The VSM

The Viable System Model (VSM) by Stanford Beer can be used to map various events reported in the media, including reaction to what is reported in the media (i.e. public letters to the editor etc).

For example, a recent email correspondence with a noted author of the VSM paradigm is included by way of example of how a public event can be interpreted using the VSM. I hope he approves! If not I assume he will leave a blistering ‘comment’ to the commentary.

"Dear ......,
We had a marvellous time hiking in Bretagne. Tomorrow I start a more difficult enterprise: to fly to SA through Heathrow Airport, where we get a marvellous example of the projection of governmental paranoia. There is a fundamental lack of serious auditing when security matters come up. It is a marvellous illustration what happens when auditing (system 3*) and control (system 2) are completely messed up. Nothing gets controlled because everything is controlled and nothing is learned because of a false sense of 'total control'. I shall be out of reach until Thursday 24th of ..." (Hoebeke, 2006: personal email, my emphasis)

So, my now dear friend and systems guide has shown one useful way to interpret events within the systems paradigm. I am grateful to him for this. The systems language and framework offers a great and efficient 'short-hand' to communicate about complexity and chaos.

A simple model of Beer’s VSM provided by Leonard (1999) is provided here for reference in Figure 1.

Figure 1. VSM



Reference.

Leonard, A. (1999). ‘A Viable System Model: Consideration of Knowledge Management’, Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, (August). Available online: http://www.tlainc.com/articl12.htm (Accessed 11 November 2005).