BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

OBJECTIVE 1)3)

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"… a preferred outcome… which can be obtained over a longer period of time" (Adapted from R.L. ACKOFF – 1972).

As stated by ACKOFF, objectives are proper to purposeful systems.

He also understands that an objective encompasses a succession of intermediate goals: "Pursuit of an objective requires an ability to change goals once a goal has been obtained. This is why such pursuit is possible only for a purposeful system" (Ibid).

For K. KRIPPENDORFF an objective is "the goal, purpose or criterion a decision maker uses to evaluated alternative courses of actions. The choice of objectives constrains possible behaviors" (1986, p.54).

In relation to his metasystem concept, J.van GIGCH writes: "The objectives of high-level systems will be labeled "high level" objectives; those of low-level systems "low-level" objectives. High-level objectives are not necessarily better than lower-level systems objectives…

"In a hierarchy of systems, it would be unusual to find that systems objectives or objectives in a hierarchy of objectives are independent of each other. Unless the independence of systems objectives can be assumed, their values cannot be incorporated in an additive function" (1978, p.376).

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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