Authors: Raul Espejo  

Purpose: Illustrate supported by Beer’s Viable System Model and four vignettes the relevance of self-organisation, recursive structures, self-reference and reflexivity in policy processes.

Design, Methodology, Approach: First, the concepts of self-organisation, recursive structures, self-reference and reflexivity are briefly discussed to ground policy processes in good cybernetics. Then, with the support of four vignettes, the idea of good cybernetics in policies processes is illustrated.

Findings: The cybernetics of policy processes is often ignored.

Limitations: If the purpose of this paper were to influence policy-makers it would be necessary to further the empirical base of the four vignettes and clarify desirable forums to ground the relevance of self-organisation, recursive structures, self-reference and reflexivity in policy processes.

Practical and Social Implications: Beer’s recursive structures, self-reference and reflexivity have much to contribute to the betterment of policy processes and the amelioration of the unbearable social and organisational costs of many current policies.

Originality: The application of concepts such as self-organisation, recursive structures, self-reference and reflexivity adds to our understanding of policy processes.

Keywords: Viable System Model, policy processes, self-organisation, structural recursion, self-reference, reflexivity

Full paper draft: Good Cybernetics is a must in Policy Processes

Published in: Kybernetes Vol 44 Vol 6/7

Full Citation (APA 6): (Espejo, 2015)

Espejo, Raul. (2015). Good social cybernetics is a must in policy processes. Kybernetes, 44(6/7), 874-890. doi: doi:10.1108/K-02-2015-0050