Gary Metcalf, “Dialogue and Ecological Engineering in Social Systems Design”

A number of systems theorists and practitioners have described ways in which human systems of thought and interaction might be consciously designed. Banathy (1996) specifically proposed approaches to the design of human social systems through conversation and dialogue. More recently, Allen, et al, (2003) have proposed distinctions between environmental engineering and ecological engineering, which offer valuable insights into some of the difficulties inherent in the design of human systems. This paper will explore ways in which dialogue in the development of social systems might be related to ecological engineering in biological eco-systems, and how the design of organizational and other social systems might be better understood.

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David Ing, “Business Models and Evolving Economic Paradigms: A Systems Science Approach”

For professionals at the beginning of the 21st century, much of the conventional wisdom on business management and engineering is founded in the 20th century industrial / manufacturing paradigm. In developed economies, however, the service sector now dominates the manufacturing sector, just as manufacturing prevailed over the agricultural sector after the industrial revolution. Simultaneously, as end products have transitioned from material outputs to information in digital form, traditional business models are under siege. The economic sociology in this new world challenges the integrity of models, methods and interventions successful in an earlier paradigm.

Since 2005, IBM has encouraged universities to develop a new field of Services Science, Management and Engineering (SSME). Researchers are responding with development of a new science of service systems, but mature foundations will require years of collaboration. In the absence of a well-established science from which educational curricula can be deduced, teachers can develop educational programs for joint learning, guided inductively by relevance and pragmatism.

A new course on business models – ways in which business organizations operate and evolve – is proposed. Complementing traditional management and/or engineering curricula, this course challenges students to reconsider contexts, surface assumptions and explore alternative approaches to business. With a domain that includes both human and technological parts, systems science serves as a skeleton on which content can be structured.

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This session has a special focus on dialogue. It will follow a traditional format of sequential presentations, followed by a group discussion. The session will be chaired by Jed Jones.