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Russell L. Ackoff -
Systems
Quotes
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A
system
is more than the sum of its parts; it is an indivisible whole. It loses its essential properties when it is taken apart. The elements of a
system
may themselves be
systems
, and every
system
may be part of a larger
system
.
Russell L. Ackoff
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In
systems
thinking, increases in understanding are believed to be obtainable by expanding the
systems
to be understood, not by reducing them to their elements. Understanding proceeds from the whole to its parts, not from the parts to the whole as knowledge does.
Russell L. Ackoff
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Another common deficiency is the failure of some panaceas to take into account a social
system
's developmental responsibilities to its stakeholders.
Russell L. Ackoff
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Problem solving has traditionally been taken to be an essential function of management. Through
systems
thinking, however, we have come to doubt the existence of problems and solutions to them.
Russell L. Ackoff
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Because the
Systems
Age is teleologically oriented, it is preoccupied with
systems
that are goal-seeking or purposeful, that is,
systems
that can display choice of either means or ends, or both. It is interested in purely mechanical
systems
only.
Russell L. Ackoff
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In the
Systems
Age we tend to look at things as part of larger wholes rather than as wholes to be taken apart. This is the doctrine of expansionism. Expansionism brings with it the synthetic mode of thought much as reductionism brought with it.
Russell L. Ackoff
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Analysis of a
system
reveals its structure and how it works. It provides the knowledge required to make it work efficiently and to repair it when it stops working. Its product is know-how, knowledge, not understanding. To enable a
system
to perform effectively we must understand it—we must be able to explain its behavior—and this requires being aware of its functions in the larger
systems
of which it is a part.
Russell L. Ackoff
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When a mess, which is a
system
of problems, is taken apart, it loses its essential properties and so does each of its parts. The behavior of a mess depends more on how the treatment of its parts interact than how they act independently of each other. A partial solution to a whole
system
of problems is better than whole solutions of each of its parts taken separately.
Russell L. Ackoff
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The synthetic mode of thought, when applied to
systems
problems, is called the
systems
approach. In this approach a problem is not solved by taking it apart but by viewing it as a part of a larger problem.
Russell L. Ackoff
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We have also come to realize that no problem ever exists in complete isolation. Every problem interacts with other problems and is therefore part of a set of interrelated problems, a
system
of problems I choose to call such a
system
a mess problems... Furthermore solutions to most problems produce other problems... a financial problem, a maintenance problem, and conflict among family members for its use.
Russell L. Ackoff
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English does not contain a suitable word for '
system
of problems.' Therefore, I have had to coin one. I choose to call such a
system
a mess
Russell L. Ackoff
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Doing philosophy was an opportunity to learn something new. I expected this to be an adjunct to my practice of architecture. But it turned out the other way. It turned out that the philosophy of science gave me the opportunity to design social
systems
, and I was more interested in people-oriented
systems
than in buildings. They were both design, but different kinds of design. I like creating things.
Russell L. Ackoff
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[The environment of a
system
is] a set of elements and their relevant properties, which elements are not part of the
system
, but a change in any of which can cause or produce a change in the state of the
system
.
Russell L. Ackoff
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A
system
is a set of two or more elements that satisfies the following three conditions. (1) The behavior of each element has an effect on the behavior of the whole. (2) The behavior of the elements and their effects on the whole are interdependent. the way each element behaves and the way it affects the whole depends on how at least one other element behaves. (3) However subgroups of the elements are formed, each has an effect on the behavior of the whole and none has an independent effect on it.
Russell L. Ackoff
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Because a cause was taken to be sufficient for its effect, nothing was required to explain the effect other than the cause. Consequently, the quest for causes was environment-free. It employed what we now call 'closed-
system
' thinking. Laws. —like that of freely falling bodies—-were formulated so as to exclude environmental effects.
Russell L. Ackoff
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Managers are not confronted with problems that are independent of each other, but with dynamic situations that consist of complex
systems
of changing problems that interact with each other. I call such situations messes. Problems are extracted from messes by analysis. Managers do not solve problems, they manage messes.
Russell L. Ackoff
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The effectiveness of any model used to describe and understand behavior of a particular
system
as a whole ultimately depends on the degree to which that model accurately represents that
system
. Nevertheless, there have been and are situations in which application of deterministic or animate models to social
systems
have produced useful results for a short period of time. However, in a longer run, such mismatches usually result in less than desirable results because critical aspects of the social
systems
were omitted in the less complex model that was used.
Russell L. Ackoff
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Despite the importance of
systems
concepts and the attention that they have received and are receiving, we do not yet have a unified or integrated set (i. e., a
system
) of such concepts. Different terms are used to refer to the same thing and the same term is used to refer to different things. This state is aggravated by the fact that the literature of
systems
research is widely dispersed and is therefore difficult to track. Researchers in a wide variety of disciplines and interdisciplines are contributing to the conceptual development of the
systems
sciences but these contributions are not as interactive and additive as they might be.
Russell L. Ackoff
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The
systems
approach to problems focuses on
systems
taken as a whole, not on their parts taken separately. Such an approach is concerned with total-
system
performance even when a change in only one or a few of its parts is contemplated because there are some properties of
systems
that can only be treated adequately from a holistic point of view. These properties derive from the relationship between parts of
systems
: how the parts interact and fit together
Russell L. Ackoff
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The basic managerial idea introduced by
systems
thinking, is that to manage a
system
effectively, you might focus on the interactions of the parts rather than their behavior taken separately.
Russell L. Ackoff
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Analysis of a
system
reveals how it works; it provides know-how, knowledge, not understanding; that is, explanations of why it works the way it does. This [understanding of why
systems
work] requires synthetic thinking... Analysis is the way scientists conduct research. Synthetic thinking is exemplified by design.
Russell L. Ackoff
Quote of the day
The mark of a great player is in his ability to come back. The great champions have all come back from defeat.
Sam Snead
Russell L. Ackoff
Creative Commons
Born:
February 12, 1919
Died:
October 29, 2009
(aged 90)
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