J. Donald R. de Raadt

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J. Donald R. de Raadt (1946) is a Swedish organizational theorist and Professor Emeritus in Informatics and System Science at Luleå University of Technology.

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[edit] Biography

J. Donald R. de Raadt studied Economics and Politics at the University of Queensland, where he received an Bachelor of Arts, and later studied at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology where he first obtained his post-graduate Fellowship Diploma in Management and then his Masters in Business. He obtained a Ph.D. in Sociology from La Trobe University, Melbourne.

Over a period of fourteen years, he worked in information systems and corporate planning for a shipbuilder, two computer manufacturers and an insurance company. Prior to taking his present appointment in Sweden, he has held academic posts at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia and at Idaho State University in the USA. He was conferred the title of professor by the Swedish government in 1992 and held a chair in Informatics and System Science at Luleå University of Technology for twelve years untill 2004.[1],

He has served as president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences 1994-1995, and of the Swedish Operational Research Society, and vice-president of the International Federation for Systems Research in Vienna.

In 1985 he received the Sir Geoffrey Vickers Memorial Award of the Society for General Systems Research and in 1988 he was selected as the outstanding researcher of the College of Business at Idaho State University.

[edit] Work

De Raad has endeavoured to extend, through teaching and research, the disciplinary scope of management, information systems and systems design to incorporate all types of social systems in addition to business organisations. Inspired by his Christian faith, he has also sought to shift the emphasis of these disciplines from a utilitarian focus to a humane concern for the well being of people and their communities.[1]

[edit] Information and Managerial Wisdom

In the book "Information and Managerial Wisdom" from 1991 De Raad starts from the idea of managerial information itself. regardless of the means - computerised or human - employed to produce it. It seeks to answer long neglected questions such as: what is management information and what type of information do organisations need to adapt and attain their objectives in an increasingly uncertain world? De Raad argues for today's desperate need of managerial wisdom and explains how wisdom may be nurtured within the information processes that go on in an organisation. The book presents a conceptual framework built upon the principles of cybernetics and systems science and aims at helping the information systems professional and the manager in the design of an MIS that support wise decision making.[2]

[edit] A New Management of Life

In the book A New Management of Life from 1997 De Raad addresses the managerial crisis that confronts our world and which has left some of our social systems out of control. It argues that this managerial crisis is to some extent a crisis of thought; that is, the way we manage our lives, our societies, our industry and our natural environment is closely linked with the way we think. This way of thinking - rooted in the enlightenment and the industrial revolution - is essentially secular and mechanistic. The book proposes a different approach to management thought and practice based on multi-modal systems thinking, an approach built on biblical theism as against Greek theism.[3]

[edit] A Method and Software for Designing Viable Social Systems

In A Method and Software for Designing Viable Social Systems (2001) De Raad offers a modal systems method to Redesign and Management of Communities in Crisis. The presentation is fully integrated with SmCube,[4] a software package developed to analyse and design social systems. It provides analytical and design tools for managers, community leaders and corporate planners.[5]

[edit] Publications

He is the author of several books and articles. A selection:[6]

  • 1991. Information and Managerial Wisdom. Idaho, Paradigm.
  • 1997. A New Management of Life. Lampeter, Wales, Mellen.
  • 2000. Redesign and Management of Communities in Crisis. Parklands, Florida, Universal Publishers.
  • 2001. A Method and Software for Designing Viable Social Systems. Parklands, Florida, Universal Publishers.
  • 2002. Ethics and Sustainable Community Design.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b J. Donald R. de Raadt Institute for Management and Social Systems. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  2. ^ J.D.R. de Raadt (1991). Information and Managerial Wisdom. Idaho, Paradigm, 1991, ISBN 0-9628386-0-8.
  3. ^ J.D.R. de Raadt (1997). A New Management of Life. New York, Mellen, 1997, ISBN 0-7734-8508-2.
  4. ^ SmCube Method: Designing Sustainable Social Systems. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  5. ^ J.D.R. de Raadt (2001). A Method and Software for Designing Viable Social Systems. ISBN: 1-58112-658-1; US $25.95; paperback; 210 pp.
  6. ^ His research has been published in most of the international systems journals and has been presented in conference papers and in guest appearances in Australia, USA, Europe and Latin America. See also Publications J. Donald R. de Raadt. Retrieved 3 June 2008.

[edit] External links