Extending Unbounded Systems Thinking with agent-oriented modeling: conceptualizing a multiple perspective decision-making support system

  • Authors:

  • Dianne Hall;Yi Guo;Robert A. Davis;Casey Cegielski

  • Affiliations:

  • Department of Management, Auburn University, 401 Lowder Business Building, Auburn, AL 36849-5241, United States;Department of Information and Operations Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4217, United States;Department of Computer Information Systems, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX 78666-4616, United States;Department of Management, Auburn University, 401 Lowder Business Building, Auburn, AL 36849-5241, United States

  • Venue:
  • Decision Support Systems
  • Year:
  • 2005

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Organizations today face complex decision-making environments in which multiple perspectives must be considered. Mitroff and Linstone [The Unbounded Mind: Breaking the Chains of Traditional Business Thinking (1993) Oxford University Press, New York] developed Unbounded Systems Thinking (UST), of which multiple perspectives are an integral part. They suggest that, while the theory of applying multiple perspectives to decision-making and knowledge creation is sound and well researched, the implementation of multiple perspectives is difficult. It is maintained here that agent-oriented modeling can be used to design a system supporting multiple perspectives and to extend UST. This paper applies the Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) model of agents to UST to demonstrate the use of agent-oriented modeling to facilitate multiple perspective decision support.