How to restore Bertalanffian systems thinking

Mulej, Matjaž; Potočan, Vojko; Ženko, Zdenka; Kajzer, Stefan; Uršič, Duško; Knez-Riedl, Jožica; Lynn, Monty L.; Ovsenik, Jozef

doi:10.1108/03684920410514346

Cited by 50 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Bertalanffy's most cited definition of system (95) is given in (96) According to Bertalanffy, systems theory is a "worldview of holism and attacks over-specialization; it is not one of many specialized disciplines of science; its methodologies and methods are supposed to support holism" (96), which means that systems theory uses holism to avoid reductionism on the assumption that the system does not have to equal the sum of its parts (96) (98) but rather that the 'whole is greater than the sum of its parts' -referred to as the system principle or holism (99) -or with a slightly different view said by Arbnor and Bjerke (40) "The whole is more (or is less) than the sum of its parts" along with "not only the parts but also their relations are essential, as the latter will lead to plus or minus effects (synergy)" (see Figure 7). The systems theory is supported by Mulej in (100) where he says that "humankind is in crisis due to lack of holism and due to too much reductionism", which is also shared by Mulej et al in (101) where they state that "holism is essential for humankind" and that there is a bigger chance of success in complex areas with a more holistic view. …”

Section: Systems Theorymentioning

confidence: 68%

Exploring an open-loop RFID implementation in the automotive industry

Hellström

Wiberg

2009

2009 IEEE Conference on Emerging Technologies &Amp; Factory Automation

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This master thesis has been carried out in Next Generation Innovative Logistics (NGIL), which is a VINN Excellence Center based at Lund University sponsored by Vinnova, the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation System. III ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to show my gratitude to my supervisor, Daniel Hellström, at the packaging logistics division at LTH for his expertise, help and suggestions and for his support during this thesis.I would also like to express thanks to Mikael Erlandsson at Plastal and Olle Hydbom at RFID Constructors for supplying me with the information and data I needed to complete this thesis.Last but not least, a big thanks to my family for giving me hope and strength and support through this thesis. This thesis couldn't have been done without your support. RFID technology has become very popular in recent years (1). It is said to have potential to increase the level of automation (2), reduce the labor levels and to improve the supply chain in areas such as inventory, visibility etc. (3) (see chapter 1.2.1 for more examples). PAGO is one of the first major companies in Sweden that have implemented an open-loop RFID system (see chapter 1.2.3.2) that tag on item level. They are also a supplier of injection-molded and surfacetreated plastic to the automotive industry; an industry that is characterized by high level of automation and fierce competition. It is thus very interesting to investigate why and how PAGO implemented RFID technology; did any problem arise? How did they solve them? What where their underlying reasons?To minimize the errors caused by manual updating -resulting in incorrect storage levels -PAGO have implemented a RFID system. The system has 24 RFID gates, divided into seven places: injection molding, entry and exit point of high storage 1, paint shop, entry and exit point of high storage 2 and after the sequencing process. The RFID system will help reduce the effects of entering the wrong quantity at the entry and exit point for high storage 1 and 2. It will also reduce the effects of specifying the wrong color or product. Furthermore, it will also help them verifying that each product is correctly assembled.During the implementation, PAGO encountered some problems with ESD, reading too much or too little, tags becoming partially or completely detached and a long installation time. Most of these problems have been fixed but some of them remain.There exist several reasons why PAGO implemented a RFID system, other than verifying the assembly and minimizing the effect caused by manual updating. One of those is believed to be because of the nature of the company -They only have 8h to sequence deliver the order, high turnover rates with expensive products and highly automated processes. Another reason is that RFID was a solution that solved both of their specified problems, but also supplying them with more features. Other reasons are that it will probably become a demand from Volvo in the future and that the technology is more future proof than any other technology that would ha...

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Section: Systems Theorymentioning

confidence: 68%

Exploring an open-loop RFID implementation in the automotive industry

Hellström

Wiberg

2009

2009 IEEE Conference on Emerging Technologies &Amp; Factory Automation

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“…By summarizing and totaling the researchers in this article, the aims of general systems theory are (Bertalanffy, 1955;Skyttner, 1996;Boulding, 1964;Mulej et al, 2004): 1) There is a general tendency towards integration in the various sciences.…”

Section: General Systems Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Knowledge Creation Behavior in Organizations: A General Systems Theory Perspective

Jafari¹,

Bourouni²,

Amiri³

2009

ASS

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Knowledge creation has been widely recognized to be strategically important for organizational learning and innovation. The lack of empirical work in this area has limited our understanding of this important phenomenon. Previous studies have focused on limited aspects of the overall knowledge creation process, such as inter-organizational knowledge transfer, knowledge flows within the firms and the interplay of tacit and explicit knowledge. In developing countries, there is a sense that rich countries have failed to create knowledge that is appropriate to local needs. This study is a comprehensive analysis of the knowledge creation behavior by using general systems theory and HIV/AIDS epidemic which can help us to better understand of this process.

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“…Additionally, each system is defined as a whole, and all systems have a feedback loop for selfcommunications (von Bertalanffy, 1968). The systemic approach to innovation identifies operational elements to determine the internal and external dependencies of innovation (Mulej et al, 2004;Stephens, 2013). Furthermore, adaptability to new technology needed a basic structure with an open-source technological approach to innovation (Allen & Geller, 2012).…”

Section: Foundation and Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building Productivity in Virtual Project Teams

Hamersly¹,

Land²

2015

GeP

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The steady increase in project failure rates is leaving businesses searching for better integration techniques to virtualize their project environments. Through virtualization, organizations may have positive impacts on communities across geographical boundaries and resource constraints. The focus of this phenomenological study was to explore, via the experiences of successful project management practitioners, best practice strategies for integrating virtual project teams through data analysis. The conceptual framework included von Bertalanffy's general systems theory, decomposition model of business process and project management frameworks, and the recomposition approach. Twenty-two senior project managers with more than 5 years of experience managing virtual project environments participated in semistructured telephone interviews. The van Kaam process employing normalization and bracketing approaches in data analysis resulted in the emergence of 34 thematic categories. The 10 most common themes culminated in the identification of strategies relevant for virtual project teams. The major themes pertained to 3 broad areas: (a) structure that accommodates skills and technology for virtual team success, (b) governance leading to efficient virtual project team management, and (c) collaboration practices across diverse environments. This study involved the exploration of the experiences of the participants. Using the van Kaam method for normalization of the data and clustering like experiences into thematic statements, the study provided a plethora of new information concentrated on 10 themes that emerged.

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How to restore Bertalanffian systems thinking

Cited by 50 publications

References 4 publications

Exploring an open-loop RFID implementation in the automotive industry

Exploring an open-loop RFID implementation in the automotive industry

Predicting Knowledge Creation Behavior in Organizations: A General Systems Theory Perspective

Building Productivity in Virtual Project Teams

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