Raul Espejo

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Retired research professor in cybernetics and systems thinking. My work is focused on organisational cybernetics, complexity and digital technology, mostly in social systems and policy making. Currently president of the World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics (WOSC). Almost half a century ago I was operational director of the Cybersyn project in Chile, under the scientific direction of Stafford Beer.

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David Pierre Leibovitz

Carleton University

Estela Blaisten-Barojas

George Mason University

Marc Champagne

Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Adam M Croom

Case Western Reserve University

Didier Debaise

Université libre de Bruxelles

Leonard Lawlor

Pennsylvania State University

Leticia Cesarino

Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina)

Timothy Morton

Rice University

Aliakbar Kamari

Aarhus University

Lyudmila S Mihaylova

The University of Sheffield

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Papers by Raul Espejo

On Systems

Springer eBooks, 2011

Performance for viability: complexity and variety management

Kybernetes, Jun 1, 2015

Purpose– It is natural for interacting organisational actors and environmental agents to experien... more Purpose– It is natural for interacting organisational actors and environmental agents to experience complexity asymmetries. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the balancing of these complexities at a level of performance that not only maintains the organisation’s viability but also the health of its ecosystem.Design/methodology/approach– Ashby (1964) proposed variety, or the number of possible states of a situation, as a measure of complexity and the Law of Requisite Variety as an ontology and heuristic for complexity management strategies. Following these propositions Beer’s variety engineering (Beer, 1979) is a construct to design these strategies.Findings– This paper offers epistemological and methodological considerations to discuss the viability and performance of organisational systems.Research limitations/implications– Measuring organisational performance needs powerful methodological support. This paper offers to some extend this support but it needs further development.Practical implications– Performance is related to the concept of dynamic capabilities, which in recent times has had important practical implications.Originality/value– Though the concepts of this paper have a long history, their methodological articulation is original.

Systemic Reflections on Corporate Responsibility

Springer eBooks, 1995

In this paper we discuss the contemporary issue of corporate responsibility. Our aim is firstly t... more In this paper we discuss the contemporary issue of corporate responsibility. Our aim is firstly to offer a general introduction to current concerns and practices under this topic. Of these environmental care is the specific concern of this paper. Following this we use the Viable System Model (VSM) to reflect upon the relations between corporations and those stakeholders concerned with the environment. The VSM offers a systems approach to think about these relations and a strategy to manage their complexity. This reflection is at the core of the paper. We finally draw general conclusions.

Seeing a case study through a cybernetic epistemological lens

Kybernetes, Oct 18, 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the knowledge that Beer's viable... more PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the knowledge that Beer's viable system model helps when applied to the study of change processes in organisations.Design/methodology/approachThis paper develops a case study constructed on interviews and shared reflections by the author and a key player in the company. Aspects of the case study are then seen with an epistemological lens.FindingsWhile it is apparent that ideas, purposes, values or policies depend on resources to happen, this paper argues that it is necessary their embodying in effective relations to succeed creating and producing desirable meanings.Research limitations/implicationsSome forms of embodiment are more effective than others. The viable system model offers embodiment criteria to increase the chances of a successful production of ideas, purposes, values and policies, and the case study shows that for this purpose a limitation is transforming long‐established relationships.Originality/valueThis paper uses a particular and unique situation to illustrate through the viable system model some of the general difficulties that organisations face in achieving desirable transformations.

“The Truth of the Human Spirit” and Interaction Mechanisms

Constructivist Foundations, 2017

Scholte’s article offers a most valuable reflection on cybernetics and acting. This commentary re... more

Giving Requisite Variety to Strategy and Information Systems

Springer eBooks, 1993

In this paper I want to pursue a general problem of concern to all organisations, whether in the ... more

Reflections on Power, Democracy and Communications

Cybernetics and Human Knowing, 2006

Multi-Organisational Strategies: An Analytical Framework and Case

Springer eBooks, 1978

Many of the problems with which societies are confronted today transcend the scope of existing in... more Many of the problems with which societies are confronted today transcend the scope of existing institutional capabilities, The energy crisis, or problems of pollution, or providing food for growing populations, as well as regional development are recognisably problems of this type. Approaches to their solution have generally been conceived in terms of “programs. “ Many types of input are combined in the process of program substantiation, some of which, such as technical inputs, differ significantly according to the nature of the program. By contrast, management issues of planning and implementation arise irrespective of the particular problem area addressed.

La autonomía de los Organismos Reguladores: alcances y límites

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Seeing Systems: Overcoming Organisational Fragmentation

Kluwer Academic Publishers eBooks, Feb 27, 2006

This paper deals with the issue of structural fragmentation in organisations. Very often we do no... more This paper deals with the issue of structural fragmentation in organisations. Very often we do not see how to relate resources in order to produce effective organisations. We fail to see these resources as parts of possible systems. I want to illustrate in this paper the value of seeing systems. Failing in this increases the difficulty of relating the thinking and doing of organisations, thus hindering their learning. I first offer an introduction to the idea of seeing systems, second elaborate the idea of complexity unfolding as a natural process to deal holistically with task complexity, third discuss, supported by empirical work at the National Westminster Bank, a common case of fragmentation in task implementation and finally, offer the experience of designing a process to overcome this fragmentation.

Strategy, structure and information management

Information Systems Journal, 1993

This paper offers a framework to relate strategy, structure and information systems in an organiz... more This paper offers a framework to relate strategy, structure and information systems in an organization. Current developments in information systems, particularly in the executive information systems (EIS) area, make apparent that the emphasis of design is in the ergonomy and flexibility of the reporijng, and not ih their alignment with effective management processes. Partially to overcome this shortcoming the paper offers criteria to improve management processes. Such criteria are provided by the viable system model (VSM). The emphasis is on the structural improvement of strategic processes. This leads to the discussion of a class of inlbrmation systems aimed at balancing the longer-term, strategic and the shorter-term, operational needs of the organization. Methodological and practical aspects for the implementation of such systems are discussed with reference to a management too/-cmERsYN-which illustrates one way of linking information systems to management processes.

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Performance management, the nature of regulation and the CyberSyn project

Kybernetes, Feb 13, 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to clarify both regulatory processes in enterprises and the r... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to clarify both regulatory processes in enterprises and the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their improvement.Design/methodology/approachThe approach of the paper is conceptual development and case study.FindingsIt appears that ICTs will permit increasingly to measure the complexity of organisational processes.Practical implicationsThe paper illustrates the nature of complexity based accounting systems for enterprises.Originality/valueThis paper offers an original approach to relate organisational processes, ICTs and performance.

Systemic reflections on environmental sustainability

Systems research and behavioral science, Nov 1, 1998

ABSTRACT This paper reflects upon the attempts by society to achieve environmental sustainability... more ABSTRACT This paper reflects upon the attempts by society to achieve environmental sustainability on the globe. It starts by considering the ways that the relationships between corporations and society are developing in view of the increasing economic power of the former relative to the latter and gives a brief overview of the nature of the perceived environmental crisis we face. Use is made of the metaphor of the ‘tragedy of the commons’ to illustrate this. Using systems thinking, the problem of the apparent conflict between individual self-interest and the needs of the community for long-term sustainability is explored and thoughts from this perspective about structural requirements for sustainability are developed. Concepts from systems thinking such as the need for autonomy to manage complexity, the parallel requirement for cohesion within recursive systems, the derived concept of citizenship to explore relationships with the community and finally levels of performance are all found to be of value in understanding this most pressing of human problems. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Cybernetics of Governance: The Cybersyn Project 1971–1973

Translational systems sciences, 2014

In this paper I offer personal reflections 40 years after Cybersyn’s demise the 11th of September... more In this paper I offer personal reflections 40 years after Cybersyn’s demise the 11th of September 1973. This project was Stafford Beer’s creation, underpinned by his Viable System Model. The emphasis of these reflections is in contrasting its rather limited achievements with its vision and relevance for our societies today. Its claims were large; it was presented as a project that achieved important results in a short period of time. The paper compares its actuality with these claims. Particularly I explore the project’s methodological and epistemological shortcomings. Unravelling these shortcomings gives us a platform to gain an understanding of its potentialities. I will argue that Stafford Beer’s vision of a “Liberty Machine” was ahead of its time and furthermore that it has profound implications for our current societies, in particularly for the organization of our economies.

Institutions, Nations, Enterprises and Distributed Organisation (the Westphalian Dilemma)

Cybernetics and Systems, Jul 7, 2022

What are the communication challenges for politicians, experts and stakeholders in order to enhance transparency in nuclear waste management decisions? Report from a Team Syntegrity Meeting. The European Project RISCOM-II. Work Package 3

An agenda for social transparency

Ciudadanía organizacional: una forma de generar justicia en las organizaciones

Governance and inclusive democracy

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to offer a research agenda to improve on representative, pa... more Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to offer a research agenda to improve on representative, participatory and deliberative forms of democracy. It argues for an inclusive democracy built upon a cybernetic understanding of governance and organization structure. Design/methodology/approach -Based on complexity management strategies, the paper offers a conceptual construction of governance and democracy. The case of Colombia over the past 60 years is used to illustrate these strategies; it makes apparent that in spite of good intentions, the cybernetics of the country and its cities has faltered over this period, hindering its democracy. To learn how to overcome this weakness and support the evolution towards an inclusive democracy, the authors propose a research agenda aimed at studying the viability of cities. Findings -The paper indicates that there is a broad field to apply management cybernetic tools in the political domain, as for example the classic archetypes that inhibit the emergence of effective structural recursion and people's local participation in global issues, restricting their social inclusion. Research limitations/implications -In many Colombian cities and towns people live in very difficult conditions and to survive they often fall into corruption, but others display apparent resiliency, solidarity, communitarian organization and so forth. Learning about good practices should help visualise strategies towards democratic inclusion and good governance. Social implications -The main question supporting the whole research could be expressed as, how is it possible to reduce power imbalances that inhibit and restrict the effective participation of its citizens? The corresponding answer will imply improving citizen's quality of life beginning with democratic structures to live in and to practice active citizenship. Originality/value -The paper offers insights about inclusion and effective governance; it argues that "connecting" a local person's views and actions to global policies is feasible and that this is necessary for effective inclusion.

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Seeing organisations: epistemological considerations

Kybernetes, Apr 27, 2012

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to offer an incursion into the complexity of organisations. ... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to offer an incursion into the complexity of organisations. This paper distinguishes a collective in its surroundings, an organisation in its medium and an organisation in its environment and proposes these distinctions as complementary epistemologies that help when studying organisations. Design/methodology/approach-This is a conceptual paper, supported by two case studies, that makes use of ideas of organisational cybernetics, autopoiesis and organisational ecology. Findings-Beyond the more common black box observation of organisations that helps account for the transformations of inputs into outputs, this paper argues for the accounting of the relationships producing an organisation. This latter approach highlights the need to account for the complexity of communications between autonomous systems with different cognitive capabilities. Originality/value-The complementary epistemologies offered in this paper offer an emerging paradigm to understand ecologies of enterprises and other organizational forms.

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On Systems

Springer eBooks, 2011

Performance for viability: complexity and variety management

Kybernetes, Jun 1, 2015