WEAVER, RICHARD G.; PHD

                         THE FIELDING INSTITUTE, 1993

                         BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT (0454); SOCIOLOGY, THEORY AND METHODS (0344)
 

                         The creation of a generic model to describe change processes in human systems was the purpose of
                         this theoretical dissertation. The core of the dynamic model of systems change is a synergistic union of
                         Ilya Prigogine's equilibrium model, developed in a physics environment, and Kurt Lewin's field of forces,
                         developed to account for human behaviors. The dynamic model features forces for change which
                         pressure a system to adjust and forces for stability which oppose changes. Traditionally, individuals
                         advocating for change or maintaining the status quo are labeled as change agents and resisters,
                         respectively. The model reframes these behaviors in more neutral terms and describes how all individuals
                         are both agents for change and agents for stability in both their own lives and in the social systems in
                         which they participate. Human systems experience evolving external and internal pressures to change.
                         The dynamic model identifies the process by which each system uniquely evaluates these pressures
                         (forces for change) and the pressures to maintain the status quo (forces for Stability). The model also
                         identifies the dynamic effects on the system that result from either a decision to change or a decision to
                         maintain the status quo. The cumulative effect of making changes is depicted on a change continuum.
                         The cumulative effect of maintaining the status quo is depicted on a tension continuum. Systems at
                         different points on either of the continuums have predictable internal dynamics. The two continuums
                         have been merged into a 9-box assessment and description tool. The definition of what constitutes a
                         particular system dramatically affects the dynamic model. In this model, it is the internally generated or
                         accepted definition that is most critical. In general, a system's definition is contained in what remains
                         stable. Change can, therefore, also be viewed as a change in the very definition of a system. Human
                         systems exist in multilayered and overlapping environments. Participants in each system experience a
                         rank ordering of the systems in which they are members. This rank ordering affects how they evaluate
                         forces for change and forces for stability and decide which system should or should not change.

Social Systems Simulation Group P.O. Box 6904 San Diego, CA  92166-0904 Roland Werner, Principal Phone/FAX  (619) 660-1603