Dissipative structure theory, synergetics, and their implications for the management of information systems

Ziming Liu

Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 1996, vol. 47, issue 2, 129-135

Abstract: Dissipative structure theory and synergetics have far‐reaching implications for self‐organizing phenomena in many diverse fields. This article attempts to apply them in the management of information systems. It begins with a brief review of dissipative structure theory and synergetics, and then demonstrates why they could be applied in information systems. Orderliness is pervasive and of central importance in the operation of information systems. Information science can be regarded as a science about knowledge ordering with the goal of making information more accessible to potential users. Five types of entropy in information systems are analyzed. The relationship between dissipative structure theory and traditional management theories are also discussed. Implications for the management of information systems include: maintaining the system in the state of non‐equilibrium, openness towards change, stimulating dynamic cooperative behavior, and selectively amplifying fluctuation. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Date: 1996
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(199602)47:23.0.CO;2-0

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:jamest:v:47:y:1996:i:2:p:129-135

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1097-4571

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of the American Society for Information Science from Association for Information Science & Technology
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().