Human Systems Management - Volume 31, issue 1

Authors: Georgantzas, Nicholas C.

Article Type: Editorial

Abstract: Catering to the growing community of scholars and practitioners who see the needed transformation and societal change in our modern temporality, this article serves as a preamble to a fascinating collection of five applied-research contributions. The article also defines our modernity's problematic mess, an attempt that creates the need to reconcile three hellenic ‘–isms’, three philosophical constructs most pertinent to our modernity's quest for transformational and societal change. They are pertinent because all five research contributions this guest editorial is about rely on one or more of them either explicitly or implicitly. Newcomers to transformational and societal change research will …find the brief overview of the requisite philosophical background useful as it emphasizes philosophy's value for future research. By integrating multiple, diverse perspectives, this Human Systems Management (HSM) Special Issue can serve as a prototype for future HSM special issues, which will further integrate transformation and societal change with research and practice in managing human, i.e., natural, systems and help identify new, exciting opportunities for future research in social science and beyond. Show more

Keywords: Aristotle, democracy, dualism, economism, Heidegger, leverage, modernity, monism, parmenides, Plato, pluralism politics, society, systems, temporality, totalism

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2011-0754

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 1-9, 2012

Authors: Evangeliou, Christos C.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: When precious pieces of Socratic wisdom in action are collected from Plato's Apology and other Platonic Dialogues and are compared with similar findings in the works of Xenophon, especially in his Apology, Symposium and Memorabilia, a clear and coherent picture of Socrates emerges as an ethical teacher of hellenic Aretē (~virtue): he can inspire others to excellence by following his example of living his simple life and facing his tragic death calmly. In this sense, Socrates emerges as something more substantial philosophically than the ironist and skilful practitioner of the Socratic method, as has been presented by many scholars. As …an ethical philosopher, the platonic Socrates was very different from Aristotle and John Rawls, and as a Hellenic philosopher in practice, he would appear to be closer to the ancient Indian Gurus than to contemporary analytical philosophers. This aspect of Socratic ethical philosophy is relevant and needed today more than ever before, as it provides an antidote to moral relativism and other sorts of sophistry in the vital processes of transformation and societal change. Show more

Keywords: Apology, Aretē (~virtue), ethics, Hellenic, Indian, modernity, philosophy, Plato, Socrates

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2011-0755

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 11-16, 2012

Authors: Hiwaki, Kensei

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: A viable human future may necessitate Sustainable Development that, in turn, requires soundness of diverse society-specific cultures (‘Cultures’) across the world. It is not farfetched to think that Sustainable Development relies on a constantly generated entelechy of all humanity—the most intrinsic energy source of human societies—that may naturally require a perpetual enrichment of diverse Cultures. Such enrichment may, no doubt, conduce to generating reasonably sound cultures (‘Sound Cultures’) across the world to help maintain perpetually a long-term, future-oriented sound communal value system that consists of human integrity, solidarity, continuity and mutuality. Above all, such enrichment may conduce to a dynamic …communal harmony that perpetually integrates and equilibrates material-and-spiritual values, individual-and-communal values, traditional-and-progressive values and own-and-other's values. Such diverse Sound Cultures across the world may generate relational mutuality that pays due respects to all peoples and societies in the world. Also, Sound Cultures enhance human entelechy for personal vitality, organizational invigoration and viable socioeconomic development, as well as morality, cooperation and amicable relationship. Given the on-going devastation of diverse Cultures and natural environment (‘Nature’), which robs a viable human future, it is most important for us to start immediately enriching vigorously, perpetually and collaboratively the diverse Cultures across the world—a paradigm shift for Sustainable Development. Show more

Keywords: Sustainable development, paradigm shift, sound diverse cultures, entelechy, relational mutuality, modern civilization, market fundamentalism, power structure

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2011-0756

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 17-31, 2012

Authors: Karras, Sotirios

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Looking at the societal functions that cause radical societal change as the products of us – our society's producers and users– entails investigating systems functioning within the nature of our human nature. This article shows the interchange of these systems, the lack of balance among them and their seemingly random overlaps that form in us, all different kinds of persons. A comprehensive framework for these systems allows addressing the fact that scholars too are subjected to them, while we discover and present our research findings. The attestation that we engage in the world making things in our own image, according …to the systems functioning in us, while getting to know our way around, shows that our society too is structured in our own image. The article contributes the discovery of a largely overlooked new agent in the systems functioning in us. And it discloses another new, also overlooked societal agent, which we also produce in our image. With its two contributions, the article shows how the new agent in us can become a solution to our transformation and the new societal agent a solution to societal change. Show more

Keywords: Action, administrative, brain, branch, cerebral, cognitive, concept, conscious, deity, emotion, executive, frequency, gamma, government, heart, in, intellect, judicial, legislative, Marx, quality, quantity, reciprocal, regulate, Riemann, sense, social, spiritual, synthesis, transparency, vote, within

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2011-0757

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 33-47, 2012

Authors: Zeleny, Milan

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Advanced and mature societies are undergoing a fundamental transformation of their economic, political, technological and social lives. Developing countries are rapidly catching on and accelerating their participation in the transformation which is equally rapidly becoming global. Yet, at the same time, the process of globalization itself is exhibiting signs of a reversal towards relocalization, i.e. rebounding after the strong global outbound of the past fifty years. The change of paradigms and change of dominant business models accompany such transformations. Yet, transformations get naturally confounded with ongoing recessions and crises. Disentangling the phenomena of crisis from those of transformation remains a …challenge, especially for politicians. In this paper we primarily address the issues of unemployment and the changing nature of employment in mature economies. Show more

Keywords: Crisis, transformation, relocalization, reintegration, corso and ricorso, autopoiesis, unemployment, self-service, disintermediation, mass customization, technology cycle

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2011-0758

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 49-63, 2012

Authors: Georgantzas, Nicholas C. | Contogeorgis, Georges D.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Without suggesting our modernity's return to antiquity, this article looks at the principles behind Athenians' authentic democracy, which can help our modern temporality metamorphose for the benefit of all concerned. Democracy's multiple equality, liberty and civic-accountability dimension bundles take their role in a multi-perspective dialectic about their dynamic societal implications. The article also shows a couple of small system dynamics (SD) models of political corruption, in order to showcase a major problem that Athenians' authentic democracy de-solved rather effectively; particularly when compared to the vast failures of our postmodern temporality's ‘gated’ business, economic, societal and political systems. The juxtaposition of …an acute problematic situation – such as political corruption is in our modernity – and the principles behind the multi-dimensional political structure that managed this problematic effectively in the past points to the systemic leverage required for the metamorphosis needed in our postmodern business, economic, societal and political systems worldwide. Show more

Keywords: Aristotle, democracy, dualism, economy, Heidegger, leverage, modernity, Parmenides, Plato, politics, society, system dynamics (SD), systems thinking (ST), temporality, totalism

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2011-0759

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 65-83, 2012