Colonial Systems

Jaana Porra
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Jaana Porra: Department of Management Science and Information Systems, CBA 5.202, College and Graduate School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1175

Information Systems Research, 1999, vol. 10, issue 1, 38-69

Abstract: Colonial systems are presented as an alternative to the mechanistic and organic systems paradigms. They are based upon the inclusion of an evolutionary social history (Ernst Mayr), species-level evolution (Eldredge and Gould), and local context (Martin Heidegger) as central premises in the definition of human systems. The colonial viewpoint of systems is differentiated from the mechanistic and organic models by ten different axioms that define how systems operate during both homeostasis (stability) and radical change. From the axiomatic descriptions of colonial systems, the method of punctuated prototyping is derived to clarify how local colonies survive and prosper by creating and adopting isolated prototypes. This change mechanism (1) requires the self-awareness to recognize the necessity for change, and (2) describes the empowerment necessary for the colonists to build and adopt successful prototypes. The colonial systems model can be applied to explanations about how information systems, organizations, and social institutions change. Further, colonies can be used as a metaphor to design new human systems that capture a greater degree of humanness than do the models of machines and organisms.

Keywords: Social Systems; Social Change; Organizational Change; Change Management; Information System Change; Colonial Systems; Information System Theory; Design; Humanness; Evolution; Change; Species Level Evolution; Punctuated Equilibrium; Prototyping; Punctuated Prototyping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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