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Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos and Complexity - A Platform for Designing Business Architecture
by
This book is a direct result of the author's work with the systems methodology first introduced by the author's partner, Russell Ackoff.
It's a holistic approach to systems methodology. It deals with all dimensions of a system: structure, function and process. Peter Senge introduced Systems Thinking/practice. Interact clients asked the author to write a book to take them "
Paperback, Second Edition, 333 pages
Published
December 1st 2005
by Butterworth-Heinemann
(first published May 10th 1999)
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Start your review of Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos and Complexity - A Platform for Designing Business Architecture

So, the rating (we start at 5 stars):
+1 star for some cases included,
-1 star for the cases not being MECE, not anywhere close,
+1 star for quite a lot of ground covered, even if in huge leaps, maybe it's even going to a be a reread,
-1 star for a lot of stuff not detalised into demonstrable detalization,
-1 star for a lot of concepts left unlinked with practicalities,
+1 star for insights included, there were some, even though these were very generally formulated,
-1 star for the abstraction overused ...more
+1 star for some cases included,
-1 star for the cases not being MECE, not anywhere close,
+1 star for quite a lot of ground covered, even if in huge leaps, maybe it's even going to a be a reread,
-1 star for a lot of stuff not detalised into demonstrable detalization,
-1 star for a lot of concepts left unlinked with practicalities,
+1 star for insights included, there were some, even though these were very generally formulated,
-1 star for the abstraction overused ...more

کتاب تفکر سیستمی آًقای قراجه داغی از اون دسته کتابهایی است که می بایست چندین بار خوانده بشه نه به خاطر اینکه مطلب برای فهم سخته بلکه نکات ریز و درشت این قدر زیاده که مسلما با یک بار خوندن همه رو درک نخواهیم کرد. البته پس از خواندن این کتاب نباید از منابعش گذشت چون اصل مطالب تفکر سیستمی در منابعی است که معرفی شده است و کتاب آقای قراجه داغی شروع بسیار خوبی برای ورود به این دنیاست.
کتاب با این سوال اصلی شروع میشه که چرا موفقیت های ما عموما باشکست روبرو می شوند؟مشکل اصلی موفقیت ها چیست و دشمن اصلی ...more
کتاب با این سوال اصلی شروع میشه که چرا موفقیت های ما عموما باشکست روبرو می شوند؟مشکل اصلی موفقیت ها چیست و دشمن اصلی ...more

I wouldn't necessarily turn to this book if you're looking for a thrilling read - BUT, Gharajedaghi's work on organizational management and systems thinking is along some of the best work in the field (similar to Ackoff). Gharajedaghi manages to convey complex system analysis principles in digestible ways - which if you've ever studied systems, is REALLY helpful.
...more

This book was really great to me. Such a deep look at the sociocultural systems, connections between design, operations and holistic thinking helped to improve my understanding of organizations. Very good explanation on concepts of chaos, complexity and interdependency in systems that lead to emergent development. What I really did not like was business architecture - reasoning on concepts, diagrams and case studies seemed a bit shallow, outdated. Design thinking was also somehow kind of outdate
...more

Unlike the Fifth Discipline, this is a book about systems thinking that is quite difficult to read, for mainly two reasons: the brief discussion that is made by very important principles (the principles that guide a system, for example), without further examples, and the apparent lack of organization on writing it.
Some of the important points:
- A system is influenced by 5 "building blocks": openness (the size of its transactional environmental, or place that we can influence), purposefulness (th ...more
Some of the important points:
- A system is influenced by 5 "building blocks": openness (the size of its transactional environmental, or place that we can influence), purposefulness (th ...more

Oct 21, 2016
Chris Waddle
added it
Nice book about the critical need to architect companies in a way that attends to the individuals that make up the company as purposeful actors who act in the system as voluntary actors who have a need for personal agency. Organisation who do well need to constitute themselves using systems thinking like presented in this book.

To me its a great book of proper historical data analysis of behaviours and evidence of events. I am still reading it, it has become a table book on the work desk. I am using it as a basis for my strategy development in various organizations regardless of its nature or culture. It's a great book for those who want to understand the "nature of things and events" in organizations, and in life. While I find it fascinating, I also understand that It is also not for everyone. As it is "deep" and inte
...more

It's definitely a 5 for wholeness, depth, systematicity, structuring, language, and the content itself, which provides many things to think and reason about. It really captures and provides an explanation of the sociocultural processes we encounter every day in organizations. I'm glad this book exists.
But, oftentimes it's a way too abstract, lacking concrete examples, with gaps in explanation or the context of the terminology used. Moreover, almost all diagrams have own convention with cryptic m ...more
But, oftentimes it's a way too abstract, lacking concrete examples, with gaps in explanation or the context of the terminology used. Moreover, almost all diagrams have own convention with cryptic m ...more

"Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos and Complexity - A Platform for Designing Business Architecture" is a powerful whirlwind tour through a number of essential topics in systems thinking, such as holist thinking, design thinking, and operational thinking. Jamshid Gharajedaghi starts the book off with a bang, taking the reader through dealing with concepts such as complexity and emergent system properties. As the book progresses, the focus shifts from explaination to teaching the reader modes of th
...more

My only issue with Gharajedaghi's book is his tendency to subdivide systems and processes, describe them in detail as slight variations on each other, and then fail to integrate those subdivisions as an integral part of some greater level of understanding. To me, it seemed like splitting hairs for page counts. Like most books on complexity and systems theory, it's difficult to critique because the subject matter is generally the same but its presentation is unique (different vocabulary, ordering
...more

The first part about systems and systems thinking describes some kind of method how to analyse systems.
1 - formulate the "mess" - that is he name for the current situation
2 - create target struktures in interations.
The second part with the examples were somehow "dry" but nevertheless valuable examples.
I will come back tp the examples and will read the book a second time, so i can recommend it! ...more
1 - formulate the "mess" - that is he name for the current situation
2 - create target struktures in interations.
The second part with the examples were somehow "dry" but nevertheless valuable examples.
I will come back tp the examples and will read the book a second time, so i can recommend it! ...more

Unbelievably insightful book on how we do, can, and should think when it comes to ANYTHING organizational (work, friendships, family, software that interacts with other software, ANYTHING!).
Not a super-simple read, but SO worth it! I have already used various insights and examples from the first four chapters in my consulting.
So good. I just finished buying it online!
Not a super-simple read, but SO worth it! I have already used various insights and examples from the first four chapters in my consulting.
So good. I just finished buying it online!

I love Jamshid's work. He has taken the mantle of Simons and those who came before him and further developed the thinking around complexity and systems thinking. This is one of my regular references.
...more

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Aug 21, 2013
Steen Sørensen
added it
Nice easy going introduction to systens thinking.
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