Foundation Course-
Russell has been described as an architect, behavior scientist, trailblazer, and a renaissance man in the field of management. Russell, management thinking entirely depends on the analysis taken on the procedure, which involves breaking down the things in context into their constituent parts (Ackoff, 2010). Ackoff further puts that the next step is understanding the behavior of the parts individually and then determining the behavior of the whole system from the individual contributions of each part (Ackoff p. 12, 1999). According to Russell, management thinking involves synthesis and synthetic thinking in the process of understanding and explaining what is constituted in the whole management system as well as it parts.
Ackoff describes that in management, development is of more importance as compared to the growth of an institution (Ackoff p.33, 2003). The author believes that the process of growth only makes an organization or a system bigger unlike the process of development which makes the designed system more efficient in the role it is solely designed to perform (Ackoff p.18, 2007). Russell also suggests that in management, doing the right thing is the most crucial and important thing to do rather than having to do a thing right, saying that the failure exceeds if the “thing” being done is wrong. The author believes that this point is a crucial test that should be directed towards any business strategy and should be considered before taking any risk whatsoever.
Another strategy put forward by Resell concerning management is that in the design of any product or service, it is better to start with an ideal situation, which can be a product or service, rather than using an existent service or product (Ackoff p.22, 1992). Ackoff refers to this strategy as “idealized design”. Ackoff believed that this system of thinking as a constraint-free process which does not borrow much from the existent models but considers what the mind has conceived (Ackoff, 2007). Ackoff approves of this policy stating that it develops a process where one’s mind directs what he/she has to implement rather than what it is fed by the development of other people’s ideas (Ackoff p.8, 2010).
Bibliography
ACKOFF, R. L., & ROVIN, S. (2003). Redesigning society. Stanford, Calif, Stanford Univ.
Press.
ACKOFF, R. L., ADDISON, H. J., & BIBB, S. (2007). Management f-laws: how organizations work. Axminster, U.K., Triarchy Press.
ACKOFF, R. L. (1999). Re-creating the corporation, a design of organizations for the 21st
century. New York, Oxford University Press.
http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=2172.
ACKOFF, R. L., CHOUKROUN, J.-M., & SNOW, R. (1992). Planning for human systems
essays in honor of Russell L. Ackoff. Philadelphia, Busch Center, Wharton School of the
ACKOFF, R. L., ADDISON, H. J., & CAREY, A. (2010). Systems thinking for curious
managers: with 40 new management f-laws. Axminster, Devon, Triarchy Press.
