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Strategic Assumption Surfacing And Testing
Strategic assumptions surfacing and testing (SAST) is a method for approaching ill-structured problems. It can be applied as a dialectical approach to policy and planning. An ill-structured problem may alternatively be also labelled as a wicked problem. SAST may be applied as a technique of systems thinking. An ill-structured problem is "one for which various strategies for providing a possible solution rest on assumptions that are in sharp conflict with one another". The purposes for an SAST method are: * to help surface for explicit examination the underlying assumptions that analysts often unconsciously bring with them to a problem situation; * to compare and to evaluate systematically the assumptions of different analysts; * to examine the relationship between underlying assumptions and the resulting policies which are derived and dependent upon them; and * to attempt to formulate new, novel, and originally unforeseen policies based on previously unforeseen assumptions. Four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dialectical
Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned argumentation. Dialectic resembles debate, but the concept excludes subjective elements such as emotional appeal and the modern pejorative sense of rhetoric. Dialectic may thus be contrasted with both the eristic, which refers to argument that aims to successfully dispute another's argument (rather than searching for truth), and the didactic method, wherein one side of the conversation teaches the other. Dialectic is alternatively known as ''minor logic'', as opposed to ''major logic'' or critique. Within Hegelianism, the word ''dialectic'' has the specialised meaning of a contradiction between ideas that serves as the determining factor in their relationship. Dialectical materialism, a theory or set ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wicked Problem
In planning and policy, a wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. It refers to an idea or problem that cannot be fixed, where there is no single solution to the problem; and "wicked" denotes resistance to resolution, rather than evil. Another definition is "a problem whose social complexity means that it has no determinable stopping point". Moreover, because of complex interdependencies, the effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or create other problems. Due to their complexity, wicked problems are often characterized by organized irresponsibility. The phrase was originally used in social planning. Its modern sense was introduced in 1967 by C. West Churchman in a guest editorial Churchman wrote in the journal ''Management Science'', either repeating his own coinage or responding to a previous use of the term by Horst Rittel—the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Systems Thinking
Systems thinking is a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts. It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective action in complex contexts, enablinsystems change Systems thinking draws on and contributes to systems theory and the system sciences. History Frameworks and methodologies Frameworks and methodologies for systems thinking include: * Critical systems thinking * Soft systems methodology * Systemic design * System dynamics * Viable system model Multi-method approach See also * Management cybernetics * Operational research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve deci ... References Systems science Cybernetics Systems theory Systems th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard O
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong in rule'. Nicknames include "Richie", "Dick", "Dickon", " Dickie", "Rich", "Rick", "Rico", "Ricky", and more. Richard is a common English, German and French male name. It's also used in many more languages, particularly Germanic, such as Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Dutch, as well as other languages including Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Finnish. Richard is cognate with variants of the name in other European languages, such as the Swedish "Rickard", the Catalan "Ricard" and the Italian "Riccardo", among others (see comprehensive variant list below). People named Richard Multiple people with the same name * Richard Andersen (other) * Richard Anderson (other) * Richard Cartwright (other) * Ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Mitroff
Ian Irving Mitroff (born 1938) is an American organizational theorist, consultant and Professor Emeritus at the USC Marshall School of Business and the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California He is noted for a wide range of contributions in the field of organizational theory from contributions on strategic planning assumptions and management information systems, to the subjective side of the workplace and spirituality, religion, and values. Biography Ian Mitroff studied at the University of California, Berkeley where he received a B.S. in Engineering Physics, a M.S. in Structural Mechanics (Structural Engineering), and a PhD in Engineering Science (Industrial Engineering) with the thesis, entitled "A study of simulation-aided engineering design." In his PhD study he obtained a minor in the Philosophy of Social Systems Science under the direction of C. West Churchman. Mitroff is Professor Emeritus from the University of Southern California, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Business Planning
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separate the business entity from the owner, which means that the owner of the business is responsible and liable for debts incurred by the business. If the business acquires debts, the creditors can go after the owner's personal possessions. A business structure does not allow for corporate tax rates. The proprietor is personally taxed on all income from the business. The term is also often used colloquially (but not by lawyers or by public officials) to refer to a company, such as a corporation or cooperative. Corporations, in contrast with sole proprietors and partnerships, are a separate legal entity and provide limited liability for their owners/members, as well as being subject to corporate tax rates. A corporation is more complicated a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
