Mats-Olov Olsson

Systems Approaches and Their Application : Examples from Sweden

Within a conceptual framework that is developed in the two first chapters, the actual application of systems thinking is described across a broad field of cases representing research, teaching, dec ...

The Russian Detour: Real Transition in a Virtual Economy?

Illustrates the creation of a market economy by showing that no easy procedures automatically lead to that goal; the Russian forest sector is used as a model for all Russian industries. The major o ...

Schools of Systems Thinking : Development Trends in Systems Methodology

Systems Concrete Living Systems Organized Complexity Systems Where Consequences Are of Interest (Limited Teleological Categories) P ro pe rt ie s T yp es o f S ys te m s S pe ci al iz ed S ci en ce s G en er al

The Russian virtual economy turning real: Institutional change in the Arkhangel'sk forest sector

Abstract The article reports on an attempt to assess recent developments of the Russian ‘virtual economy’, a system that, some have argued, represents an alternative form of economic interaction to the modern market economy. In the virtual economy enterprises are engaged in informal non-market transactions with other enterprises and the public sector in accordance with rules that are alien to a market economy. Structural and behavioural changes that have taken place in the Russian economy after 1998 are studied with the help of official data and two surveys (from 1998 and 2005) of 15 forest sector enterprises in Arkhangelsk Oblast’, a region in Russias north-west with a largely forest-based economy. The outcome of the assessment indicates that the virtual economy is contracting in the Arkhangelsk forest sector as well as in Russia at large, and that it will eventually disappear altogether, even if it is likely to exert a profound influence on the behaviour of Russian enterprises for some time yet.

Systemic Interventions in Sweden : Some Discernible Patterns

In this chapter we attempt to assess some recent applications of systems thinking, or systemic interventions, in Sweden. The aim is not to discuss Swedish particularities but rather to use a selection of examples from the Swedish scene in order to illustrate some general characteristics of systemic interventions. In that specific sense this book can be regarded as a comparative case study. The assessment of systemic interventions will be made against the background to the field of systems thinking that was offered in Part i of the book, and with reference to the examples of systemic intervention described in the chapters comprising Part II. In so doing we identify a number of fundamental “perspectives” that we believe are relevant for characterizing scientific approaches in general, and systems approaches in particular. The principal function of the cases is to illustrate real-world manifestations of these perspectives. In fact, the cases go some way towards answering the questions what systems thinking is, what it does and what it achieves. This chapter will primarily focus on how systems thinking goes about doing what it does. Since we only have a limited number of cases to compare (the thirteen chapters in Part II), we can obviously not expect to arrive at any definite general conclusions concerning the performance of the systems approach. The selection of contributions to Part II of the book is far from comprehensive and thus not entirely representative of the systems analytical work performed in Sweden today and during the last 10–20 years. For example, we lack descriptions of many common types of application of the systems approach, such as, transportation analysis. The comparison of cases has largely an exploratory direction as it aims at a general characterization of systems thinking and analysis, which can be expected to call for more detailed description and assessment. However, a comparison of the chapters in Part II is still helpful, even if it does not offer a comprehensive analysis pertaining to a general understanding of systems thinking. The cases contribute two kinds of information or knowledge that is relevant for

Privatization of municipal property in Murmansk

This paper presents the results of a pilot study of privatization of municipal property in the Russian North based on data from the Murmansk city government. After a general overview of the process ...