Chapter 10: New Horizons for the Viable System Model

The metaphor, horizon, used in the title of this chapter has two meanings. The first is my journey into new territory, drawing on learning from my experience, from the accounts and experiences of others who have been on a similar journey and getting insights from new vistas and new knowledge. The second meaning is about offering practitioners new perspectives on the human dimension of systems, suggesting new ways of thinking and working with clients, and responding to the unexpected and emergent phenomena of organisational life.

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the human dimension of the complex interactions, which are a key feature of VSM.