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, Auburn, AL;Department of Management Studies, School of Management, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI and Department of Information and Operations Management, Texas A&M University, College Station ...;Department of Computer Information Systems, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX;Department of Management, Auburn University, Auburn, AL

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

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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.