Extending the Metaphor "System"

Abstract

Virtually all systems-based work is dominated by the notion of "system" as a concept of an adaptive whole which may survive in a changing environment. Such unexamined givens should be challenged; it might be fruitful in practical interventions in real-world problems to widen the concept "system." The nature of the concept of the adaptive whole is examined, both in general and more specifically in "soft systems methodology" (SSM), the systemsbased approach to tackling ill-structured problems which has been developed in the 1970's and 1980's. A method for developing alternatives to the core systems metaphor is presented, and its practical use in real-world problem solving is illustrated. This is a promising enrichment of SSM.