Using Integrative Propositional Analysis to Understand and Integrate Four Theories of Social Power Systems
All of us live , work , and play in multiple social systems . Each social system has some form of organizational structure within which communication occurs , knowledge is exchanged , work is accomplished , and power is wielded . Those activities ( along with others ) allow the organizational system to survive . An important question for optimizing the operation of organizations at all levels is how one might structure those organizations to secure their ( often short-term ) survival . Before we optimize those organizations , however , we must first understand them .
The sustainability of organizational systems is an old and critical topic . Despite decades of study , drawing on millennia of history , businesses and nations continue to rise and fall — often precipitously . While sustainability , itself , may not be sustainable ( Yolles & Fink , 2014 ), sustainable capitalism still seeks to understand and improve the longevity of a significant socioeconomic system . That field seems to have emerged with the scholarly contributions of Schweickart ( 1978 ) and continues to the present . Recent efforts to improve our understanding recognize that “ theoretical incompleteness ” in our understanding of social systems is related to non-predictability of that system ( Minati , 2016 ) and gaps in our understanding of these systems may lead to their collapse ; “ their oversimplification of reality has led to paradigm death ” ( Muñoz , 2016 , p . 1 ).
That is why it is important to work at the intersection of systems dynamics , systems thinking , strategy , and
Operational Research ( OR ) ( Mingers & White , 2010 ) and engage in policymaking which takes into account the complexity of multiple interacting systems ( Walker , Rahman , & Cave , 2001 ). We also need to understand the sustainability of the organization in concert with the sustainability of the environment ( Tang & Zhou , 2012 ). And , we need robust decision-making that will support the sustainability of many or all aspects of an organization ( Gabrel , Murat , & Thiele , 2014 ). All of these areas of study and practice would benefit from improved theory .
We suggest Integrative Propositional Analysis ( IPA ), an emerging method for the objective evaluation and integration of theory , which is expected to be useful not only for understanding and adjusting boundaries of understanding ( Velez-Castiblanco , Brocklesby , & Midgley , 2016 ), but also for integrating perspectives to identify how each part of the system supports the other ( or competes against it ). And , importantly , to identify gaps in understanding that exist within and between perspectives which may inhibit effective planning and sustainability .
Systems thinking has provided a long stream of valuable insights to organizational research across a wide variety of organizational functions and industries ( Mingers & White , 2010 ). However , that perspective is not common or widely taught in the academic world , in part , because the subject is so abstract and complex ( Heylighen & Joslyn , 2001 ). Where creating a computer model is often useful , that approach is
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