Professor Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998, University of Bielefield) was a sociologist and philosopher of social science. Introduction to Systems Theory (Luhmann, 2013) SSM provides an approach to question and study human interactions and transactions (an вЂinquiring systemвЂ™). SSM was developed because вЂhardвЂ™ systems engineering failed to cope with the complexities of human affairs. Checkland considers systems thinking a heuristic that helps to reduce the complexity of human interactions and transactions-he questions if there is truly such a thing as вЂsystemsвЂ™ in the world. The 1999 version of book Systems Thinking, Systems Practice combines his ground-breaking work on the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) with a retrospection. Professor Peter Checkland (Lancaster University) is one of the central figures in systems thinking and systems science.

Systems Thinking, Systems Practice (Checkland, 1999)

Senge spends considerable time and effort to explain how delays in or acceleration of feedback loops can make for valuable mechanisms to address complex problems, making this book an essential read. The book is a valuable read because of its hands-on application of systems thinking in a range of easy to understand examples. In the book, Senge discusses a range of management (and related) problems and discusses them through a systems thinking lens by considering feedback loops. Peter Senge (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT) has popularized systems thinking in the management sciences with his book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (Senge, 2006) Meadows unpacks systems in stocks, flows and feedback, and challenges us to think about the leverage points of systems: вЂњplaces in the system where a small change could lead to a large shift in behaviourвЂќ (ibid., 145). In Thinking in Systems: A Primer, Meadows very clearly sets out the strain of systems thinking that has inspired much of her work. Thinking in systems: A primer (Meadows, 2008)Дonella Meadows (1941-2001) was a pioneering environmental scientist, perhaps most known for her involvement in The Limits to Growth-the book that build on systems thinking and computer modelling and started the debate about the limits of the earthвЂ™s capacity to support human (economic) expansion (Meadows, Meadows, Randers, & Behrens, 1972). The following foundational and applied books (in no specific order) may be of interest to those who seek a further introduction into systems thinking and its use for regulatory governance and scholarship. Many of these provide superb introductions to the various strains of systems thinking discussed in this research paper. Serving the growth of interest in systems thinking in public policy, scholars from various fields have started to publish вЂpopular scienceвЂ™ books and relatively вЂeasy to readвЂ™ academic books.

Donella meadows thinking in systems