Title: System dynamics, systems thinking, and soft OR
Abstract: System Dynamics ReviewVolume 10, Issue 2-3 p. 245-256 Article System dynamics, systems thinking, and soft OR Jay W. Forrester, Jay W. Forrester Sloan School of Management, MIT, E40–294, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Germeshausen Professor Emeritus and Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, directed the System Dynamics Group until 1989. He was in charge of designing the first digital computer at MIT and from 1951 to 1956 headed the design and implementation of the SAGE air defense system in North America. He has received honorary doctorates from eight universities. His honors include National Inventors Hall of Fame (1979); James R. Killian, Jr., Faculty Achievement Award, MIT (1987); and the National Medal of Technology (1989).Search for more papers by this author Jay W. Forrester, Jay W. Forrester Sloan School of Management, MIT, E40–294, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Germeshausen Professor Emeritus and Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, directed the System Dynamics Group until 1989. He was in charge of designing the first digital computer at MIT and from 1951 to 1956 headed the design and implementation of the SAGE air defense system in North America. He has received honorary doctorates from eight universities. His honors include National Inventors Hall of Fame (1979); James R. Killian, Jr., Faculty Achievement Award, MIT (1987); and the National Medal of Technology (1989).Search for more papers by this author First published: Summer ‐ Autumn (Fall) 1994 https://doi.org/10.1002/sdr.4260100211Citations: 553 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract System dynamics, systems thinking, and soft operations research (soft OR) all aspire to understanding and improvement of systems. In all, the first step interprets the real world into a description used in following stages. In system dynamics, description leads to equations of a model, simulation to understand dynamic behavior, evaluation of alternative policies, education and choice of a better policy, and implementation. Case studies, systems thinking, and soft OR usually lack the discipline of explicit model creation and simulation and so rely on subjective use of unreliable intuition for evaluating the complex structures that emerge from the initial description of the real system. Nevertheless, systems thinking and soft OR, with emphasis on eliciting information from-real-world participants, should contribute useful insights to system dynamics. Conversely, the model creation and simulation stages of system dynamics should contribute rigor and clarity to systems thinking and soft OR. References Checkland, P. B. 1978. The Origins and Nature of Hard Systems Thinking. Journal of Applied Systems Analysis 5 (2): 99–110. Checkland, P. B. 1981. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley. Checkland, P. B., and J. Scholes. 1990. Soft Systems Methodology in Action. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley. Forrester, J. W. 1961. Industrial Dynamics. Portland, Ore: Productivity Press. Forrester, J. W. 1968. Principles of Systems. 2d ed. Portland, Ore: Productivity Press. Forrester, J. W. 1980. Information Sources for Modeling the National Economy. Journal of the American Statistical Association 75 (371): 555–574. Forrester, J. W. 1987. Nonlinearity in High-Order Models of Social Systems. European Journal of Operational Research 30 (2): 104–109. Forrester, J. W., and P. M. Senge. 1980. Tests for Building Confidence in System Dynamics Models. In System Dynamics, ed. A. A. Legasto, J. W. Forrester, and J. M. Lyneis, 209–228. TIMS Studies in the Management Sciences. Vol. 14. New York: North-Holland. Hodgson, A. M. 1992. Hexagons for Systems Thinking. European Journal of Operational Research 59 (1): 220–230. Jackson, M. C. 1992. Systems Methodology for the Management Sciences. New York: Plenum. Jackson, M. C., and P. Keys. 1984. Towards a System of Systems Methodologies. Journal of the Operational Research Society 35 (6): 473–486. Lane, D. C. 1993. With a Little Help from Our Friends: How Third-Generation System Dynamics and Issue-Structuring Techniques of „Soft”︁ OR Can Learn from Each Other. In System Dynamics 1993, ed. E. Zepeda and J. A. D. Machuca, 235–244. System Dynamics Society, 49 Bedford Rd., Lincoln, MA 01773, U.S.A. Published in expanded form as City University Business School Discussion Paper ITM/93/DCL2. Randers, J. 1980. Guidelines for Model Conceptualization. In Elements of the System Dynamics Method, ed. J. Randers, 117–137. Portland, Ore: Productivity Press. Richardson, G. P. 1991. Feedback Thought in Social Science and Systems Theory. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Richardson, G. P., D. F. Andersen, J. Rohrbaugh, and W. Steinhurst, 1992. Group Model Building. In Proceedings of the 1992 International System Dynamics Conference, Utrecht, 595–604. Saeed, K. 1992. Slicing a Complex Problem for System Dynamics Modeling. System Dynamics Review 8 (3): 251–261. Senge, P. M. 1990. The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday/Currency. Vennix, J. A. M., D. F. Andersen, G. P. Richardson, and J. Rohrbaugh. 1992. Model-Building for Group Decision Support: Issues and Alternatives in Knowledge Elicitation. European Journal of Operational Research 59 (1): 28–41. Winch, G. W. 1993. Consensus Building in the Planning Process: Benefits from a „Hard”︁ Modeling Approach. System Dynamics Review 9 (3): 287–300. Citing Literature Volume10, Issue2-3Summer ‐ Autumn (Fall) 1994Pages 245-256 ReferencesRelatedInformation
Publication Year: 1994
Publication Date: 1994-06-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 952
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