​The last two decades increasingly have challenged the field of management by confronting it with rapidly growing levels of dynamism, inter-connectedness, and complexity. Systems-based management approaches, their promise already proven, offer great potentials for influencing and coping with this development. This collection of essays offers ideas and exemplary case studies from experts in systemic management, organiza-tional cybernetics, and system dynamics for meeting the challenges in so-cio-economic systems. This book was compiled to honor the academic achievement of Markus Schwaninger, a leading protagonist in developing the field of systemic management and organizational cybernetics. His stature in the field is demonstrated in the forewords by Raul Espejo and John Sterman. The efforts of 18 researchers and practitioners, all closely related to Markus Schwaninger, offer conceptual and empirical approaches that will allow managers and advanced students of the management profession to analyze, understand, and design intelligent organizations. The book weaves its content from both theory and practice and offers hints for improving a variety of organizations, both private and public, profit and non-profit, and large and small.​

This is not a book about how to run a company. It is about how to look at the world differently. Ultimately, this will help the reader to deal with complexity more effectively. The market today is flooded with books which claim to show paths to higher organizational effectiveness. Most of these recommendations are given as “recipes for success” and on pragmatic grounds. This book, however, is targeted at all those who want access to the powerful models of systemic manageme nt in order to improve their skills in coping with complexity. The contents are of interest to people who deal with organizations – as leaders and mana gers or specialists, or as advanced students. The purpose is to give them conceptual and methodological guidelines by means of which they can. • Increase the “intelligence” of exis ting organizations by introducing or substituting a better design; • Shape new organizations so that they are “intelligent” from the very start. What are the distinctive features of this book? The book is the result of a long term research effort in to the deep seated, invariant features of organizations, ba sed on the Systems Approach, namely, Organizational Cybernetics and System Dynamics. These sciences have specialized in uncovering such basi c properties. They convey a fresh, sophisticated and unorthodox perspective. It is therefore worthwhile acq uiring the capability of looking at the social world in this different way.

This is not a book about how to run a company. It is about how to look at the world differently. Ultimately, this will help the reader to deal with complexity more effectively. The market today is flooded with books which claim to show paths to higher organizational effectiveness. Most of these recommendations are given as ”recipes for success“ and on pragmatic grounds. This book, however, is targeted at all those who want access to the p- erful models of systemic management in order to improve their skills in coping with complexity. The contents are of interest to people who deal with organizations – as leaders and managers or specialists, or as advanced students. The purpose is to give them conceptual and methodological guidelines by means of which they can Increase the "intelligence" of existing organizations by introducing or substituting a better design; Shape new organizations so that they are "intelligent" from the very start.

The Intelligent Organisation proposes a radically different way of designing organisations to capitalise on the potential offered by contemporary information capability. Intelligent Organisations, designed backwards from their customers, recognise information as their key source of competitive advantage. An Intelligent Organisation uses information to drive learning and adaptation at the level of individuals, tasks, processes and the whole organisation, to deliver transformational changes in business performance. This fully updated 2nd edition explores how to enable this change through systemic reinvention. Drawing on proven organisational applications exploiting data, information and management science, and grounded in tested theory, this book is not about incremental improvement, but about fundamentally rethinking the whole. Building on the first edition, two chapters have been added to apply the ideas of the Intelligent Organisation to the individual as well as to the nation. Further discussion on the current issues around technology and ethics have been incorporated, as well as review questions and improved pedagogy. The text contains updated case studies throughout, and is accompanied by a dedicated website, www.intelligentorganisation.com, with support materials for lecturers. Uniquely bridging the gap between information systems and organisational behaviour, The Intelligent Organisation will be of particular significance to Masters and Undergraduate students of Information Systems, Knowledge Management and Organisational Theory.

Demonstrates how an organization can manage its information more effectively in order to increase its capacity to learn and adapt. Examines the relationship between information management and the intelligent organization and highlights the concept of environmental scanning, defined as the acquisition and use of information about the organization's external environment. Discusses the management of information sources and examines the use and potential of online databases and Internet resources. Includes case studies of environmental scanning in several organizations.

New tools for managing complexity Does your organization manage complexity by making things more complicated? If so, you are not alone. According to The Boston Consulting Group’s fascinating Complexity Index, business complexity has increased sixfold during the past sixty years. And, all the while, organizational complicatedness—that is, the number of structures, processes, committees, decision-making forums, and systems—has increased by a whopping factor of thirty-five. In their attempt to respond to the increasingly complex performance requirements they face, company leaders have created an organizational labyrinth that makes it more and more difficult to improve productivity and to pursue innovation. It also disengages and demotivates the workforce. Clearly it’s time for leaders to stop trying to manage complexity with their traditional tools and instead better leverage employees' intelligence. This book shows you how and explains the implications for designing and leading organizations. The way to manage complexity, the authors argue, is neither with the hard solutions of another era nor with the soft solutions—such as team building and feel-good “people initiatives”—that often follow in their wake. Based on social sciences (notably economics, game theory, and organizational sociology) and The Boston Consulting Group’s work with more than five hundred companies in more than forty countries and in various industries, authors Yves Morieux and Peter Tollman recommend six simple rules to manage complexity without getting complicated. Showing why the rules work and how to put them into practice, Morieux and Tollman give managers a much-needed tool to reinvigorate people in the face of seemingly endless complexity. Included are detailed examples from companies that have achieved a multiplicative effect on performance by using them. It’s time to manage complexity better. Employ these six simple rules to foster autonomy and cooperation and to effectively handle business complexity. As a result, you will improve productivity, innovate more, reengage your workforce, and seize opportunities to create competitive advantage.

The smart city is a driver of change, innovation, competitiveness, and networking for businesses and organizations based on the concept of the Sustainable Development Goals for the 2030 agenda. The importance of a new paradigm regarding the externalities of the environment, citizen welfare, and natural resources in cities as an impact of urban ecosystems is the main objective for sustainable development in cities through 2030. Smart Cities, Citizen Welfare, and the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals provides innovative insights into the key developments and new trends associated with online challenges and opportunities in smart cities based on the concept of the Sustainable Development Goals. The content within this publication represents research encompassing corporate social responsibility, economic policy, and city planning. This book serves as a vital reference source for urban planners, policymakers, managers, entrepreneurs, graduate-level students, researchers, and academicians seeking coverage on topics centered on conceptual, technological, and design issues related to smart city development in Europe.

In response to changes in internal needs, external organizational environments, and the expectations of shareholders – most notably, citizens and politicians – innovation is now an important common-place aspect of governance and the running of public service organizations. Given the ongoing financial and economic crisis, which presents a significant challenge to public service organizations (PSOs), there is a growing need to establish innovative strategies in order to survive the crisis, and provide the basis for future sustainable growth. This book contributes towards the discussion of PSO innovation through theoretically informed empirical studies of innovation across a range of theories, topics and fields. Studies examine the role of citizens, managers, and public service organizations; the adoption, diffusion, implementation, and management of innovations; collaboration, communication, and information technologies; and decision-making, ethical principles, HR management, leadership, and procurement. The studies – which examine the situation in a range of countries in Europe and Asia – cover a range of different organizations such as non-profits, health service organizations, and local governments. This book was originally published as a special issue of Public Management Review.

It is a tragic paradox of American health care: a system renowned for world-class doctors, the latest medical technologies, and miraculous treatments has shocking inadequacies when it comes to the health of the urban poor. Urban Health Knowledge Management outlines bold, workable strategies for addressing this disparity and eliminating the “knowledge islands” that so often disrupt effective service delivery. The book offers a wide-reaching global framework for organizational competence leading to improved care quality and outcomes for traditionally underserved clients in diverse, challenging settings. Its contributors understand the issues fluently, imparting both macro and micro concepts of KM with clear rationales and real-world examples as they: • Analyze key aspects of KM and explains their applicability to urban health. • Introduce the KM tools and technologies most relevant to health care delivery. • Offer evidence of the role of KM in improving clinical efficacy and executive decision-making. • Provide extended case examples of KM-based programs used in Washington, D.C. (child health), South Africa (HIV/AIDS), and Australia (health inequities). • Apply KM principles to urban health needs in developing countries. • Discuss new approaches to managing, evaluating, and improving delivery systems in the book’s “Measures and Metrics” section. Urban health professionals, as well as health care executives and administrators, will find Urban Health Knowledge Management a significant resource for bringing service delivery up to speed at a time of great advancement and change.