journal article Sep 01, 2006

Creative holism: a critical systems approach to complex problem situations

Abstract
AbstractThe 49th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences had, as its theme, ‘the potential impacts of systemics on society’. As my contribution to this, I want to discuss why I think a critical systems approach called ‘creative holism’ can help managers address complex problem situations. As is frequently stated, managers today face increasing complexity, change and diversity. Furthermore, the solutions they are offered to help them cope in this situation rarely seem to work. In this paper, it is argued that those solutions fail because they are not holistic or creative enough. The benefits to be gained from holism and creativity (in a systemic sense) are outlined, and a practical approach, ‘creative holism’, is specified which aims to better equip managers to deal with complex problem situations. If the argument is right then systemics has the potential to have both a significant and a beneficial impact upon society in the years to come. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Cited By
160
Systems Research and Behavioral Sci...
European Journal of Operational Res...
Metrics
160
Citations
28
References
Details
Published
Sep 01, 2006
Vol/Issue
23(5)
Pages
647-657
License
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Cite This Article
Michael C. Jackson (2006). Creative holism: a critical systems approach to complex problem situations. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 23(5), 647-657. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.799
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