Realising the Potential of Systems Thinking
The Blockley Lectures in Systems
Location - University of Bristol, Queen's School, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TR
The Systems Centre presents the third Blockley Lecture
Realising the Potential of Systems Thinking
by Prof Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson is Professor of Management Systems and Dean of the Hull University Business School. He has written 4 books on systems thinking and its applications and edited 6 others as well as publishing over 80 articles in refereed journals. His latest book ‘Systems Thinking : Creative Holism for Managers’, Wiley, has been translated into 4 languages. Mike is a past-President of the UK Systems Society, the International Federation for Systems Research, and the International Society for the Systems Sciences; and is current editor of Systems Research and Behavioral Science. He is a Chartered IT Professional and a Fellow of the British Computer Society, the Cybernetics Society, the Chartered Management Institute and the Operational Research Society. He has undertaken many consultancy engagements with both profit and non-profit organisations using a systems approach. Mike was awarded an OBE in the January 2011 honour’s list for services to higher education and business.
Abstract
The talk will provide a brief account of the origins of systems thinking and its development over the past fifty years. It will review some of the successes and failures of the systems approach. Looking forward, the new opportunities available for systems thinking will be considered – enhanced areas of application; the provision of theoretical guidance to other applied management disciplines; and contributing to operationalising the ‘big society’ agenda.
Finally, the talk will look at how systems thinking needs to change if it is to realise its full potential.