Systems — Open Access Journal

In this digital world, organisations are facing global competition as well as manpower pressures leading towards the knowledge economy, which heavily impacts on their local and international businesses. The trend is to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing to cope with these problems. With the advancement of technologies and social engineering that can connect people in the virtual world across time and distance, several organisations are embarking on knowledge management (KM) systems, implementing a community of practice (CoP) approach. However, virtual communities are relatively new paradigms, and there are several challenges to their successful implementation from an organisation’s point of interest. There is lack of CoP implementation framework that can cater to today’s dynamic business and sustainability requirements. To fill the gap in literature, this paper develops a practical framework for a CoP implementation with a view to align KM strategy with business strategy of an organization. It explores the different steps of building, sharing, and using tacit and explicit knowledge in CoPs by applying the Wiig KM cycle. It proposes a practical CoP implementation framework that adopts the Benefits, Tools, Organisation, People and Process (BTOPP) model in addressing the key questions surrounding each of the BTOPP elements with a structured approach. Finally, it identifies key challenges such as organizational culture and performance measurements, and provides practical recommendations to overcome them for a successful CoP implementation. Full article

Ghana is predominantly an agricultural country with a clear majority of its population depending partly or fully on agriculture for their livelihoods. Pork consumption in Ghana is on the increase and the livestock industry is a key sector of alternative agri-business for farmers looking for profitable business ventures and household income. The growth of Ghana’s domestic piggery industry has been impeded by several constraints such as inadequate information, lack of improved breeding stock, land limitations, rising feed cost and water availability. In this research, systems models provide an understanding of the interconnectedness and relationships present within the piggery industry of Ghana. The Industry’s problems were pooled together and key factors identified, whose behavior over time causes problems by developing various individual two-loop system archetypes coupled with a list of sustainable management strategies. Also, the individual variables affecting the industry were consolidated to obtain a causal loop structure and behavior-over-time graph of the piggery industry. The system archetype developed here is generic enough to explain any productivity decline and business rivalry behavior of any agribusiness industry. The proposed archetype can also help farm managers and producers to make various decisions. The system archetypes contribute effectively to understanding the root cause of challenges rather than providing quick fixes ‘now’ which gives rise to a much bigger problem to fix ‘later’. Application of CLDs models and system archetypes can help farmers and policy makers understand the behaviour of the entire complex piggery systems that will aid in more clarity and consistency in decisions and policy objectives. This will close the gap of inadequate information both to farmers and policy makers and governance. Through the archetypes and the CLDs, it has been identified that using a systemic approach in addressing the problems could lead to the provision of adequate data and management strategies for effective decision making for improving the piggery/livestock industry. Full article

The application of Systems Thinking principles to Systems Engineering is synergistic, resulting in superior systems, products, and designs. However, there is little practical information available in the literature that describes how this can be done. In this paper, we analyze 12 major Systems Engineering failures involving bridges, aircraft, submarines, water supplies, automobiles, skyscrapers, and corporations and recommend Systems Thinking principles, tools, and procedures that should be applied during the first few steps of the System Engineering design process to avoid such catastrophic Systems Engineering failures in the future. Full article

This paper presents a novel five-stage integrated participatory systems modelling (IPSM) approach that can be used for a range of systems dynamics (SD) applications. The IPSM approach was formulated considering the advantages and disadvantages of existing SD modelling approaches, as well as balancing the competing goals of SD model development efficiency and robustness. A key feature of the IPSM approach is that stakeholders are central to each of the five stages of the modelling process from problem scoping, to scenario analysis and strategy implementation recommendations. Each stage of the IPSM approach was demonstrated through a case study of the innovation diffusion process in the Russian Federation construction industry. This highly complex innovation system could only be sufficiently understood using a SD model that was conceptualised, critiqued, codified, tested and utilised, by the relevant actors within that system (i.e., stakeholders). The IPSM approach facilitated the efficient formulation of the SD model for the case study application. The case study SD model simulation results indicate that sufficient government incentives and the active promotion of strong collaborative linkages between construction companies and universities are two key enablers of innovation development in the Russian Federation construction industry. Full article

The field of systemology does not yet have a standardised terminology; there are multiple glossaries and diverse perspectives even about the meanings of fundamental terms. This situation undermines researchers’ and practitioners’ ability to communicate clearly both within and outside their own specialist communities. Our perspective is that different vocabularies can in principle be reconciled by seeking more generalised definitions that reduce, in specialised contexts, to the nuanced meaning intended in those contexts. To this end, this paper lays the groundwork for a community effort to develop an ‘Ontology of Systemology’. In particular we argue that the standard methods for ontology development can be enhanced by drawing on systems thinking principles, and show via four examples how these can be applied for both domain-specific and upper ontologies. We then use this insight to derive a systemic and systematic framework for selecting and organising the terminology of systemology. The outcome of this paper is therefore twofold: We show the value in applying a systems perspective to ontology development in any discipline, and we provide a starting outline for an Ontology of Systemology. We suggest that both outcomes could help to make systems concepts more accessible to other lines of inquiry. Full article

Designing international development projects is challenging because the complexity of the systems on which they act makes it difficult to identify the best leverage points for intervention. This paper seeks to identify the best combinations of interventions to increase the availability of and demand for quality seeds in Uganda and similar markets. A system dynamics model simulates the current dynamics in Ugandan seed markets based on data gathered by ongoing development projects. The findings show that one intervention is critical to enabling growth—investing in a system for verifying the quality of seeds—and that a combination of quality verification with education-oriented interventions is more powerful than quality verification alone. The results have implications for systems approaches to development: they suggest that a combination of interventions in different parts of the value chain enables larger changes than any single intervention alone. Full article

The economic world is very dynamic, and most phenomena appearing in this world are mutually interconnected. These connections may result in the emergence of nonlinear relationships among economic agents. Research discussions about different markets’ structures cannot be considered as finished yet. Even such a well-known concept as oligopoly can be described with different models applying diverse assumptions and using various values of parameters; for example, the Cournot duopoly game, Bertrand duopoly game or Stackelberg duopoly game can be and are used. These models usually assume linear functions and make analyses of the behavior of the two companies. The aim of this paper is to consider a nonlinear inverse demand function in the Cournot duopoly model. Supposing there is a sufficiently large proportion among the costs of the two companies, we can possibly detect nonlinear phenomena such as bifurcation of limit values of production or deterministic chaos. To prove a sensitive dependence on the initial condition, which accompanies deterministic chaos, the concept of Lyapunov exponents is used. We also point out the fact that even though some particular values of parameters are irrelevant for the above-mentioned nonlinear phenomena, it is worth being aware of their existence. Full article

Systems thinking is an indispensable tool in comprehending and analyzing real-world phenomena. Observed processes are naturally composed of many interconnected components which ought to be studied jointly rather than individually. Engineering systems thinking is a very valuable skill, which helps to successfully execute multi-disciplinary projects. In high-tech companies that deal with complex and dynamic systems projects, the need for engineers with high systems thinking skills is growing. Engineers with high systems thinking skills are able to understand the big picture and the project in its entirety, both functionally and conceptually, without necessarily knowing all of the small details. Systems thinking enables understanding the entire system beyond its components, and clarifies the importance of the isolated component as part of the system as a whole. Systems thinking helps understand how sub-systems connect to one whole system, and provides solutions for the client’s specifications and requirements. In addition, systems thinking enables perceiving the inter-relationships and mutual influence among the system’s components and other systems. The current study examined the development of systems thinking among engineers and engineering students. In addition, the personality traits of engineers with high systems thinking skills were examined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality type test. This article also presents the initial results of the development of a new systems thinking study course, taught as a pilot course to industrial and management engineering students. It seems that engineers with certain personality traits can acquire or improve their systems thinking capabilities through a gradual, long-term learning process and by acquiring the necessary tools. Additionally, the study includes recommendations for the continuation of ongoing research on developing systems thinking. Full article

Usual reductionism considers systemic, acquired properties as non-systemic, possessed properties. We consider here the non-systemic usages of systems, misunderstood as non-interacting virtual objects or devices, and the misunderstanding between non-complex (first Systemics) and complex systems (second Systemics) as another form of reductionism. This reductionism leads to inappropriate and ineffective approaches, particularly dealing with complex systems such as socioeconomic systems, whose complexity is often misunderstood and neglected. However, this reductionism should be distinguished from mixed usages of systemic approaches suitable to deal with multiple, dynamic, temporary, and partial systemic natures of phenomena related to complex systems. We consider that we should move from the well-defined, often simplistic, world of Systemics to Quasi-Systemics, which is intended as constructionist Systemics, always in progress, non-ideological, multiple, contradiction-tolerant, incomplete, and in its turn emergent. Rather than recommending a pragmatic attitude, we mention two approaches, one methodological approach called Logical Openness and another, the Meta-Structure approach, which is suitable to more formally deal with such multiple aspects and—based on mesoscopic representations—suitable to represent quasiness. Full article

Systems science methodologies do not have a consistent way of working with worldviews, even though determining stakeholder perspectives is central to systems thinking. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive “Worldview Inquiry Framework” that can be used across methodologies to govern the process of eliciting, documenting, and comparing the worldviews of stakeholders. We discuss the systemicity of worldviews and explain how this can help practitioners to find the roots of stakeholders’ disagreements about value judgements. We then generalize the structure of the Worldview Inquiry Framework to produce a “General Inquiry Framework” that can be used to govern an inquiry process in other contexts. We show that the presented Worldview Inquiry Framework is a special case of this General Inquiry Framework and show how the General Inquiry Framework can be tailored for other contexts such as problem solving, product design, and fundamental research. Full article

Autonomous production needs to be reliable. Outputs from reliable production systems consistently conform to performance requirements. By contrast, outputs from unreliable production systems often do not conform to performance requirements. Unreliable production can lead to accidents, rework, scrap, loss of good will, etc. In this communication paper, comparative analyses are provided of work characteristics in the manufacturing and construction industries, which affect opportunities for reliable high-level autonomous production systems. Analyses indicate that there are strong opportunities and weak opportunities for reliable high-level autonomous production systems in these industries. In the strongest opportunities, there is repeated work certainty; the composition of work involves few materials/parts that have little variation; and work is carried out in settings that require no additional engineering to facilitate reliable autonomous production. In the weakest opportunities, work settings require extensive additional engineering; the composition of work involves many materials/parts that have lots of variation; the work to be done is not certain until completion and then it is never repeated. It is explained that when seeking to improve weak opportunities for reliable high-level autonomous production systems, industrial engineering methods and situation awareness modelling can be combined within a critical realist framework in order to address challenges in work setting, composition and uncertainty. Full article

The paper provides empirical analysis of interactions between monetary and fiscal policy in the Czech Republic and document changes in policy conduct across the time. To this end, we build and estimate a six-variable Bayesian VAR and propose some refinements to the modelling framework. These improvements make it possible to better capture the main features of the economic system populated by both macroeconomic policy authorities. The results point to the lack of complementarity between policy actions adopted by the authorities and suggest that there is still enough room for enhancing the effectiveness of economic policies. Full article

This article presents comprehensive typology of all possible relationships among inputs of an economic system, their productivity, and output. Each situation is given an exact name explaining how intensive and extensive factors contributes to the system development. The exact contributions of the factors can be counted by so-called dynamic intensity and extensity parameters. The article describes logic of the parameters, discusses their advantages and problems and assigns their values to the presented nomenclature of the developments. The parameters are further compared with growth accounting methods and their use is demonstrated on the development of macroeconomic system on the national economy level when it is counted how intensive and extensive parameters contribute to the Czech and German GDP development in the period 1991–2017. The analysis confirms that the parameters can be used as an alternative methods to growth accounting and that managers of any economic system should pay attention whether a system achieves positive value of the dynamic intensive parameters in long run. Full article

Recent decades have seen a rapid increase in the complexity of goods, products, and services that society has come to demand. This has necessitated a corresponding growth in the requirements demanded of organizational systems and the people who work in them. The competence a person requires to be effective in working in such systems has become an area of increased interest to scholars and practitioners in many disciplines. How can we assess the degree to which a person is executing the competencies required to do good systems work? Several industries now utilize maturity models in the attempt to evaluate and cultivate people’s ability to effectively execute complex tasks. This paper will examine current thought regarding the value and pitfalls of maturity models. It will identify principles and exemplars that could guide the development of a Maturity Model of Systems Thinking Competence (MMSTC) for the varied roles people inhabit in systems contexts. Full article

Cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems emerged around the new millennium, and since then there has been a lack of research regarding the evolution and update processes of these systems. From the users’ perspective, updates in a traditional on-premise ERP system are carried at their own request; while cloud-based ERPs are compulsory updated. Through an established ERP lifecycle framework, this study investigates how the process of updates is conducted in a cloud ERP context, from both the users’ and vendors’ perspectives. A multiple case study was conducted in Norway at 10 client organizations, as well as a cloud ERP vendor. Our main findings suggest that the vendor and the users view the process of updates differently. The main challenges with the process of updates from the users’ perspective are the size and date of the updates, lack of information and communication during the process, and extinction of certain functionalities. Yet, the main advantages are that all system users will always have the same version of the system, users do not need to spend time on updating the system and paying attention to the ERP market, which leads to more focus on their core competences instead. Full article

Resilience in a critical infrastructure system can be viewed as a quality that reduces vulnerability, minimizes the consequences of threats, accelerates response and recovery, and facilitates adaptation to a disruptive event. In this context, comprehensive knowledge of the environment and of the main factors whereby resilience is determined, limited, and affected can be said to represent the fundamental precondition for strengthening the resilience of critical infrastructure elements. Based on this idea, the article defines the initial and functional conditions for building and strengthening the resilience of critical infrastructure elements, i.e., the resilience concept in a critical infrastructure system. Subsequently, factors determining the resilience of these elements are identified, both in terms of technical resilience (i.e., robustness and recoverability) and organizational resilience (i.e., adaptability). In the final part of the article, these factors are presented in greater detail in the context of case studies focused on the electricity, gas, information and communications technology, and road transport sectors. Determination of these factors is examined with regard to the intensity of a disruptive event and the performance of the respective critical infrastructure element. Full article

To remain competitive in the current market, an enterprise must differentiate itself based on higher value propositions. For this purpose, since improving the product or service performance can reach some limits, one potential solution is to move towards new combinations of products and services. This evolution, called servitization, leads to the generation of Product Service Systems (PSS). Servitization requires not only a clear understanding of enterprise core business, but also a clear vision of the prevailing trends and challenges of PSS development from both the business and technological points of view. In addition, the evolution path should be aligned with the enterprise strategy. This paper first highlights the notion of symbiotic PSS where product systems and service systems, and their stakeholders, interoperate seamlessly based on a win-win approach. Then, it proposes a PSS Conceptual Framework (PSS-CF), which can be applied in the early stages of servitization to increase the understating of PSS dimensions and to facilitate the prioritization of the servitization investments. The framework dimensions were discussed in several iterations, from both the academic and industrial points of view, in the frame of a European research project. Moreover, the applicability of the framework was studied in four different industrial use-cases. Full article

Broadly speaking, natural systems thinking is defined as a way of thinking that endeavors to conceptualize the functioning of living organisms as dependent on predictable forces at work within and around them. Systems concepts help to bring the function of those variables and life forces into better view. Psychiatrist Murray Bowen over the course of several years and a major research project at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) developed a theory of the family as a system. He considered his theory a natural systems theory, “... designed to fit precisely with the principles of evolution and the human as an evolutionary being” The human family system, a network of relationships, linking each family member to every other, responds dynamically to its environment and the conditions to which all members must adapt. Each family member’s behavior influences that of every other to some degree. Although ideas of a general system theory and cybernetics were developing at the same time, Bowen reported that he knew nothing about those ideas at the time he developed his thinking. He believed that his systems orientation derived from his study of systems in nature and not from the “systems thinking” of the period. An emerging systems paradigm in biology and evolutionary thinking focuses on collective behavior and appears consistent in principle with Bowen’s thinking about the family. The collective behavior of the family unit cannot be understood by looking at the characteristics of the individuals who comprise it. The human family presents a highly integrated, interactive system of adaptation. Its roots extend along the path of hominid evolution and share common elements with other evolved collectivities. The complex development of the human brain appears to have co-evolved with the interactional processes of the family. The Bowen theory provides the potential for an integrative theory of human behavior reaching beyond the focus on the physiology and psychology of the individual to the operation and influence of the family system. Such an integrative theory can offer broader explanatory and investigative pathways for understanding physical, emotional, and social problems as they emerge in human activity. Full article

This article describes preliminary research (a proof of concept test) on the potential value of formalizing Isomorphic Systems Processes (ISPs) based on systems science research using the Monterey Phoenix (MP) language, approach and tool. MP is a Navy-developed framework for behavior modeling of system, process, and software behaviors, and has a demonstrated ability to expose emergent behaviors in engineered, complex systems. In this article, we introduce the related lines of research and discuss and demonstrate use of MP in modeling ISPs. We accomplish the demonstration through a small example of the Cycles ISP and discuss several possible variations generated from an MP model of this single ISP. Among these variations, we found patterns of oscillation, lifecycle, recycling, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and combinations thereof, all derived from a common model of a cycle comprising six lines of MP code. Although the detection of three of these patterns (oscillations, lifecycles, and recycling) was anticipated, the involvement of the other two patterns (positive and negative reinforcement) were not anticipated in pre-model analyses and provided evidence to resolve a dispute over the application of ISPs in systems engineering. From conducting this initial experimentation at the intersection of different research domains, we found that using MP to formalize relationships within and among presently non-formally-described ISPs yielded new insights into system processes. Full article