A Systems-Based Approach to Policymaking (Kluwer International Series in) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0792393368 ISBN 13: 9780792393368

Publisher: Springer, 1993

Synopsis

This book is based on a number of systems concepts, of which the following are emphasized here: oThe interacting systems of society and the environment are dynamic and evolution­ ary oEvolution of these systems carries them through stages of differential stability and instability, continuity and discontinuity oAssociated with evolution and instability is structural change that is essentially irre­ versible oThe present is a stage of world transformation that may not have been equaled for decades or even centuries oPolicies and decisions must match the times, in the present case the stage of world transformation The time 11:59:59 PM, approximately, on December 31, 2000 has an impor­ tant symbolic meaning. It marks the end of a minute, the end of an hour, the end of a day, the end of a year, the end of a decade, the end of a century, and the end of a millennium. The time and date provide a convenient yardstick against which we can evaluate the evolution of our thinking and the adequacy of our assumptions, mental models, paradigms, and policies. Will the beginning tum out to be appropriately dif­ ferent from the end? We hope that this book is helpful in such evaluation. This is a new-paradigm book, which both presents and advances the new way of thinking about the systems of science, technology, society, economics, politics, and the environment, and actively calls for the replacement of the worn­ out cognitive/sociotechnical paradigm.

About this title

Synopsis

This is a 'new paradigm' book, which both presents and advances the new way of thinking about the systems of science, technology, society, economics, politics, and the environment, and calls for the replacement of the old cognitive/sociotechnical paradigm. As the title suggests, the book has two components: the systems approach, consisting of systems thinking, systems theories, and systems models; and the policymaking situation and the policymakers themselves. While systems theories and models can certainly be improved, this book places great emphasis on deficiencies in the structure of the policy situation and in policymakers. The authors provide the results of many years of working with complex systems in the contexts of systems analysis, systems design, and policymaking and decisionmaking. Some of the authors are the originators of great schools of systems thinking.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0792393368
• ISBN 13: 9780792393368
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 374
• Editor: De Greene Kenyon B.