The problems we face at all levels in the world today resist unilateral solutions. While the web of interdependencies tightens, our capacity for thinking in terms of dynamic interdependencies has not kept pace. As the gap between the nature of our problems and the ability to understand them grows, we face increasing perils on a multitude of fronts. Systems thinking and one of its subsets—system...

In the years 1987-1991, more than eighty-five percent of the Fortune 1000 companies downsized their white collar staffs (Cameron & Freeman, 1993). During the first seven months of 1993, 350,000 workers faced terminations due to reductions in force (Richman, 1993). January, 1994 had even higher rates of terminations. These have all been intentional reductions in the size of staffs undertaken wit...

Extreme Programming (XP) is a new software development method (SDM) that claims to be superior to other methods in some situations that are characterised by vague requirements and rapid change. XP has quickly gained a remarkable degree of acceptance in parts of the software engineering community. Interestingly, it has provoked a vivid and often controversial exchange of opinions, ranging from e...