DOCSLIB.ORG

Systems Approach to Develop a Conceptual Model of the Service Enterprise

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Systems Approach to Develop a Conceptual Model of the Service Enterprise Journal of Service Science and Management, 2019, 12, 697-713 https://www.scirp.org/journal/jssm ISSN Online: 1940-9907 ISSN Print: 1940-9893 Systems Approach to Develop a Conceptual Model of the Service Enterprise Zaida Alarcón-Bernal1 , Ricardo Aceves-García2 , Arturo Fuentes-Zenón2 1Department of Biomedical Systems Engineering, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, México 2Department of Systems, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, México How to cite this paper: Alarcón-Bernal, Abstract Z., Aceves-García, R. and Fuentes-Zenón, A. (2019) Systems Approach to Develop a Considering the characteristics and particularities of services such as insepa- Conceptual Model of the Service Enter- rability, perishability and variability, which make them ephemeral and little prise. Journal of Service Science and Man- tangible, non-storable, and non-patentable, we can have a clear idea of the agement, 12, 697-713. https://doi.org/10.4236/jssm.2019.126048 complexity that exists in planning, operating and solving problems in service companies. This situation demands the use of a different vision to analyze Received: August 14, 2019 and study these companies and their problems. Therefore, the systems ap- Accepted: September 13, 2019 Published: September 16, 2019 proach is presented and used for the construction of a conceptual model, as a support framework to situate and organize our perceptions, fix the structure Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and of the problem, delimit the area of interest and define the relevant and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. non-relevant aspects. With the systems vision, we have been able to use the This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International three basic forms of planning for decision making (strategic, tactical and License (CC BY 4.0). operative) in the construction of a conceptual model. The methodology used http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ that integrates these three basic forms of planning is presented in a logi- Open Access cal-formal guide for the construction of the conceptual model of the service company. This representation identifies the basic elements of a business model such as customers, value proposition, infrastructure and information for decision making, as well as their interactions. The model obtained is sim- ple, relevant, and easy to understand and at the same time does not oversim- plify the complex operation of a service company. Keywords Conceptual Model, Service Companies, Systems Approach, Service Science, Service System 1. Introduction Services have gone from being a peripheral activity in an economy focused on DOI: 10.4236/jssm.2019.126048 Sep. 16, 2019 697 Journal of Service Science and Management Z. Alarcón-Bernal et al. manufacturing, to an engine of growth and innovation, driven by society. This transformation has been fully recognized by the flourishing and innovation in services, as well as by studies and research on services, aimed at deepening their understanding and supporting the development of services as a sector and as a concept [1]. Due to the characteristics and particularities that have the services such as be- ing little tangible, inseparable, perishable and variable [2], service is an ephe- meral product, created and consumed simultaneously and therefore not storable. In addition, services are ideas and concepts, so their outputs are sensations and experiences, and therefore, innovations in service are not patentable. These assertions give us a clear idea of the complexity that exists to plan, op- erate and solve problems in service companies. This situation highlights the need to use a different approach to analyze and study this type of companies and their problems. This consideration is strengthened by pointing out that complex problems include heterogeneous factors that go beyond the vision of any con- ventional discipline. Therefore, an integrative and interdisciplinary vision as the systems approach is demanded, that presents emerging properties that cannot be deduced from their components. The main objective of this work is to show that some contributions of Systems Theory are applied to better understand complex phenomena and promote dif- ferent points of view and paradigms in emerging areas such as Service Sciences, as well as acting as foundation for managing and planning modern dynamics in any type of organization, in terms of integration of resources, interaction of sys- tems and viable behaviors, through the formulation of the conceptual model. This article is structured as follows: In the first section we present the need to use the systems approach to analyze some object of study, considering the com- plexity generated by the interrelation of its elements and the interaction of the object itself with its environment. It also establishes the need to have a global vi- sion of these objects or problems to avoid a partial analysis, so it is important to have “a vision of the world” through which the way in which it interprets the object or problem is made explicit. The second section presents the three basic forms that have been identified in the literature for building the system or con- ceptual model: the structural approach, the functional approach and the black box approach. The third section presents the methodology used to integrate the three basic forms above integrated, to relate the what for, how and why, in a log- ical-formal guide for the construction of the conceptual model. The fourth sec- tion presents the conceptual model developed for service companies, where the basic elements of a business model can be identified: customers, supply, infra- structure and information for decision making from the systems viewpoint. Fi- nally, we present some works related to the use of the systems approach and the development of some conceptual model, to finally establish our conclusions. 2. Related Works The awareness and generation of knowledge about service businesses is a very DOI: 10.4236/jssm.2019.126048 698 Journal of Service Science and Management Z. Alarcón-Bernal et al. recent field of research and application, which began in 2004 under the guar- dianship of IBM developing the concept of Service Science [3]. The concept of Service System has provided people interested in this field of knowledge a new way of looking at services as a set of interactions between suppliers and con- sumers that together create value for themselves, as a system, considering as a final objective, the application of scientific knowledge in the design and im- provement of service systems for business and social purposes. It was identified through literature that systemic thinking provides some of the necessary foundations for Service Science [4] in general and for service sys- tems in particular. According to this perspective, most authors have limited themselves to expressing generalities of the concept of systems and its immediate implications or to using methodologies applied in other fields of knowledge, without offering precise guidelines for the analyst on how to define the system of interest for decision making. White [5] establishes that Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is a technique for formally modeling and describing how business processes are structured and to represent the detail of those processes. In SEAM (Systemic En- terprise Architecture Method), the approach is to build a business concept as a nested hierarchy of systems. Therefore, the modeler is interested in conceptua- lizing the systems that the company contains, and those that contain the com- pany. Thus, emphasis is placed in understanding the systems, defining their lim- its, the services provided by the set of systems (black box view of the system) and the processes that these services implement in the system as a whole (white box view of the system). In SEAM the behavior of the system is specified by model- ing the processes in the systems. We could have one process in the market, one in the company, one in the IT department, one in the IT applications. In BPMN, there is usually a process that merges all these levels and abstracts some of them. In short, SEAM is a system-oriented modeling technique, while BPMN is process-oriented. Flood and Zambuni [6] attempt to contribute a detailed description, discus- sion and critique of a Viable Systems Diagnosis application to an important group of tourism services. The approach of Beer [7] is well known and widely discussed and referenced in scientific literature. However, case studies docu- menting their use are much scarcer and are often limited to general outlines of a small practical use. Godsiff et al. [8] are intended to describe the possible application of Ashby’s Exigent Varieties Act and its consequences [9]. Generally stated and understood as “only variety can destroy variety” [10], it uses system concepts to examine the impact of external disturbances on the viability of an organization. The work be- gins with a brief discussion of the nature of the service and suggests that a con- sensus is emerging that definitions should focus, first, on the process rather than the product and, second, on the interaction and relationships between the cus- tomer and the producer. A brief overview of some of the concepts of systemic DOI: 10.4236/jssm.2019.126048 699 Journal of Service Science and Management Z. Alarcón-Bernal et al. thinking (the study of complex and adaptive sets) and how it has been applied to the study of management and operations based on the work of Forrester and Beer [11] is provided. Barile et al. [4] mention the potential benefits of using network theory and VSA for service science. They also compare inputs and views on the services, marketing and management of these different frameworks. The concept of ser- vice system has allowed researchers to visualize a service as a set of providers and consumers who interact and jointly add value to themselves; therefore, when the company loses the aspects that allow an observer to differentiate it from the other companies, the corresponding system disappears for the observer in ques- tion and for the others.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Updated Modeling for Evaluating Systems Approaches for Mitigating
    United States Updated Modeling for Evaluating Department of Agriculture Systems Approaches for Mitigating the Risk of European Cherry Fruit Fly, Animal and Rhagoletis cerasi (L.), in New York State Plant Health Inspection Cherry Fruit Under Quarantine Service Probabilistic Model Descriptions January 2020 Ver. 1 Center for Plant Health Science and Technology United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine 1730 Varsity Drive, Suite 300 Raleigh, NC 27606 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The presence of European cherry fruit fly (ECFF), Rhagoletis cerasi (L.), in New York State has resulted in a large area being quarantined since 2017. As a host of ECFF, cherry (principally P. avium L.) fruit produced in quarantine areas in New York State pose a risk to cherry-producing areas where fruit could be distributed. We evaluated systems approaches designed to mitigate the pest risk enough to allow safe movement of quarantine fruit to non-endangered areas. In 2018, we used a probabilistic model to evaluate the effectiveness of a systems approach at mitigating the risk of establishment of ECFF in new areas, to allow for limited movement of cherries from the quarantine area. The following three independent mitigation measures were the components of the tested systems approaches: • Low pest prevalence, as determined by regulatory trapping • Certified insecticide spraying, to kill flies • Limiting distribution of fruit to areas with no commercial cherry production Now, ECFF can be considered to have established in New York State, which brings into question low pest prevalence status. The simulation models depend on estimates of ECFF population sizes as a function of trap density, and our approach is unchanged from before.
    [Show full text]
  • Insights of Digital Transformation Processes in Industrial Symbiosis from the Viable Systems Approach (VSA)
    sustainability Article Insights of Digital Transformation Processes in Industrial Symbiosis from the Viable Systems Approach (VSA) Sergio Barile 1, Clara Bassano 2,*, Raffaele D’Amore 1, Paolo Piciocchi 3, Marialuisa Saviano 2 and Pietro Vito 1,* 1 Department of Management, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, RM, Italy; [email protected] (S.B.); [email protected] (R.D.) 2 Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy; [email protected] 3 Department of Political Sciences and Communication, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] (C.B.); [email protected] (P.V.) Abstract: The main purpose of this contribution is twofold: from a scientific point of view, to interpret the symbiotic logic through the framework of the Viable Systems approach (VSA), and from a managerial viewpoint, to provide the actors of industrial symbiosis initiatives, at any stage of their life cycle, with a guide to the most promising web-based solutions in terms of defining the best configuration for the symbiotic network. The article, therefore, aims to provide an in-depth study of the existing literature, which is still not exhaustive, and to consider synoptically and comparatively the modern platforms capable of supporting industrial symbiosis initiatives. The objective was pursued by examining 10 existing and functioning Web-based platforms, of which only a few were previously explored in the previous literature, while the recognition of the latter was carried out on a bibliometric basis to articulate in more detail the existing gap based on a panel of contributions as large as possible.
    [Show full text]
  • Sustainability and the Viable Systems Approach: Opportunities and Issues for the Governance of the Territory
    sustainability Article Sustainability and the Viable Systems Approach: Opportunities and Issues for the Governance of the Territory Sergio Barile, Bernardino Quattrociocchi, Mario Calabrese ID and Francesca Iandolo * ID Department of Management, Sapienza University, Rome 00161, Italy; [email protected] (S.B.); [email protected] (B.Q.); [email protected] (M.C.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 22 January 2018; Accepted: 3 March 2018; Published: 13 March 2018 Abstract: The aim of this paper is to propose an approach for representing the territory as a dynamic system of intersubjective relationships that is able to guarantee not only the efficiency of the processes within organizations, but also effective results in the general context and a sustainable impact on the broader environment. This contribution is developed on the basis of the viable systems approach (vSa), which is intended as a theoretical framework for the analysis of social phenomena as well as for orienting government processes. Using this theoretical framework, the proposed approach leads to the representation of the territory as a viable system that is capable of surviving in its own context by creating value for the other entities of the context (public groups of governments, communities, investors, natural environment, future generations, non-human species), thus defining the essential conditions for a sustainable equilibrium. The consideration that social phenomena have to be analyzed by taking into account the different relations and interactions that orient the behavior of individuals and, as a consequence, their main collective manifestations, i.e., organizations, underlines the importance of shifting from a traditional reductionist approach to a systemic approach.
    [Show full text]
  • Monitoring Viability and Sustainability in Healthcare Organizations
    sustainability Article Monitoring Viability and Sustainability in Healthcare Organizations Marialuisa Saviano 1, Clara Bassano 2,*, Paolo Piciocchi 3, Primiano Di Nauta 4,* and Mattia Lettieri 5 1 Department of Pharmacy and Pharmanomics Interdepartmental Center, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, Italy; [email protected] 2 Department of Management Studies and Quantitative Methods, “Parthenope” University of Naples, 80132 Naples, Italy 3 Department of Political, Social and Communication Studies, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, Italy; [email protected] 4 Department of Economics, University of Foggia, 71121 Foggia, Italy 5 Unipegaso, 80132 Naples, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] (C.B.); [email protected] (P.D.N.); Tel.: +39-339-692-2328 (C.B.); +39-088-178-1712 (P.D.N.) Received: 23 August 2018; Accepted: 29 September 2018; Published: 3 October 2018 Abstract: The paper aims to advocate the incorporating of the sustainability perspective into the management control system of healthcare organizations. The study is based on two main premises: (1) the evolution of business models towards a wide perspective of the sustainability approach; (2) the evolution of control systems in healthcare organizations towards a control-based approach to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of the service targeted primarily to cut costs and expenses. Our methodology is developed at theoretical and conceptual level starting from: (1) a literature review on the issue, highlighting main
    [Show full text]
  • NY ECFF Cherry Systems Approach
    United States Systems Approaches for Managing the Department of Risk Associated with the Domestic Agriculture Movement of Fresh Cherry, Prunus Animal and spp., Produced in Areas of New York Plant Health Inspection State Quarantined for European Cherry Service Fruit Fly, Rhagoletis cerasi (L.) April 2020 Risk Mitigation Document Final Version Center for Plant Health Science and Technology Phytosanitary Advanced Analytics Team B. Caton, K. Bigsby, and M. Colunga United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine 1730 Varsity Drive, Suite 300 Raleigh, NC 27606 1. Introduction 1.1. Background and Objective The objective of this report is to provide a general explanation for a quarantine systems approach for mitigating the risk of establishment of European cherry fruit fly (ECFF), Rhagoletis cerasi (L.), in new at-risk (endangered) areas via movement of cherry fruit (Prunus avium L., sweet cherry, and P. cerasus L., tart cherry) from domestic quarantines in New York State. ECFF was first detected in New York in 2017 (Barringer, 2018). The systems approaches would allow for limited distribution of fresh cherry fruit from the quarantine area to non-cherry producing areas as identified by the Agency. The first systems approach options were evaluated and used before the 2019 season (PPQ, 2018c). Captures of adult ECFF in traps have approximately doubled from 2018 to 2019 (PPQ and NYSDAM, 2019). Therefore, a critical difference in the situation now is that ECFF populations have effectively naturalized in New York State and begun dispersing inland, away from the border with Canada. This report describes an updated systems approach, accounting for the current situation, and the inclusion of some better or newer information on control tactics and on ECFF ecology.
    [Show full text]
  • Developing a Viable Model of the Enterprise Taking Into Consideration
    ISSN: 0798-1015 Vol. 41 (29) 2020 • Art. 6 Recibido/Received: 19/03/2020 • Aprobado/Approved:23/07/2020 • Publicado/Published: 06/08/2020 Developing a viable model of the enterprise taking into consideration the impact of the environment: studying economic and legal impact factors Formación de un modelo sostenible de la empresa teniendo en cuenta el impacto del ambiente: un estudio de los factores económicos y legales FEDOTOVA, Iryna V.1, AZARENKOV, Grygorii F.2, TYMOSHEVSKA, Iryna P.3, PYSARCHUK, Oksana V.4, BOCHAROVA, Nadiia А.5 Abstract The article is devoted to the actual problem of ensuring the enterprises viability on the basis of the methodical apparatus of cybernetic modeling of viable systems. On the basis of structural-level and systematic approaches, the basic levels and structure of a viable enterprise system are determined. Taking into account the influence of external and internal factors of environment the multilevel spherical model of ensuring the viability of the enterprise is proposed. key words: enterprise viability, viable system model, recursive structure, spheres model Resumen El artículo está dedicado a la cuestión apremiante de garantizar la viabilidad de las empresas basándose en el aparato metódico de la simulación cibernética de sistemas viables. Utilizando el enfoque sistemático, escalonado y estructural, se determinan los niveles básicos y la estructura de un sistema viable de la empresa. Se propone un modelo esférico multinivel para garantizar la viabilidad de la empresa, teniendo en cuenta la influencia de los factores del ambiente externo e interno. Palabras clave : viabilidad de la empresa, modelo del sistema viable, estructura recursiva, modelo de esferas 1 Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents
    Table of Contents Keynotes Business Information Systems Utilizing the Future Internet 1 John Krogstie Next Generation of Modelling Platforms 19 Dimitris Karagiannis and Niksa Visic Business Intelligence and Performance Management Using Semantically Annotated Models for Supporting Business Process Benchmarking 29 Hans-Georg Fill Performance Measurement Framework with Formal Indicator Definitions 44 Aivars Niedritis, Laila Niedrite, and Natalija Kozmina Using the Entity-Attribute-Value Model for OLAP Cube Construction 59 Peter Thanisch, Tapio Niemi, Marko Niinimaki, and Jyrki Nummenmaa Near Real-Time Data Warehousing with Multi-stage Trickle and Flip ... 73 Janis Zuters Data and Processes Data Consistency in Transactional Business Processes 83 Andreas Lodde, Antoine Schlechter, Pascal Bauler, and Fernand Feltz Business Process and Regulations: Approach to Linkage and Change Management 96 Peteris Rudzajs and Ilze Buksa Parallel Tabu Search Algorithm for Data Structure Composition 110 Eduard Babkin, Margarita Karpunina, and Natalia Aseeva Ontologies Survey on Ontology Languages 124 Diana Kalibatiene and Olegas Vasilecas Bibliografische Informationen digitalisiert durch http://d-nb.info/1014976723 X Table of Contents Advanced RDB-to-RDF/OWL Mapping Facilities in RDB2OWL 142 Guntars Bûmans and Kârlis Ceräns Export of Relational Databases to RDF Databases by Model Transformations 158 Sergejs Rikacovs Architectures An Analysis of Enterprise Architecture Maturity Frameworks 167 Martin Meyer, Markus Helfert, and Conor O'Brien Enterprise Resource
    [Show full text]
  • Systems Theory
    Systems theory From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from General systems theory) Jump to: navigation, search Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research.[citation needed] The term does not yet have a well-established, precise meaning, but systems theory can reasonably be considered a specialization of systems thinking, a generalization of systems science, a systems approach. The term originates from Bertalanffy's general system theory (GST) and is used in later efforts in other fields, such as the action theory of Talcott Parsons[1] and the social systems theory of Niklas Luhmann.[2] In this context the word systems is used to refer specifically to self- regulating systems, i.e. systems self-correcting through feedback. Self-regulating systems are found in nature, including the physiological systems of our body, in local and global ecosystems, and in climate—and in human learning processes. [3] Contents [hide] 1 Overview 2 Examples of applications 2.1 Systems biology 2.2 Systems engineering 2.3 Systems psychology 3 History 4 Developments 4.1 General systems research and systems inquiry 4.2 Cybernetics 4.3 Complex adaptive systems 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links 8.1 Organizations Overview[edit] Margaret Mead was an influential figure in systems theory. Contemporary ideas from systems theory have grown with diverse areas, exemplified by the work of biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy, linguist Béla H. Bánáthy, ecological systems with Howard T.
    [Show full text]
  • A Utilisation Focussed and Viable Systems Approach for Evaluating Technology Supported Learning
    European Journal of Operational Research 259 (2017) 626–641 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect European Journal of Operational Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ejor Decision support A utilisation focussed and viable systems approach for evaluating technology supported learning ∗ Diane Hart, Alberto Paucar-Caceres Business School, Manchester Metropolitan University, All Saints Campus, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH, UK a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: The paper uses a higher education case study to illustrate a participative theory of change approach to Received 24 November 2014 evaluating technology supported learning. The approach is informed by the Viable Systems Model (VSM) Accepted 31 October 2016 and utilisation-focussed evaluation and, falls within the tradition of facilitated modelling approaches to Available online 7 November 2016 operational research. We argue that this approach worked well in engaging primary evaluation users in a Keywords: process of collaborative action research to improving an educational development initiative and that the Problem structuring approach helped generate information relevant to answering its primary users’ questions, to inform their Viable systems model specific decisions and actions relevant to their quality enhancement responsibilities. Utilisation-focussed evaluation Through a case study, concerning the evaluation of an educational development initiative in a large Theories of change UK university, we illustrate how the VSM and utilisation-focussed evaluation could be used to: (a) con- Educational development ceptualise the connection between strategies and their components at different levels of organisation; (b) to clarify the role and interests of stakeholders in these strategies; and (c) to scope evaluation to be rele- vant to informing the decisions and actions of these stakeholders.
    [Show full text]
  • The Interaction Type Approach to Relationships Management
    Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-017-0643-9 ORIGINAL RESEARCH The interaction type approach to relationships management Giancarlo Nota1 · Rossella Aiello1 Received: 6 June 2017 / Accepted: 27 November 2017 © The Author(s) 2017. This article is an open access publication Abstract One important paradigm proposed in literature by the scientific community that advocates the viable system approach is the structure-system dichotomy for the capability to simplify the investigation of a phenomenon and recognize its scope and implications. The purpose of this paper is to provide a contribution to the debate which concerns the structure-system approach introducing the concept of interaction type as a bridge linking the relationship concept to that of interaction. The interaction type is first introduced in its simplest form using an UML class diagram that points out its role when the observer views changes from structure to system and from system to structure. Then, the recursive nature of interaction types is discussed in order to show how complex relationships, that involve more parties at several interaction levels, can be better represented and used. Finally, a model for the representation of transactions is proposed in which a transaction type can be interpreted as a particular case of interaction type and a transaction as an ordered set of interactions. Two case studies are presented in the paper; the first concerns an example of fund transfer and highlights how the interaction type hierarchy can be applied. The second case study is from the port community system of South Italy and shows how a clearance to enter or leave national waters can be described as “departure from” and “arrival to” interaction types.
    [Show full text]
  • Supporting the Design of Management Control Systems in Engineering Companies from Management Cybernetics Perspective
    TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT MÜNCHEN Lehrstuhl für Produktentwicklung Supporting the Design of Management Control Systems in Engineering Companies from Management Cybernetics Perspective Fatos Elezi Vollständiger Abdruck der von der Fakultät für Maschinenwesen der Technischen Universität München zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktor-Ingenieurs genehmigten Dissertation. Vorsitzender: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Zäh Prüfer der Dissertation: 1. Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Udo Lindemann 2. Prof. Iris D. Tommelein, Ph. D., University of California, Berkeley / USA Die Dissertation wurde am 28.09.2015 bei der Technischen Universität München eingereicht und durch die Fakultät für Maschinenwesen am 02.12.2015 angenommen. FOREWORD BY THE SUPERVISOR As the environment is becoming more volatile and unpredictable, adaptability to environmental changes has become a top priority for engineering companies. Fluctuations of customer preferences, changing legislation, constant pressure from competitors, new technologies, all these represent some of the external influences that contemporary engineering companies need to deal with dynamically. Management Control Systems (MCS) are management systems that provide mechanisms for dealing with these changes by ensuring the attainment of strategic and operational goals despite the high environmental volatility. Hence, they play a vital role in the competitiveness of engineering companies and their proper design is essential for success in the market. Although frameworks for understanding MCS exist, a systematical, method-based MCS design is still missing. This thesis takes a first step in this direction, by adopting a systemic view on MCS and by contemplating the complexity involved in MCS design. It recognizes that engineering companies are highly complex socio-technical systems, and that the design of MCS encompasses the planning, modeling and embedding of MCS into these systems.
    [Show full text]
  • This Paper Is from the BAM2019 Conference Proceedings
    This paper is from the BAM2019 Conference Proceedings About BAM The British Academy of Management (BAM) is the leading authority on the academic field of management in the UK, supporting and representing the community of scholars and engaging with international peers. http://www.bam.ac.uk/ Cybernetics in Project Management: a conceptual framework to analyze and enhance the performance of alliances via the application of Viable System Model Mohamad Tannir, Grant Mills and Ilias Krystallis Address: 1-19 Torrington place, W1CE 7HB Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Abstract Large infrastructure projects are becoming increasingly complex with ever-growing challenges ahead. To date, productivity growth in the infrastructure sector has been slow, when compared to manufacturing, but there are sector exemplars that have developed innovative approaches to delivery. Alliancing is one such approach that has showed promise in tackling some of the problems of poor infrastructure productivity. It is where all parties coalesce to form a project enterprise where they can share risks and rewards and remove transactional costs. This paper aims to investigate what is known about project alliancing, by reviewing it through the lens of a Viable System Model (VSM) and Cybernetics. As such it will explain and analyze the viability and capability of alliances in self-organizing and adaptability. This paper proposes a new approach and establishes a framework for project-based enterprises that will help them face challenges and adapt to environmental uncertainties. Word count: 6256 Track 17: Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management – Project Management session Introduction Infrastructure projects, especially large complex ones often known as megaprojects, are considered to affect societies and economies.
    [Show full text]