2016-06-15
June 15 is the thirty-seventh meeting for Systems Thinking Ontario. The registration will be on Eventbrite.
Organizational Systems Thinking – The Viable System Model (VSM)
In 1972, Stafford Beer, founder of the Management Cybernetics discipline, developed the Viable System Model (VSM). This model emerged in the course of his work to develop a highly adaptive cybernetic system sufficient for coordinating the operation of Chile’s national economy. Inspired by the human nervous system, the Viable System Model applies Ross Ashby’s, “Law of Requisite Variety” as well as recursive structures and processes, to produce a compact, highly expressive model for reasoning about the health of organizations – organizations of virtually any size or level of complexity.
At this month’s meeting of Systems Thinking Ontario, Panagiotis Panagiotakopoulos will discuss his application of the Viable System Model toward a unified Sustainability Management System. Panagiotis utilized the VSM to develop an integrated view of three ISO sustainability standards.
This will be an excellent opportunity to enrich our understanding of the Viable System Model and discuss its application to pressing ecological, social and organizational challenges.
Venue:
Suggested pre-reading:
Panagiotis' Application of the Viable System Model to Sustainability Management
An Introduction to Viable System Model by Raúl Espejo and Antonia Gill
Participants should not feel limited to this suggested pre-reading, but should recognize that other attendees may have not read, or are reading differently, that content.
Agenda
Post-meeting artifacts
Bloggers are encouraged to write about their learning and experiences at the meeting. Links will be added to this page.
OCADU: For Systems Thinking Ontario, Panagiotis Panagiotakopoulos @closetheloopgr starting with basics of Viable System Model, before describing application on a unified Sustainability Management System. Bimodal knowledge distribution in audience, from those who are new to VSM, to some who are experts. (Lambert Lounge, OCADU, McCaul Street, Toronto, Ontario) 20160615