Topic
Social system
About: Social system is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2974 publications have been published within this topic receiving 92395 citations.
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01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: Our theories of human behavior are split into largely independent systems of thought: psychology and social science as mentioned in this paper, and they treat human beings as if they could be reduced to a definable role in a system of relationships and go on to explore the implications of that system.
Abstract: Our theories of human behavior split into largely independent systems of
thought: psychology and social science. When we think psychologically, we
mostly take the institutional relationships, the economy and culture of
society for granted, and attend to the way people manage, successfully or
not, the circumstances of life. When we think as sociologists or economists,
we treat human beings as if they could be reduced to a definable role in a
system of relationships – the rationally self-interested economic actor; the
bureaucrat; the mother’s brother – and go on to explore the implications of
that system. We rarely explore the interaction between each unique human
actor and the social systems of which she or he is part. Yet, surely this
interaction ought to be at the foundation of any theory of human behavior.
How can we begin to understand ourselves except as creatures of the
societies from which we learned the language itself to think about ourselves?
And how can we understand society except as a network of patterns of
relationship which each of us is constantly engaged in creating, reproducing,
and changing? For lack of this crucial theoretical link, we have never
developed within psychology a strong tradition of social criticism, while our
sociology and economics have often been psychologically naive and
insensitive. We need a way of thinking about the interaction between unique
human beings and the social relationships they form, not only because our
theories are crippled without it, but because without it we cannot articulate
clearly many of the gravest causes of social distress.
75 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on tension related to balancing the need to explore new developments for future performance, with a need to exploit existing capabilities to generate sufficient value in the short term.
Abstract: Answering the question of how enabling technology-based firms manage tensions in their development process, we focus on tensions related to balancing the need to explore new developments for future performance, with the need to exploit existing capabilities to generate sufficient value in the short term. Based on social system theory, we suggest that entrepreneurs use four types of functions to develop their business: goal attainment, pattern maintenance, social networking and economic optimization. Building sustainable firms requires the development of all four functions and the related types of capital (strategic, cultural, economic and social) up to a certain minimum; they must then be balanced in such a way that the exploration—exploitation tension can be dealt with adequately.Through a case study of the development of a sound measuring sensor, we illustrate the four types of functions and the accumulation of capitals by exploring a set of three propositions.
74 citations
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Abstract: Sustainability is generally associated with a definition by the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987: "... development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs ..." However, there is no mathematical theory embodying these concepts, although one would be immensely valuable in humanity's efforts to manage the environment. The concept of sustainability applies to integrated systems comprising humans and the rest of nature; the structures and operation of the human component (society, economy, law, etc.) must be such that they reinforce the persistence of the structures and operation of the natural component (ecosystem trophic linkages, biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, etc.). One of the challenges of sustainability research lies in linking measures of ecosystem functioning to the structure and operation of the associated social system. We review the nature of this complex system including its ecological, social, economic, and technological aspects, and propose an approach to assessing sustainability based on Information Theory that bridges the natural and human systems. These principles are then illustrated using a model system with an ecological food web linked to a rudimentary social system. This work is part of the efforts of a larger multidisciplinary group at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Risk Management Research Laboratory.
74 citations
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TL;DR: This chapter represents a departure from earlier numbers of the REVIEW cycle on "The Social Framework of Education." The departure reflects a trend in social research toward drawing upon an emerging theory of organization.
Abstract: THIS chapter represents a departure from chapters in earlier numbers of the REVIEW cycle on "The Social Framework of Education." The departure reflects a trend in social research toward drawing upon an emerging theory of organization. Industrial sociologists particularly have used organization theory in their investigations, but other social scientists have also recognized the implications of this approach to the study of the school.
74 citations
01 Oct 2013
TL;DR: The difference between complicated and complex systems is analyzed to show that complex systems are the generic, normal case, while complicated systems are highly distinctive, special, and therefore rare.
Abstract: The distinction between complicated and complex systems is of immense importance, yet it is often overlooked. Decision-makers commonly mistake complex systems for simply complicated ones and look for solutions without realizing that ‘learning to dance’ with a complex system is definitely different from ‘solving’ the problems arising from it. The situation becomes even worse as far as modern social systems are concerned. This article analyzes the difference between complicated and complex systems to show that (1) what is at stake is a difference of type, not of degree; (2) the difference is based on two different ways of understanding systems, namely through decomposition into smaller parts and through functional analysis; (3) complex systems are the generic, normal case, while complicated systems are highly distinctive, special, and therefore rare.
73 citations