About decision-making and decision-makers
A short social theory
Social systems are any group of interacting individuals that have reached sufficient interdependence to exhibit ‘social patterns’. The members of social systems also develop organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another, sharing common traditions, collective activities and interests. The group of stakeholders that is needed to run the IMS could be regarded as a specific, goal-oriented social system.
A very simple way to define a specific social system is to characterise three aspects of the system:
- The shared mental frame the group uses in their communications. This frame includes mental representations of the members, their relationships, interests, a physical environment and a socio-economic environment. In human interactions, mental frames are created by storytelling.
- Role-identities within the shared mental frame. Any group member has a plural role identity, depending on a specific situation. In a brainstorm setting one could discern roles like the ‘chairman’, the ‘creative dreamer’, the ‘critic’ or the ‘realist’. In a negotiation setting, common roles are client, retailer, consultant, mediator, etc. Identities are created by rituals, role models and positions of people in space.
- Effective communication is only possible when knowledge about frames and identities is shared. Communications that acknowledge the frames (and fit in the story) and identities (and fit in the rituals) is regarded as appropriate, transparent and to-the-point. This implies that two messages with the same contents according to the sender, could have a completely different impact on the acceptor. The meaning of a message is not in the message itself, but in the reading. Therefore, the only real contents of a message is the effect it has on the other. Or – as the anthropologist Gregory Bateson said – ‘information is that which makes a difference’.
Application of social system theory to IMS
Stakeholder involvement is essential for the IMS. Stakeholder involvement could be divided in three life cycle stages:
- The starting stage: formation of a stakeholder group
- The creative stage: defining the IMS
- The management stage: running the system
In the first stage, the formation of a stakeholder group, the stories (the creation of a shared mental frame) and the rituals (role identities, structure, organisation, behaviour) is more important than the contents of the IMS. In section 1 of the IMS – the definition phase – this is defined.
In the second stage, the content is the main focus. By going deeper into the material, a shared understanding of the system and the risks involved is built up (section 2) and by going deeper into the processes, a shared vision can be made of the scenarios for the future and what decisions are necessary to control the risks.
