Books
SCiO members have recommended a short list of books for beginners - immediately below. We recommend that in each section the books are read in the order listed. For more detail and a more complete list see the Table below.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEMS
- The Fifth Discipline: Art and Practice of the Learning Organization
Peter M Senge
VIABLE SYSTEMS MODEL
- The Fractal Organization: Creating Sustainable Organizations with the Viable System Model
Patrick Hoverstadt
- Diagnosing the System for Organizations
Stafford Beer
- The Heart of Enterprise
Stafford Beer
SOFT SYSTEMS
- Systems: Concepts, Methodologies and Applications
Brian Wilson
- Learning for Action: A Short Definitive Account of Soft Systems Methodology and Its Use for Practitioners, Teachers and Students
Peter Checkland
COMPLEXITY
- The Web of Life: A New Synthesis of Mind and Matter
Fritjof capra
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| GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEMS | ||
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Notes on the Synthesis of Form Christopher Alexander RRP: £17.95 Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Harvard University Press; New edition (1 Jul 1974) ISBN: 0674627512 |
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Holistic Management: Managing What Matters for Company Success William F Christoper RRP: £75.50 Hardcover: 503 pages Publisher: Wiley Blackwell (8 Jun 2007) ISBN: 0471740636 |
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Systems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers Michael C Jackson RRP: £34.99 Hardcover: 376 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (26 Sep 2003) ISBN: 0470845226 |
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Thinking in Systems: A Primer Donella Meadows RRP: £14.99 Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Earthscan Ltd; First edition (20 Feb 2009) ISBN: 1844077267 |
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The Fifth Discipline: Art and Practice of the Learning Organization Peter M Senge RRP: £20.00 Paperback: 464 pages Publisher: Random House Books; 2nd Revised edition (6 April 2006) ISBN: 1905211203 |
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An Introduction to General Systems Thinking Gerald M Weinberg RRP: £20.99 Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Dorset House Publishing Co Inc.,U.S.; Silver anniversary edition (15 April 2001) ISBN: 0932633491 |
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| VIABLE SYSTEMS MODEL | ||
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The Heart of Enterprise Stafford Beer RRP: £45.00 Paperback: 596 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; New edition (28 Sep 1994) ISBN: 0471948373 |
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Diagnosing the System for Organizations Stafford Beer OOP ~£20 Paperback: 178 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; New edition (28 Sep 1994) ISBN: 0471951366 |
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Designing Freedom Stafford Beer RRP: £47.50 Paperback: 108 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; New edition (28 Sep 1994) ISBN: 047195165X |
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Beyond Dispute: Invention of Team Syntegrity Stafford Beer RRP: £85.00 Hardcover: 380 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (23 Jun 1994) ISBN: 0471944513 |
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Cybernetics: a New Management Tool Barry Clemson OOP ~£90 Paperback: 263 pages Publisher: Gordon & Breach; Reprint edition (12 Nov 1991) ISBN: 2881245188 |
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The Viable System Model: Interpretations and Applications of Stafford Beer's VSM ed Raúl Espejo, Roger Harnden OOP ~£50 Hardcover: 484 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (26 Jul 1989) ISBN: 0471922889 |
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Organizational Transformation and Learning: A Cybernetic Approach to Management Raúl Espejo, Werner Schuhmann, Markus Schwaninger, Ubaldo Bilello RRP: £60.00 Hardcover: 364 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (28 Mar 1996) ISBN: 0471961825 |
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The Fractal Organization: Creating Sustainable Organizations with the Viable System Model Patrick Hoverstadt RRP: £24.99 Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (17 Oct 2008) ISBN: 0470060565 |
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Effective Top Management: Beyond the Failure of Corporate Governance and Shareholder Value Fredmund Malik RRP: £15.00 Hardcover: 287 pages Publisher: Wiley VCH; 3rd edition (4 April 2006) ISBN: 3527501177 |
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Intelligent Organizations: Powerful Models for Systemic Management Markus Schwaninger OOP ~£82 Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Springer; illustrated edition (10 Jul 2006) ISBN: 3540298762 |
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| CYBERNETICS | ||
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An Introduction to Cybernetics W. Ross Ashby OOP ~£25 Paperback Publisher: University Paperbacks (1965) ASIN: B00121XJOK |
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Design for a Brain - The Origin of Adaptive Behaviour W. Ross Ashby OOP ~£33 Paperback: 286 pages Publisher: Chapman and Hall / Science Paperbacks; second edition edition (1976) ISBN: 0412200902 |
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Cybernetics: or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine Norbert Wiener RRP: (available from US for ~£10) Paperback: 212 pages Publisher: The MIT Press; 2 edition (March 15, 1965) ISBN: 026273009X |
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| SOFT SYSTEMS | ||
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Learning for Action: A Short Definitive Account of Soft Systems Methodology and Its Use for Practitioners, Teachers and Students Peter Checkland RRP: £23.99 Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (28 Jul 2006) ISBN: 0470025543 |
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Systems: Concepts, Methodologies and Applications Brian Wilson RRP: £45.00 Hardcover: 410 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 2nd edition (27 Jun 1990) ISBN: 0471927167 |
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| COMPLEXITY | ||
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Harnessing Complexity: Organizational Implications of a Scientific Frontier Robert Axelrod, Michael D Cohen OOP ~£10 Paperback: 208 pages Publisher: Basic Books; Reprint edition (12 Jul 2001) ISBN: 0465005500 |
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The Web of Life: A New Synthesis of Mind and Matter Fritjof capra RRP: £9.99 Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Flamingo; New edition (1 Jul 1997) ISBN: 0006547516 |
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Reinventing the Sacred: A New View of Science, Reason, and Religion Stuart A Kaufmann RRP:£15.99 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Basic Books (15 April 2008) ISBN: 0465003001 |
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