The viable system model and its applications in higher education: an overview

Abstract

Purpose Viable system model (VSM) is a powerful tool mainly used to describe, solve and control systems’ complex problems autonomously. It enables systems to be flexible so that they can survive by rapidly responding and adapting their behaviors to any expected or even unexpected changes in the surrounding environment. This study aims to provide a literature review of the VSM as a conceptual framework for designing viable systems, and its applications in the field of higher education (HE). Design/methodology/approach The review is based on explaining “What is organizational cybernetics?”, clarifying the principles of the VSM as a rational model for designing viable organizations, discussing its drawbacks and the extended VSM, and then presenting a literature review of VSM applications in HE based on papers mainly published from 1993 to 2017. Findings Although there are many contributions provided by applying the VSM in HE, the previous developed models used Beer’s framework with its drawbacks without referring to some important factors neglected within it which are discussed in this review. Originality/value The study presents a summary of previous research on this topic and clarifies the essential issues needed to be addressed to design viable systems. Based on the gaps identified in the literature, some issues have been emphasized to be addressed in future research.

Distributed leadership: A model for student leadership engagement

“…The Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) falls within the genre of systems thinking, defined as the "science which provides a deep understanding of systems and by which consistent inferences about their behaviour can be made" (Richmond 1987, referenced in Rezk andGamal 2019, 438). This then provided the researcher with a deeper perspective to understand and assess the dynamic complexity (Rezk and Gamal 2019) of the case study under review.…”

The Architecture Design of Electrical Vehicle Infrastructure Using Viable System Model Approach

“…This study also presents the efficacy and extensibility of the VSM approach in the context of transportation and logistics management problems. The VSM has been used in different domains and applications such as project management [35][36][37], information systems [38][39][40], sustainability management [41][42][43][44], production and manufacturing systems [45][46][47], energy management [48], and education systems [49].…”

Drilling down the viable system theories in business, management and accounting: A bibliometric review

“…Therefore, the VSM, in its diagnostic and planning tasks, has been applied to different types of systems, and at different levels of complexity, for its ability to detect the existence or the lack of adequate communication among the different systems concerned. Currently, various applications at different levels and sectors of economic and social activities confirm its potential: Walker (2017) reports on experiences in various councils in the United Kingdom; Burgess and Wake (2013) discuss its applicability to small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises; Harwood (2009) focuses on its design function by revising its application to the entire Scottish tourism sector; other applications are derived from the consulting environment (Chatzimichailidou & Katsavounis, 2012; Herzog et al, 2016; Hildbrand & Bodhanya, 2014; Maracha, 2016; Melé, Chinchilla, & López‐Jurado, 2019; Rezaee, Azar, Erz, & Nayeri, 2019; Rezk & Gamal, 2019). Other scholars (Adham, Kasimin, Mat Isa, Othman, & Ahmad, 2015; Mahamed Ismail, Welch, & Xu, 2015) outline the design contribution of the model to the sustainable quality of university research.…”