Richard F. Ericson

Richard Ferdinand Ericson (1919–1993) was an American organizational theorist, and Professor Emeritus of Management and Director, Interdisciplinary Systems and Cybernetics Project, Program of Policy Studies in Science and Technology at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C..

Biography

Richard Ericson received a bachelor's with Phi Beta Kappa and a Masters degree at University of Chicago and received his Doctorate in Economics at Indiana University in 1952.

He was a full Professor at Stetson University and head of Department of Management in the School of Business from 1952 to 1956. From 1956 he was appointed associate professor of management in hospital administration at the State University of Iowa. In 1959 he was a consultant to the Ohio Dept. of Transportation. After that he moved to Washington DC in 1960, where he had been named professor of Business Administration at George Washington University, and here in 1969 he became Professor of Management.

Ericson was organizationally active. He was Chairman of the Comparative Administration Task Force, The Academy of Management from 1966 to 1968, and President and Managing Director of the Society for General Systems Research in 1968 for a year. In 1969 he became Director, Interdisciplinary Systems and Cybernetics Project, Program of Policy Studies in Science and Technology at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C..^[1]

Dr. Ericson was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Gamma Sigma, American Economic Association, American Management Association, Society for General Systems Research, American Cybernetics Association, The Academy of Management, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the World Future Society.^[1]

One of his students was the author on management and systems thinking Stephen G. Haines.^[2]

Work

Ericson's research interests were in the fields of General Systems and Cybernetics Approaches to Management Theory and Practice, Value Issues in Contemporary Management, GEMSOC.^[3]

Publications

Ericson has written and edited several books and articles.^[4] A selection:

• 1969. Organizational cybernetics and human values. Program of Policy Studies in Science and Technology. Monograph. George Washington University.
• 1969. Toward increasing the social relevance of the contemporary university. Program of Policy Studies in Science and Technology, George Washington University.
• 1968. The impact of cybernetic information technology on management value systems. Program of Policy Studies in Science and Technology, George Washington University.
• 1971. The policy analysis role of the contemporary university. Program of Policy Studies in Science and Technology. Reprint.P rogram of Policy Studies in Science and Technology, George Washington University.
• 1978. Avoiding social catastrophes and maximizing social opportunities : the general systems challenge : proceedings of the 22nd annual North American meeting, Washington, D.C., February 13–15, 1978. Richard F. Ericson, proceedings coordinator. Washington : Society for General Systems Research.
• 1979. Improving the Human Condition; quality and stability in social systems. Edited. Washington, Society for General Systems Research.

Articles, a selection

• 1958. "Should Management be Idealistic?" Harvard Business Review, September/October 1958.
• 1963. "Toward a Universally Viable Philosophy of Management". In: Management Technology, Vol. 3, No. 1 (May, 1963), pp. 33–55
• 1966. "Research Scholar's View of Administrative Theory," Proceedings of The Academy of Management, March 1966;
• 1969. Toward Increasing the Social Relevance of the Contemporary University, Program of Policy Studies, August 1969;
• 1969. "The Impact of Cybernetic Information Technology on Management Value Systems," Management Science, October, 1969
• 1972. "Visions of Cybernetic Organizations". In: The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 15, No. 4, General Systems Theory (Dec., 1972), pp. 427–443.
• 1970. "The policy analysis role of the contemporary university". In: Journal Policy Sciences. Issue Volume 1, Number 1 / March, 1970. Pages 429-442.
• 1985. "Thinking and Management Values in the Microchip Era: An Action Agenda for Institutional Transformation". In: Systems Research 2 (vol. 1), 1985, pp. 29–32.

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Richard F. Ericson

• The Day The Constitution Died. Personal website of Ericson's son Kurt Ericson.