Angela Espinosa www.cybsoc.org/meassys-fin.doc
Measurement systems in socio economic development programs from a cybernetic view (MS Word).
Both academics and practitioners in socio economic development programs have supported the need to shift current paradigms on measuring welfare to a more humanistic and holistic approach. There are already some successful experiences in designing and implementing development programs supported by systemic views and Latin America shows several of them. This paper present the author’s summary of some previous experiences in Colombia, for the design and implementation of this kind of programmes, using Beer’s approach to organisations. It opens some questions on what is meant by “a more holistically way of measuring welfare” and the implications in terms of multilateral investments in socio-economic development programs.Angela Espinosa, Roger Harnden and Jon Walker
journals.isss.org/index.php/proceedings50th/article/view/339/88
Structural Design for Sustainability: Some Insights from Organisational Cybernetics
Sustainability requires a sophisticated understanding of the interconnectedness of nature and the social domain, and willingness by the practitioner to adopt less top-down, hierarchical are required to foster sustainable development, there is a need for a holistic approach to organisational and programme design, and a holistic insight into the entailed problems. Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model (VSM) provides a comprehensive set of guidelines for such an approach, one that offer criteria for designing more adaptive structures, where control is devolved to the operational level and operational levels are co-ordinated through democratic management. The paper refers to the different levels of organisations and social interactions needed for environmental management ranging from government down to individual citizens. It goes on to describe why the VSM is invaluable for structural diagnosis. It finally outlines structural design criteria the VSM would recommend for organisations dealing with issues of sustainability, in particular regarding the relationship between government, communities and their ecosystems.www.cybersyn.cl/html_ing/home_ing.html: the Cybersyn project.
www.metaphorum.org/proyecto_cybersyn_ingles.pdf (PDF)
Cybersyn: Foundings between and convergence between art, science and the technology in Chile (PDF)en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn: the Wikipedia entry on the Cybersyn project.
Leonid Ototsky ototsky.mgn.ru/it/lessons.htm
Lessons of Stafford Beer - a concise summary of the Cybersyn project.
www.managementkybernetik.com/dwn/Ten_Pints_of_Beer.pdf (PDF)
Stafford Beer: Ten Pints of Beer - The Rationale of his Cybernetic Books - a concise summary from the Cwarel Isaf Institute.www.esrad.org.uk/resources/vsmg_3/
The Viable Systems Model Guide 3e - a guide for co-operatives and federations.J.P. Brans, C. Macharis, P.L. Kunsch, A. Chevalier, M. Schwaninger
www.alexandria.unisg.ch/EXPORT/DL/29203.pdf (PDF)
Combining multicriteria decision aid and system dynamics for the control of socio-economic processes. An iterative real-time procedure
The paper presents the elements of a new methodology to control complex and hypercomplex socio-economic structures. The control process is iterative, combining the principles of System Dynamics, Control theory and the PROMETHEE Multicriteria Decision Aid (MCDA) methodology. It consists of three main stages: setting up and calibration of a quantitative model, de®nition of long-term strategies and short-term control. The purpose is to de®ne within a panel of decision makers appropriate strategies towards long-term goals, and to implement suitable control measures. These should in particular help cope with progressive and catastrophic variations in the behaviour of the system.
