"Distinguished cyberneticist Stafford Beer states the case for a new science of systems theory and cybernetics, examining such issues as “A Liberty Machine in Prototype,” “Science in the Service of Man,” and “The Free Man in a Cybernetic World.”"
"Stafford Beer is undoubtedly among the world?s most provocative, creative, and profound thinkers on the subject of management, and he records his thinking with a flair that is unmatched. His writing is as much art as it is science. He is the most viable system I know."― Dr Russell L Ackoff , The Institute for Interactive Management, Pennsylvania, USA. "If ... anyone can make it [Operations Research] understandably readable and positively interesting it is Stafford Beer ... everyone in management ... should be grateful to him for using clear and at times elegant English and?even elegant diagrams."― The Economist In Brain of the Firm and The Heart of Enterprise Stafford Beer worked out the scientific laws that govern any viable system. They constitute the basis for this book which is concerned solely with the application of those laws to the understanding of any particular enterprise. In the form of a Handbook or Manager's Guide, Diagnosing the System deals with the fundamental problem of management?how to cope with complexity itself. It shows you how to design (or redesign) an enterprise in conformity with the laws of viability, and will help you to diagnose faults in your organizational structure.
THE HEART OF ENTERPRISE This book is addressed to managers and their professional advisors. When it introduces new terms, it carefully explains them. It replaces the underlying mathematics of cybernetics with topological diagrams that are intended to reflect mathematical rigour so that anyone can understand it. Many examples are used throughout the text, which is enlivened by discussions of the concepts and arguments couched in terms of 'bar talk' between imagined readers. But the final part on implementation 'goes into detail about a group of related applications.
PLATFORM FOR CHANGE This book is addressed to executives of all kinds of organizations and to their professional advisors. Platform for Change is an exhilarating unusual and ingenious book by one of the most creative minds and rigorous thinkers of the 20th century envisioning new concepts for a new sort of world ... Platform is about coping with profound change and most notably about courageous alteration by applying the innovative findings of the science of cybernetics and complexity. The reader is enlightened by reflecting on the author's thinking about a better state of the world.
The Meaning of Operational Research and Management Cybernetics
Presents the basic approaches underlying Stafford Beer's thinking since the publication of his first book in 1959. Deals with a philosophy of science relevant to management and particularly with the nature of models. Demonstrates all major points through examples quoted of management science applications to industry and government.
The arguments in this fascinating, interdisciplinary book are wide-ranging, running the gamut from company management to the nature of consciousness. The author discusses the theory of team syntegrity and the social technique of syntegration which works in practice, offering a potent management tool for developmental planning.
"Stafford Beer is undoubtedly among the world's most provocative, creative, and profound thinkers on the subject of management, and he records his thinking with a flair that is unmatched. His writing is as much art as it is science. He is the most viable system I know." Dr Russell L Ackoff, The Institute for Interactive Management, Pennsylvania, USA. "If . anyone can make it [Operations Research] understandably readable and positively interesting it is Stafford Beer . everyone in management . should be grateful to him for using clear and at times elegant English and . even elegant diagrams." The Economist This is the second edition of a book which has already become a management 'standard' both in universities and on the bookshelves of managers and their advisers. Brain of the Firm develops an account of the firm based upon insights derived from the study of the human nervous system, and is a basic text from the author's theory of viable systems. Despite the neurophysiology, the book is written for managers to understand. The companion volume to this book is The Heart of Enterprise, which is intended to support and complement this text. "Stafford Beer's works represent required reading for everyone who believes that a capacity for rigorous thinking is an essential attribute of today's successful managers and administrators. Brain of the Firm shows a first-rate intellect at work and provides concepts, models and inspiration for both practitioners and teachers." Sir Douglas Hague, CBE
"Stafford Beer is undoubtedly among the world's most provocative, creative, and profound thinkers on the subject of management, and he records his thinking with a flair that is unmatched. His writing is as much art as it is science. He is the most viable system I know." -- Dr Russell L Ackoff , The Institute for Interactive Management, Pennsylvania, USA "If...anyone can make it [Operations Research] understandably readable and positively interesting it is Stafford Beer...everyone in management...should be grateful to him for using clear and at times elegant English and ... even elegant diagrams." -- The Economist This is the companion volume to Brain of the Firm and addresses the nature of viable systems, those capable of surviving. It does not use the neurophysiological basis elucidated in brain, but develops the same theory from first principles. This book declares that every enterprise is a system, and in particular must be a viable system. Viability is not just a matter of economic solvency; we need laws that govern the capacity of any enterprise to maintain independent existence. The Heart of Enterprise is full of examples (actual, author-generated examples) taken from management practice. "I consistently find that Stafford Beer provides the most useful analytical framework for understanding and managing an enterprise--public or private. Heart of The Enterprise offers a demanding but rewarding exposition of his approach and applications." -- Sir Douglas Hague , CBE
Do teorie kybernetiky zavádí kniha nový princip, jehož přesná formulace by vyžadovala použití metod matematické teorie množin. Nazývá ho principem vnějšího doplnění a jeho úlohu vidí v možnostech odstranit nesnáze plynoucí zneúplnosti jazyka používajícího nerozhodnutelných výroků. Tak je tomu i u neúplného "jazyka řízení" když popisuje průmyslovou realitu. Kybernetický pohled na řízení vede autora k problému kybernetické továrny pojímané jako modelživého organismu. Její kybernetické stroje jsou modely izomorfní s určitou částí mozku. Doslov napsal Oldřich Kýn.
