APPRECIATIVE SYSTEM
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 138 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
- “The interconnected set of largely tacit standards of judgement by which we both order and value our experience” (G. VICKERS, 1973, p.122).
According to VICKERS: “… the components of human systems — active individuals attributing meaning to their situation — make it impossible to study such systems using the methodology of natural sciences. The only way to understand decision making in human systems is to understand the different appreciative systems that the decision makers bring to bear on a problem” (M.C. JACKSON, 1992, p.135)
And… “It follows, according to VICKERS, that if human systems are to achieve stability and effectiveness, then the appreciative systems of their participants need to be sufficiently shared to allow mutual expectations to be met. Human systems depend upon shared understandings and shared cultures” (Ibid)
In each culture, specific values and norms, transmitted through successive generations by imprinting, learning, teaching and training produce the equivalent of organizational closure in biological systems.
This is reflected in the so-called “Culture of the entreprise”, the French “Esprit de corps”, the Spanish “Espiritu de la colmena”, the German “Gleichschaltung” and many other similar expressions related to cultural or ideological unifying (and dividing) appreciative mental and psychological frameworks.
See also
Semantic reaction