ISSS 1998 Conference, July 23, 1998 -- (Rough) Transcriptions

Multiperspective management, west & east [Zhichang Zhu, ISSS 1998 Paper Session, July 23/98]

These notes are a rough transcription, prepared as each individual presenter and/or commentator spoke at the ISSS 1998 conference. Gaps and errors have likely occurred. For more accurate citations, please consult the original presenters. These notes have been contributed to the ISSS by David Ing, of the IBM Advanced Business Institute (sabi@systemicbusiness.org).

[Paper session, July 22/98, 3:40 p.m.]

Zhichang Zhu, Lincoln School of Management

Systems thinking is for ...

Models; and
Methodologies

Multiperspective management:

Complexity is multidimensional.

First use technologies to tackle physical problems
Then approaches more difficult in social problems.

Methods should therefore also become rich

Have Linstone Technical, Organizational, Personal (American)

Said technology introduces complexity.
Drawn from Churchman, inquiring systems.

Locke, ..., Singer

Need multiple perspectives
Says inquiring systems are interdependent on one another.

WSR (Chinese) approach:

Li -- loses many meanings in translation -- common word.

as a noun: like a marking on a stone or jade; or texture of tile; order of the world; patterns of development
as a verb: to manage, to engage

Matter, as objective conditions (especially in project deployment).
Wu Li means relations between the agent and the world.

Patterns of connections, and transformations in the world.

How objectives are the conditions?

Shi

Subjective modeling.

Engineers usually don't take this perspective

Shi Li: Relation between model and the objective world.

Ren:

Intersubjective, human relations (Confucius as central to human relations).

MIS often doesn't consider political dimensions, as not pure.
However, the human relations are not there.
In China, if you don't have the perspective of the leaders, your goodwill will not be materialized.

Now, everyone knows in China will need guan xi for approvals; through connections

Systems thinking, the three condition and imply each other.

In U.K., SSM is famous, but does it create a workable system?
Objective to not reduce the complexity into a single dimension.

W = natural, technical

S = psycho-cognitive

R = socio-political

Philosophy of WSR:

Knowing resources to be deploy: wu li, what is.
Sensing: shi li , how to
Caring for: ren li, shall we

Population at communist take over was .4B people, which has, over 40 years, became 1.2 b people.

Mao ze dong, had to consider the potential for war, so he had a slogan -- the bigger the population, the better.
Even at that time, a Professor Ma at Beijing U in population control argued with Mao.
From the outcome, Mao's model may or may not wrong, from a politician's perspective.

Made Ma a radical, and put Ma into jail.
After Mao was dead, Ma was released, and we see the 1.2b population

Have used an approach in Northern China for a water resource support system

Should activities be moved out of Beijing, because the water can't support it?
Money to create decision support system: have manpower, money, knowledge.

What model should we adopt? Major consulting teams, all gurus -- water, computer

So far, the approach is working.

System has worked through 1993 and 1994 floods.

Also have a methodology for WSR.

Understand desires: what do we need?
Situation: money, manpower, constraints
Combined above two to formulate objectives:

Traditional methods usually start here.

Create models.
Implement proposals
Evaluate, not only performance, but also process.
... cycle

Can't force when W, S, and R bubble up -- just need to prepare

In U.K., first social, then technical:

Not happy with this order.
W, S and R are a matrix.

Will end now, but have comparison between WSR and Linstone's approach.

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