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Systems Thinking and Complexity

By Gerrit Van Wyk. Some define systems as entities consisting of interactions between multiple components, from which properties emerge that are more than the sum of the parts, for as long as the components and interactions remain relatively stable. From another perspective, the same definition describes complex phenomena. There are multiple components, that interact, the

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Something About Change

By Gerrit Van Wyk. Felix the flying frog. There is a story about a man named Clarence, who had a pet frog named Felix, and decided he could make some money if he could make Felix fly. Felix pointed out he didn’t look anything like a bird, but Clarence decided that could be overcome with

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The Trouble with Systems Thinking

By Gerrit Van Wyk. The grid Flood and Jackson use for Total System Intervention (TSI), unintentionally exposes a major dilemma system thinking faces. The basic premise is the different systems methodologies work best in specific contexts, hence if you know the context, you can plug in the most appropriate methodology and solve the problem. The

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The Problem of Complex Coercive Systems

By Gerrit Van Wyk. Flood and Jackson created a grid for grouping problem contexts in the 1990’s, with one axis representing the nature of reality, or systems, consisting of simple (closed) or complex (open) systems, and the other, social relationships divided into unitary, or what I’ll call shared interests and agreement, pluralist, or compatible interests

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Edgar Morin on Systems and Complexity

By Gerrit Van Wyk “We need a kind of thinking that reconnects that which is disjointed and compartmentalized, that respects diversity as it recognizes unity, and that tries to discern interdependencies. We need a radical thinking (which gets to the root of problems), a multidimensional thinking, and an organizational or systemic thinking”. Edgar Morin. Edgar

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C West Churchman, Systems Thinker

By Gerrit Van Wyk. West Churchman’s work and thinking looms large in my understanding of systems thinking. I don’t claim to be an expert on Churchman’s thought and work, hence what follows is an interpretation of it. Churchman obtained a PhD in philosophy under Edgar Singer, a proponent of Pragmatism, is known as one of

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