Description
Book SynopsisStafford Beer was ' one of the most remarkable figures which British operational research has produced...he founded two major and pioneering OR groups; wrote some of the best books about the subject; and was a world leader in the development of systems ideas ' (extract from obituary- OR newsletter).
Trade Review'This is a well-written book on a complex subject that uses helpful examples taken for actual organizations.' (Quality World, January 2010).
Table of ContentsPreface vii
Acknowledgements xiv
Part 1 Introduction 1
Chapter 1 The Crisis of Organization 3
Chapter 2 Management Myths, Models and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies 13
Chapter 3 Overview of the Viable System Model and the Rest of the Book 25
Part 2 Running the Business 39
Chapter 4 Autonomy and Control 41
Chapter 5 The Structure of Value Creation 61
Chapter 6 Coordination 81
Chapter 7 Organizational Cohesion – The Structure of Managing Performance 97
Chapter 8 Organizational Integrity and Monitoring for Trust 119
Chapter 9 Performance and Viability 133
Part 3 Changing the Business 151
Chapter 10 Intelligence 153
Chapter 11 Strategic Risk 169
Chapter 12 Strategy 183
Chapter 13 Innovation 209
Chapter 14 Managing Change 225
Chapter 15 Identity and Purpose 247
Chapter 16 Governance 265
Appendix The Process of Modelling 281
Glossary 301
References 309
Index 315
