The Performance of Social Systems: Perspectives and Problems (Hardcover, 2000)

Foreword; W. Buckley. Introduction; F. Parra-Luna. Part I: A World of Values. 1. Systems thinking and human values: towards understanding performance in organizations; M.L.W. Hall. 2. The role of values in measuring performance of social systems; B. Buchanan. 3. Towards an axiological systems theory; F. Parra-Luna. Part II: Some Models for Defining Social Performance. 4. Some problems in the observation of performance; G. de Zeeuw. 5. The resolution of dilemmas and conflicts in approaching the performance of social systems through representation, evaluation and quantification; J. van Gigch. 6. A model for measuring the performance of social systems; F. Parra-Luna. 7. The potentialities of the sociocybernetic model in assessing political performance in non-stable society; P. Nicolopoulos. 8. Criteria of systems performance from a macro-sociological viewpoint; K.-H. Simon. 9. Distributed control in social systems; M. Schawaninger. 10. Space of state and performance's optimization: lessons of Russians' failures; V. Degtiar. 11. Conditions for testing performance; I. Balsamo. Part III: Operational Approaches to the Concept of Social Performance. 12. Environmental balance and the performance of social systems; A. Sanchez Sucar. 13. The performance of education systems; R. Vanderstraeten. 14. Performance of health care units and the influence of management; F. Tretter. 15. Indicators of social performance in the heartland of the United States;D. Menanteau-Horta. 16. Global modeling and international performance; M.P. Byron. 17. Ther performance of the world system: a critical viewpoint; J.-L. Elohim. 18. An exploration into the measurement of social efficiency on the Internet; M. García Jara. Index.