Strategy for Managing Complex Systems

Preface to the 1st German Edition
Preface to the 2nd German Edition
Preface to the 3rd German Edition
Preface to the 4th German Edition
Preface to the 5th German Edition
Preface to the 6th German Edition
Preface to the 7th German Edition
Preface to the 8th German Edition
Preface to the 9th German Edition
Preface to the 10th German Edition
Preface to the 11th German Edition
Introduction to the 5th Edition
                Is This the Final Breakthrough?
                Misdirected Development
                The Potential of the Systems Approach
0. Introduction: Construction and Evolution
0.1 Premises, Frames of Reference, and Illusionary Worlds
0.2 Systems-Oriented Management Theory
0.3 Two Types of Management Theory
0.4 Seven Dominant Thinking Patterns
0.5 A Chance to Rethink
1. The Cybernetic Organization Structures of Management Systems
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Management Cybernetics
1.3 The Structure of Viable Systems
1.4 Principles of the Model’s Structure and Application
1.5 The Detailed Model for the Cybernetic Organization Structure of Management Systems
1.6 The Overall Model: Graphic Depiction at Several Levels of Recursion
2. Strategic Management and the Problem of Complexity
2.1 Strategic Management as a Means of Managing Complexity
2.2 Complexity
2.3 Controlling Complexity by Means of Order
2.4 Managing Complexity by Solving Problems
3. Strategies for Managing Complexity
3.1 The Reality of Managers’ Strategic Behavior
3.2 Strategic Alternatives
3.3 System and Meta-System; Communication and Meta-Communication
3.4 Cybernetic Systems Methodology: Systemic and Meta-Systemic Strategies
3.5 Strategies and Heuristic Principles
3.6 Applying the Viable System in Systems Methodology
3.7 Synthesis
4. Epilog: When the End is a Beginning
4.1 Experiences with Complex Corporate Development Processes
4.2 Interpretations of the Viable Systems Model
4.3 The Practice: A Case Example
4.4 Enlightenment or Clarification?
References
Index