkland’s Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) through the lenses of a theoretical framework that incorporates key concepts from Maturana’s Ontology of the Observer (OoO) with the view of complementing Checkland’s SSM application process. We outline and examine paradigmatic compatibility between: Checkland’s ontological position (reality is problematic/chaotic) together with his interpretivist epistemology (multiple perceptions enrich the ever-changing reality); and Maturana’s OoO (we are immersed in the praxis of living in an ontological multi-universe). We argue that OoO resonates with key SSM theoretical underpinnings. After establishing compatibility between these two influential systems thinkers, we advance a conceptual framework in which Checkland’s SSM learning process is re-visited through a the framework grounded on Maturana’s OoO. The proposed framework illustrates how key ideas drawn from Maturana’s OoO can shed light into the way in which some of the main SSM devices (i.e.: Root definitions, Conceptual model) are used in the SSM process. By doing that, SSM is enriched and becomes more flexible as the stakeholders involved are placed within the domain of constitutive ontologies from which, a deeper dialogue can be promoted in a domain of coexistence in mutual acceptance. We argue that this is a suitable way to have more flexible and holistic views for a SSM intervention in particular to promote the learning process and debating proposed changes amongst the stakeholders involved. The proposed framework, when applied, may enhance the power of SSM learning process and when adopted can have substantial implications to complement the SSM process.

     

Collaborative Inquiry as a Critical Systemic Approach to Improving Ethics and Governance in the Philippine National Police

Improving ethics and governance in policing is often considered an institutional function that police agencies do as ??expert?? institutions. Participation by other stakeholders may be welcome so long as police are able to control the processes and mechanisms of participation. This paper, based on research done with the Philippine National Police, argues that collaborative inquiry could be an effective critical systemic approach to participation by the wider society in police reform. This could enable both police and non-police stakeholders to work together towards mutual understanding and cooperation as equals towards better policing. This participatory approach is not meant to replace the institutional mechanisms that the police use for their own reform effort, but it is supposed to complement them. The research on which this paper is based was an attempt to design a model for collaborative inquiry at the local municipal level of policing in the Philippines, since the municipality is the lowest operational level for the Philippines?? police service. The results of that study suggest that it is possible to establish such a mechanism and make it work, in effect establishing a Close Knit Knowledge Organisation at the lowest level of operational policing.     

The Participation Imperative in Co-operative Inquiry: Personal Reflections of an Initiating Researcher

Participation has become an imperative in international development. In particular, participatory approaches to development research are believed to support empowerment through collective development of knowledge and action. Yet there are broad interpretations of participation, ranging from passive participation and information exchange to empowered participation through self-mobilisation. As such, development researchers may claim to use a participatory approach without yielding power and agency to citizens involved in the research. This is a reflexive article about a development researcher’s experience in applying a participatory worldview through co-operative inquiry, a research approach that attempts to engage emancipatory forms of participation. The article begins with a critical analysis of literature regarding participation, the participatory paradigm and participation in the co-operative inquiry. The author then analyses her personal experiences, challenges and strategies as initiating researcher to actualise empowering forms of participation in three co-operative inquiries. The article emphasises that researchers must “let go” of their power, control and personal agenda to support empowering participation.     

考虑公平关切的双渠道供应链垂直合作广告模型

针对制造商在分担线下零售商促销广告成本的同时还考虑参与网络零售平台合作广告计划的现实背景，运用Stackelberg博弈模型研究了双渠道供应链中的垂直合作广告问题。以单边垂直合作广告模型为基准，分别研究了双边垂直合作广告模型和考虑线下零售商公平关切的双渠道供应链合作广告模型。研究发现：网络零售平台的成本分担并不总是促进制造商全国性广告投入水平和整体利润的提升，当网络零售平台的分担比例较大时，制造商参与网络零售平台合作广告计划也有利于线下零售商利润的提升；线下零售商的公平关切行为特征会提升其促销广告的投入水平，但并不总能提升其感知公平效用；当制造商线下渠道的边际利润较大时，线下零售商过高程度的公平关切反而有利于制造商利润的提升。     

Playing Dissymmetry in Action Research: The Role of Power and Differences in Promoting Participative Knowledge and Change

This article explores the importance of power and dissymmetry in promoting participative knowledge and change in action research. Based on the analysis of two action research cases, the paper builds its argument by analyzing two key aspects: the construction of the action research setting and its maintenance during the process. It does so by highlighting the decisions assumed with respect to the relationship between researchers and participants and with respect to power issues. The findings indicate that promoting a functional dissymmetry in internal relationships allows distribution of the necessary types of power that make the participants use their authority and knowledge to invest in change. Thus, the distributed leadership is essential every time an organization needs to create a realistic and workable change of roles and responsibilities inside its boundaries. The article discusses some key factors in employing dissymmetry for sustained learning and knowledge-sharing.     

Social Systems Design as a Vehicle Towards Local Public e-Services for and by Citizens

The need for increased user participation and involvement in the process of designing and developing public e-Services has been emphasized in recent years. User involvement is critical to success in the development and implementation of public e-Services, and many visions and efforts are focused on citizen participation in the design and development process. In this article, concepts of Social Systems Design are analysed in the context of local public e-Services in order to improve potential to meet the requirements for user participation and involvement. Results show that the ideas of Social Systems Design, where applicable, can contribute to user-centred development of local public e-Services, and can form a foundation for the development of methods that utilize user participation and involvement. However, further research requires empirical studies.     

The Role of Formalisation, Participation and Context in the Success of Public Involvement Mechanisms in Resource Management

In the face of complex and uncertain issues, one important goal of public participation in resource management and research is to foster communication and the inclusion of non-expert knowledge—thus the effective flow of information between project organisers and stakeholders. We compare different methods (instruments, tools) that were employed in the German–Austrian ‘PartizipA’ project to structure information flows in participatory processes. Depending on their goals and context, more or less ‘formalised’ and ‘participatory’ methods were applied, the most important being guided interviews, focus groups, agent-based modelling, nutrient modelling, cognitive mapping and group model building as well as the development of a common document. Two regional case studies, both concerned with European-induced institutional change, are portrayed in which the specific participatory methods were embedded. The Austrian case study involved the analysis and modelling of agricultural land use in the region of St. Pölten against the background of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, while the implementation of recent European water policy was the issue in the German agricultural region north of Osnabrück. Presenting both cases in their regional context, the applied methods are first described according to the logic of the entire respective process. Subsequently, the specific methods are systematically analysed and compared according to their objective, context and degrees of participation and formalisation. Finally, we evaluate all methods regarding their effectiveness in terms of goal attainment and their potential generalisation, seeking to respond to the question of when a particular method might best be used.     

China’s NTB Market: A Liquidity Dilemma

This paper introduces China’s New Third Board Market (the NTB market) and tests the market-making system in the role of improving market liquidity. The NTB Market is the main part of China’s OTC market, established in 2006. In comparing with China’s Main Board Market and the Second Board Market, it attracts a lot of start-up companies that need financing with less strict listing requirements. Meanwhile, it is full of opportunities and challenges that appeal to numerous securities traders and investors with the rapid development momentum. Since its establishment, the NTB Market has been stuck in the lack of liquidity. The authority of the NTB Market introduced market maker system, so as to solve the problem of liquidity. Using the difference-in-difference method (DID method), the market maker system has been proved to make little contribution to improving the stock liquidity. Although the problem of liquidity is difficult to solve in short term, the NTB Market is full of opportunities for all kinds of participants definitely.