IS298C Week 1 Supplemental Class Notes

Stafford Beer
First to apply the concepts of cybernetics to management

Influenced by Wiener, McCullough, Ashby

Viable System Model diagnoses faults in any organizational system and is designed to be adaptable to changes in the environment
Capable of autonomy

Influenced then by Forrester, who invented systems dynamics: behavior of system can be represented and understood through modeling dynamic feedback processes

Management cybernetics is based on natural laws; addresses all actors in an organization

Salvador Allende, Chile
Cybersyn
Applying cybernetic theories in government; operations room where govt mgrs. Get real-time information, make plans of action, communicate advice and directives
Wanted to preserve autonomy of everyone
System of alerts to outlier data/information
Squelched by the 1973 coup d-etat

Syntegrity non-hierarchal problem solving, licensed to consulting teams

Later in career , polyhedral idea of systems for non-hierarchal problem solving

Concept: the purpose of a system is what it does

Intelligent Organization is oft-cited in business