It is possible to think that the list of
demands given below is undertaken from the contemporary
forecast of the prospects for development Web-
technology:
-+AKA-I want to learn a little more news on
point six.
-+AKA-to show the genealogical tree of Trojan
tsar priam.
-+AKA-entropy? 4 I do not understand. To stop
and to explain first.
-+AKA-to write down into my tax file,
that I today purchased dog.
-+AKA-to transmit to jack in
Vancouver, that I is ready to chess match.
-+AKA-I no one
more not to tell, until 4 I solve.
In actuality this is
endurance from the book Of stafforda of Beer (Stafford Beer),
as basis of which his radio-lectures of 1973 lay, books,
published long before that how Tim berners-Li (Tim Berners-
leu) invented WWW1.
Already yr, as it did not become the latter
from "the mogikan"- founders of cybernetics (http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/urltrurl?lp=ru_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.osp.ru%2Fcw%2F2002%2F33%2F015_1.htm).
Norbert Wiener (Norbert Wiener) - the "father of cybernetics",
mathematician, whose practical works were connected with the
creation of the homing anti-aircraft guns in the years World
War II, showed the fundamental value of information, including
for the prospect of the development of society. Russian Ashby
(W Ross Ashby) - "Newton cybernetics", formulated fundamental
law of requisite variety (The Law of Requisite Variety - RVL)
and the principles of homeostatic regulation
(glossary.basegroup.ru/g/homeostasis. htm). Warren poppy
-Kallok (Warren McCullock) - the ancestor of the formal model
of neuron networks. However, Stafford Beer - the founder of
"organizational cybernetics" (http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/urltrurl?lp=ru_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psych.lse.
Ac.uk:16080/complexity/ Seminars/1997/report97nov. htm), as
early as 1957 published the description of industrial
enterprise as the living organism (see [ 1 ]) and subsequently
developed this model to the five-level model of any viable
system (Viable System Model - VSM; http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/urltrurl?lp=ru_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.users.
globalnet.co.uk/+AH4-.rxv/orgmgt/vsm.pdf). Its foundation
became the laws and the principles of cybernetics, formulated
by the friend of Beer - Ashby.
Beer knew entire secrets of industrial
enterprise, since began its activity at plants United Steel in
Great Britain. The examples of homeostatic regulation, given
by it in [ 1 ], illustrate the problems of interaction of
marketable and production services. The model of viable system
according to Beer is many interacting "Ashby's homeostats".
Ashby in RVL formulated conditions for the control capability
(which, by the way, are principally disrupted in the rigid
bureaucratic administrative- command system), and Beer in VSM
indicated the way of creating the viable systems in the
industries and the society, which in the best way corresponded
to Ashby's law. Specifically, Beer in detail analyzed
mechanisms of "decrease" (attenuation) and "increases"
(amplification) of the variety in the viable systems for the
permission of contradiction between, for example, the "variety
of market", the "variety of production operations" and the
"variety of control" (management variety). Specifically, Beer
formulated the "theorem about the recursive structure of
viable systems (VS)" [ 2, p. 236 ], in which is asserted, in
the first place, nesting VS, and secondly - fundamental
"identity" of their structures. This recursive nature makes
VSM with universal, applied both for the section of production
and for the state. Principally important conclusion from the
model of viable system is the fact that the basic purpose VS
of higher order - "not to interfere with" its subsystems, but
the basic purpose of "interference" (intervention) consists
only in ensuring of the homeostatic regulation of higher
order.
Beer consecutively all levels VSM (System One
- System Five). Thus, among the "highest forms" of the
behavior of firms they are separated: the "continuation of
normal activity", an "increase in the expenditures",
"savings", "crisis behavior", "extinction (with the
possibility" of suicide")" and "undisguised aggression". In
the present situation of the explosion of information
texnologies it is useful more attentively to look, for which
all this is necessary, as ever more advanced means they
influence the essence of control, as they must be used for
control of the "best method". Exactly with these questions
dealt Beer now controllers at best they find in the fourth
phase of reaction to the appearance of a computer on the
administrative scene [ 2 ]: magic abbreviation EOD (electronic
data processing) began to be substituted by not less magic -
ISU (integrated systems for administration) or KIS (corporate
information systems). In actuality that is necessary for the
viability of firm, exceeds the limits of functionality and
produced templates, proposed by vendorami ERP- systems. It
goes without saying, very fact of introduction in the
enterprise of the base modules ERP gives positive effect and
increases the general culture of control. However, this is far
from the fact that can be achieved by "cybernetic enterprise"
in Beer's spirit. Some features of the fifth level VS are
embedded into the so-called "system of the automatic warning"
leading suppliers ERP- systems (for example, Baan and Oracle);
however, in VS these mechanisms are principally standardized
for any level and it is naturally build it the technology of
the "algedonicheskogo"2 regulations of
interaction between VS of different level. The sharp
competitive activity between vendorami ERP does not contribute
to overcoming deficiencies in the obsolete models MRP/ERP and
to adoption to the armament of deeper models. Development by
the group of the open systems (Open Applications Group; http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/urltrurl?lp=ru_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.openapplications.org)
the united standard specifications ERP, of course, the major
step to the side of unification, which "in principle" is
supported by leading vendorami, including SAP, Oracle and
PeopleSoft; however, in practice they thus far are not used
and are still distant from level VSM. fever the mastery of the
new possibilities of the Internet it does not also contribute,
"stop and being examined", although here the problem of the
unification of kontenta becomes increasingly sharper. However,
these themes require separate examination. It is here
appropriate to switch over to Beer's ideas, which fall outside
the limits of the problems of management of one firm.
Since VSM bears the principally recursive
nature, it is natural that Beer tried on it, also, in the
wider setting, made deeper generalizations. He writes in [ 2
]: "the book concludes with the examination of the dangerous
future of our planet, already torn up on the part by almost
inconceivable discords and cruelties, generated, probably, it
is more by universal deficiencies in control, than by
unbridled greediness".
In 1971-73 years Beer was scientific
consultant on the possibilities of the practical realization
of cybernetic approach to management of entire state - Chile.
Work was conducted on the technical equipment (one machine
IBM/360, one machine Burroughs and Telex network) antediluvian
from a present point of view, under the conditions of rigid
blockade and financing the blasting elements from the side of
the West and without the real aid from THE USSR, which after
the Czechoslovak events of 1968 as the features of incense
feared "socialism with human face". Nevertheless system
"kibersin" was neglected [ 2 ], and only bloody revolution Of
pinocheta (1973) ruined this viable system, which far outran
its time. Allende's regime was cataract in the eye both for
the West and for THE USSR. For the West this was a dangerous
example of the successful "noncapitalistic way of
development", for THE USSR - dangerous example of the
fundamental elimination of the rigid bureaucratic pyramids,
which are considered as the most important evil in VS and
which were the basis of the Soviet structure of control.
Possibly, the Soviet Union then missed the chance of soft
passage to the new regime.
It is best anything, of course, the history
of project "kibersin" to read in Beer himself [ 2, Part IV ].
The very good analysis of these events made also in. V.
shishov (http://www.ckp.ru/biblio/texts/36_89.doc),
whom, in particular, he writes: "... the small group of
people... from zero could design and make a full-scale mock-up
of new type state". Brief story about the influence of Beer's
ideas on the problems of wide, pain world-wide scale is given
in the article "in order not to remain in THE XXI century" (http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/urltrurl?lp=ru_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ototsky.mgn.ru%2Fit%2F
21abreast.htm).
From that outline aboved obviously, I hope
that the author of note, which you read, optimist believes in
the fact that with the development IT we unavoidably will turn
ourselves facing those laws of nature, which opened the
"Mohicans of cybernetics", and in particular Stafford Beer his
works (including social) is as before urgent. Thus, at the end
of June was conducted the sequential forum Staffordian
Syntegration (itsy.co.uk/staffordian/about.asp), on which,
among other, on basis of VSM were analyzed the defects of the
administrative- command system of management of control and
were examined (based on the example of the Ukraine) the
problems of "transition period" for the countries of East
Europe (Andrey Sergey). Was formed association Team Syntegrity
(http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/urltrurl?lp=ru_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.team-syntegrity.com),
which masters the ideas of Beer in practice and sequential
measure of which Open Syntegration must pass during November
2003.
As far as Russia is concerned, here existing
"detonating gas" of wild capitalism with the survivals of old
bureaucratic technologies does not clearly correspond to the
"spirit of Beer". However, within the framework of project
"electronic Russia" it is possible to attempt to make
something more serious, than a good machine on processing of
"bureaucratic rubbish" on basis of Lotus Notes. True, the will
and efforts are necessary for this.
1+AKA-(back)in
more detail with the commentaries to Beer's book it is
possible to become acquainted on site http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/urltrurl?lp=ru_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.qub.ac.
uk/mgt/papers/eitc/beer.html.
2+AKA-(back)+AKA-Algedonicheskiy
(from Greek pain and pleasure) - relating to regulation in the
nonanalytic sense [ 2, p. 406 ].
Literature
[ 1
]+AKA-S. Beer, "cybernetics and management of production". -
M.: Science, 1965 (transfer of the book "Cybernetics and
Management" by Stafford Beer).
[ 2 ]+AKA-C. Beer, the
"brain of firm". - M.: Radios and connection, 1993 (transfer
of the book "Brain of the firm" by Stafford
Beer).