Alexander Bogdanov, Stafford Beer and intimations of a post-capitalist future
Content
Prof. Mike Jackson
Michael C. Jackson is Emeritus Professor at the University of Hull and MD of Systems Research Ltd. He graduated from Oxford University, gained an MA from Lancaster University and a PhD from Hull, and has worked in the civil service, in academia and as a consultant. Between 1999 and 2011, Mike was Dean of Hull University Business School, leading it to triple-crown accreditation.
Mike has been President of the International Federation for Systems Research and the International Society for the Systems Sciences. He was editor-in-chief of Systems Research and Behavioral Science for 26 years. In 2011, Mike was awarded an OBE for services to higher education and business. In 2017 he received the Beale Medal of the UK Operational Research Society for ‘a sustained contribution over many years to the theory, practice, and philosophy of Operational Research’.
In 2022, he received the Pioneer Award of the International Council on Systems Engineering for ‘the development of the foundations of systems engineering as author, educator and intellectual leader in systems thinking’. Mike is known as a key figure in the development of ‘critical systems thinking’ – a topic on which he has published ten books and over 150 articles. His latest book Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity was published by Wiley in 2019.
Recent Webinars
05.03.2025
Exploring a critical organisational praxis – invoking cybernetic thinking, indigenous knowledge and decolonisation
Sujay Dinnalli & Ushma Desai
As India is poised to become the third largest economy, there is a pressing need to look at the state of organisations and people within them. That this constitutes a critical enquiry is evidenced from the low percentage of organised sector workers in the country’s workforce, the dearth of industrial innovation, and other alarming socio-economic indicators. Social research in organisations has looked at the cultural intricacies within organisations, and the challenges hence produced.
05.02.2025
Cybernetics and education: architecture for freedom
Prof. José dos Santos Cabral Filho
This talk will explore the intersection of cybernetics and education, with a specific focus on architectural education.
04.12.2024
Diagnosing Complex Organisations with Diverse Cultures — Configuring Mindset Agency Theory, with an application to ASEAN
Dr Tuomo Rautakivi and Prof. Dr. Maurice Yolles
Complex organisations require coherence to achieve adaptive goals through agency. This presentation introduces Mindset Agency Theory (MAT), a metatheoretical framework designed for modelling and diagnosing agency within culturally diverse populations. MAT, a cybernetic multi-ontology framework, delineates five formative traits defining agency character.