Critical Systems Thinking

The CST approach

CST is a reaction against the work of the early systems theorists (e.g. Ludwig von Bertalanffy developed General Systems Theory which was intended as a valid methodology for all sciences) who described biological systems in physical terms. Because they were able to identify isomorphisms between living organisms, cybernetic machines, and social systems, they believed it justifiable to create interdisciplinary models and transfer the data from one scientific realm to another. This is a hard systems approach, i.e. it asserts that all things can be measured and so may be analysed by applying the standard quantitative methods and tools. This school still has its advocates (e.g. in the Journal of the Operational Research Society) and it is applied to production engineering and other areas of process-based management.

The soft systems approach uses social metaphors to build an interpretative understanding of human systems, where meaning is central. This applies both the critical theory of Jürgen Habermas, particularly in relation to his theories of knowledge and communicative rationality, and the work of Michel Foucault on the nature of power. The intention is to create a metamethodology that will identify the key elements in the problem to be solved and then decide which of the available methodologies should be applied to those elements. It sees the current crop of methodologies, their underpinning philosophies, and their embedded methods as being a set of tools. It accepts that many of these methodologies may be based on incompatible philosophical assumptions about the nature of social reality, knowledge, action, etc., but denies that this should restrict access to the broadest possible repertoire of methods. It adopts the rational and practical view that the problem solver should always use the best tool for each part of the job. Go Banana!!