Description
Book SynopsisThis book describes the neurology of a business as a new dimension of organization and as a basis for success in a complex world. Comparing organizations with living organisms, it places an organization’s neurology (control and communication) as a third dimension beside its anatomy (structure) and physiology (process). Overlooked by classical organizational theory, this third dimension offsets its typical drawbacks.
The Neurology of Business introduces Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model (VSM) and shows how this helps managers to diagnose, discover, and unleash the potential and performance lying dormant in today’s enterprises.
The book is based on numerous consulting projects and management seminars conducted in Europe, America, and Asia. It guides the reader through the diagnosis and design process and illustrates application issues with practical examples. In this way, the book provides managers with the language needed to have meaningful conversations about how their organizations are functioning. As such, it will benefit managers in business and nonbusiness organizations, as well as readers interested in general management.
Table of ContentsPart I. Necessity and Benefits of the Third Dimension.- Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. The Ten Cardinal Mistakes of Organizing.- Part II. The Viable System Model.- Chapter 3. A Model of Steering and Communication.- Chapter 4. Introduction to the Model.- Chapter 5. Russian Dolls.- Chapter 6. Hierarchy and the Redundancy of Potential Command.- Part III. Diagnosis and Design.- Chapter 7. Overview of the Diagnostic Process.- Chapter 8. Diagnosing and Designing the Basic Structure (Step I).- Chapter 9. Mastering Complexity (Excursus).- Chapter 10. Manageable or Not? (Step II).- Chapter 11. Mission-critical Tasks (Step III).- Chapter 12. Centralized or Decentralized (Step IV).- Chapter 13. Diagnosing and Designing the Control Functions (Step V).- Chapter 14. Diagnosing and Designing Communication Channels (Step VI).- Part IV. From Knowledge to Implementation.- Chapter 15. Making the Organization Understandable (Step VII).- Chapter 16. Successful Implementation.- Chapter 17. Quick Diagnoses.- Chapter 18. Balancing Present and Future.
