Abstract
This chapter talks about two of the other key concepts and tools that are needed if we are to have any hope of managing today’s enormous challenges and daunting problems: (1) systems, and (2) messes.
In brief, a “mess” is a complex, dynamic system of problems that are so interconnected such that no problem even exits apart from the mess with which it is associated. Thus, taking any problem out of a mess and studying it on its own distorts the very nature of the problem and the entire mess. The interactions between problems as well as the problems themselves are the key objects of study.
The chapter also shows that: Information is more valuable than data; knowledge more valuable than information; understanding more valuable than knowledge; and wisdom more valuable than understanding.
The chapter also presents heuristics for coping with complex, messy problems and systems.
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© 2014 Vincent P. Barabba and Ian I. Mitroff
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Barabba, V.P., Mitroff, I.I. (2014). Complex Messy Systems. In: Business Strategies for a Messy World: Tools for Systemic Problem-Solving. Palgrave Pivot, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137386403_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137386403_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-48457-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-38640-3
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