TOWARDS A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

• Alp Baysal School of Engineering Management, University of Cape Town

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7166/8-1-389

Abstract

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since their appearance on earth, humans have always had to deal with different problems. Progress and development have been the results of their success in overcoming these problems. But every problem solved has lead to others , that are usually more complex than > the previous ones. Increasing degrees of complexity made it necessary to develop new ways of interpreting our world and tackling our problems.
One of the words that can characterise, the world that we are living in today , the best , is change. Like everything else, the nature of our problems is also changing with an unprecedented speed. > We need new and effective approaches and methodologies to deal with them. We cannot use any more the ones that we have inherited from previous generations.

AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Van die verskyning van die mensdom op die wereld, moes mense verskillende tipes probleme hanteer. Vooruitgang en ontwikkeling het gevolg op die suksesvolle hantering van hierdie probleme. Elke probleem wat opgelos is het egter tot nuwe probleme gelei , gewoonlik meer kompleks as die oorspronklike probleem. Hoer vlakke van kompleksiteit vereis die ontwikkeling van nuwe maniere om die wereld te interpreteer en probleme aan te pak.
Een van die woorde wat ons huidige wereld die beste karakteriseer is verandering. Soos byna alles anders, is die aard van ons probleme ook aan die verander, teen 'n versnellende tempo. Daar is 'n behoefte aan nuwe en effektiewe benaderings en metodologie om hierdie probleme te hanteer. Ons kan nie meer benaderings volg wat ge-erf is van vorige geslagte nie.