John Brocklesby

Multimethodology: Towards a framework for mixing methodologies

In recent years the predilection for Systems/OR practice to be underpinned by a single methodology has been called into question, and reports on multimethodology projects are now filtering through into the literature. This paper takes a closer look at multimethodology. It outlines a number of different possibilities for combining methodologies, and considers why such a development might be desirable for more effective practice, in particular by focusing upon how it can deal more effectively with the richness of the real world and better assist through the various intervention stages. The paper outlines some of the philosophical, cultural and cognitive feasibility issues that multimethodology raises. It then describes a framework that can attend to the relative strengths of different methodologies and provide a basis for constructing multimethodology designs. Finally it presents a systematic way of decomposing methodologies to identify detachable elements, and the paper concludes by outlining aspects of an agenda for further research that emerges out of the discussion.

Towards a new framework for evaluating systemic problem structuring methods

Operational researchers and social scientists often make significant claims for the value of systemic problem structuring and other participative methods. However, when they present evidence to support these claims, it is usually based on single case studies of intervention. There have been very few attempts at evaluating across methods and across interventions undertaken by different people. This is because, in any local intervention, contextual factors, the skills of the researcher and the purposes being pursued by stakeholders affect the perceived success or failure of a method. The use of standard criteria for comparing methods is therefore made problematic by the need to consider what is unique in each intervention. So, is it possible to develop a single evaluation approach that can support both locally meaningful evaluations and longer-term comparisons between methods? This paper outlines a methodological framework for the evaluation of systemic problem structuring methods that seeks to do just this.

Designing a viable organization structure

Abstract Stafford Beers Viable Systems Model (VSM) is an exceptionally insightful organizational analysis tool that is conspicuous by its absence from the mainstream strategic planning literature. The authors argue that this is largely due to the theoretically daunting manner in which the model has been presented, and the lack of practical, easy to follow, case studies focused on business organizations. This paper seeks to rectify this, and encourage a wider dissemination of the approach, by providing an introduction to the model and reporting on a consulting assignment with a telecommunications company during a period of extensive organizational change.

Using soft systems methodology to identify competence requirements in HRM

Uses a case study to show how Checkland′s soft systems methodology (SSM) may be used as a vehicle for developing competence profiles in human resource management. The benefits of SSM are based on its underlying interpretive assumptions, the distinctive way in which conceptual models are used to create learning and insight, and other aspects of systems thinking, notably the guidance embodied in its technology, and its use of the systems concepts of hierarchy and holism. Argues that much of the data which provide the basis for many HRM decisions is meaningless because they are abstracted from the broader social context from which they emerged. Presents SSM as an approach for developing HR‐related information which has the potential to overcome this difficulty.

Boundary games : How teams of OR practitioners explore the boundaries of intervention

An operational research (OR) practitioner designing an intervention needs to engage in a practical process for choosing methods and implementing them. When a team of OR practitioners does this, and/or clients and stakeholders are involved, the social dynamics of designing the approach can be complex. So far, hardly any theory has been provided to support our understanding of these social dynamics. To this end, our paper offers a theory of ‘boundary games’. It is proposed that decision making on the configuration of the OR approach is shaped by communications concerning boundary judgements. These communications involve the OR practitioners in the team (and other participants, when relevant) ‘setting’, ‘following’, ‘enhancing’, ‘wandering outside’, ‘challenging’ and ‘probing’ boundaries concerning the nature of the context and the methods to be used. Empirical vignettes are provided of a project where three OR practitioners with different forms of methodological expertise collaborated on an intervention to support a Regional Council in New Zealand. In deciding how to approach a problem structuring workshop where the Regional Council employees would be participants, the OR team had to negotiate their methodological boundaries in some detail. The paper demonstrates that the theory of boundary games helps to analyse and describe the shifts in thinking that take place in this kind of team decision making. A number of implications for OR practitioners are discussed, including how this theory can contribute to reflective practice and improve awareness of what is happening during communications with OR colleagues, clients and participants.

Methodological Complementarism or Separate Paradigm Development—Examining the Options for Enhanced Operational Research

Although operational research traditionally has concerned itself with quantitative and technical aspects of managerial problem solving, it has gradually built up a capacity to deal with “softer” issues, and broader societal problems. This paper considers the notion of “enhanced” operational research within the context of the practical and philosophical difficulties brought about through combining problem solving methodologies from different theoretical traditions. The paper argues that separate paradigm development for EOR may be justified on theoretical grounds and on the basis of its cultural feasibility.

Using the Viable Systems Model to examine multi-agency arrangements for combatting transnational organised crime

Traditionally, most operational research applications in the area of law enforcement and criminal justice have used quantitative techniques to forecast patterns and levels of offending and to optimise various police, judicial and prison processes. This paper seeks to examine the role that more qualitative modelling approaches might contribute in this important application area. Specifically, the paper examines the role that cybernetic theory and viable systems modelling can contribute in helping government bodies and law enforcement agencies to think through how, organisationally, they can best respond to the increasingly complex problem of transnational organised crime. Focussing on new multi-agency collaborative arrangements, the paper argues that there is a need for more informed debate that can account for the complexity of the challenge and point towards more holistic and integrated solutions. Against this background, the paper argues that the viable systems modelling approach has much to offer because it is theoretically grounded in the management of complexity; because its flexibility allows it to accommodate the trend for law enforcement agencies to work more closely with partner agencies, and to do so at multiple organisational levels; and because its user-friendly annotated diagramming conventions allow stakeholders to focus discussion and work towards outcomes that make sense in particular settings.

Processes of engagement and methodology design in Community Operational Research – Insights from the indigenous peoples sector

Abstract This paper seeks to explore and illustrate the proposition that although the Community Operational Research field has developed intellectually over recent years, and has generated useful knowledge about how particular OR methods and techniques can be brought to bear upon a wide range of community-based problems, more needs to be known about the underlying experiences and challenges that are associated with carrying out work of this nature. We argue that surfacing, reflecting upon and raising awareness of these aspects is important in furthering the development of the field. The paper focuses on two key processes: client and stakeholder engagement, and the alignment of methodologies and techniques with the socio-cultural context of their application. The argument is framed theoretically and illustrated through reference to a project carried out in an indigenous community setting. Our proposition is that conducting Community Operational Research in indigenous peoples settings can sharpen our awareness and understanding of aspects of practice that present significant challenges and which to varying degrees are more widely applicable in the community OR context.

From Single to Multi-Paradigm Systems Research

This paper aims to contribute to the growing literature on multimethodology (specifically that which involves combining systems methodologies, in whole or in part, from different paradigms) by briefly examining some of the obstacles that might prevent an agent whose current predilection is to operate within a single paradigm from becoming multimethodology literate. A longer, more detailed, and more fully referenced version of the paper appears in Mingers and Gill (1997). The main theoretical underpinning of the paper is the work on cognition by Maturana and Varela (1980) (hereafter M&V). These authors conceptualise cognition as involved, engaged, activity in the world, and this seems a befitting approach in a discipline which seeks to bring about improvements in the practical affairs of organisations and their members. Consideration of M&V’s work, which is outlined in the longer paper, but not here, leads to the suggestion that there are four sets of obstacles that may stand in the way of an agent who might otherwise be a candidate to develop the sort of literacy described: developing paradigm awareness, making the commitment to a new or different paradigm, performing effectively in the new paradigm, and moving easily between paradigms. This paper considers these obstacles.

Towards demokratia ‐ myth and the management of organizational change in ancient Athens

Suggests that a systems approach to the management of organization change is something most business schools assume to be a recent development. Presents a 2,500‐year‐old example of an extremely successful systemic transformation, one which provides a useful stimulus to aid thinking in this field today. Of particular interest is the ancients’ appreciation of an aspect which is often paid little mind in modern systems interventions ‐ organizational mythology, and the notion that perhaps the most important aspect in managing change is providing continuity.