Stafford Beer Book order

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 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.

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 recognized as a groundbreaking thinker in management, blending art and science in his writing. His work is noted for its clarity and elegance, making complex concepts accessible to managers. This second edition has established itself as a standard reference in both academic and professional settings. It presents a framework for understanding organizations through the lens of the human nervous system, forming a foundational text for Beer's theory of viable systems. Written specifically for managers, the book aims to enhance their understanding of organizational dynamics. It is complemented by a companion volume, which further supports its concepts. Beer's writings are essential for anyone who values rigorous thinking as a key trait for successful management today. This book showcases his intellectual prowess and offers valuable models and inspiration for both practitioners and educators in the field.

Stafford Beer is recognized as one of the most innovative and insightful thinkers in management, blending art and science in his writing. His work is celebrated for its clarity and elegance, making complex concepts accessible to a broad audience. This companion volume to "Brain of the Firm" explores the nature of viable systems—those capable of survival—without relying on neurophysiological principles. Instead, it builds on foundational theories, asserting that every enterprise must function as a viable system. Viability extends beyond mere economic stability; it encompasses the laws that enable an enterprise to sustain its independent existence. The text is rich with real-world examples from management practice, illustrating Beer's analytical framework. Sir Douglas Hague commends the work for its challenging yet rewarding insights into managing both public and private enterprises. This volume is essential for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of organizational viability and the principles that underpin effective management.

"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.

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.