As the IS discipline is maturing and acquiring self-confidence, there is now a growing awareness among IT specialists that these fundamental questions about the discipline need to be addressed. An increasing volume of practical and academic discourse on CBIS is making the need for a philosophical understanding of the subject more apparent for enunciating its basic principles, furnishing a common basis for the interpretation of discourse, and providing the rules of logic to examine the validity of discourse. An incipient discipline like IS can use its epistemological and philosophical foundations to provide the intellectual justification for its practice, methodologies, tools, and techniques. The lack of an appropriate philosophical perspective tends to create a "technology driven" IS design which ignores the emergent human dimensions in organizations. It is being recognized that the existing "scientific" method is fundamentally inadequate to solve the complex problems of organizations encompassing numerous social, technological, psychological and economic dimensions. It is also inadequate to answer the questions about the primary justification of information technology in organizations. A multidisciplinary perspective is, therefore, essential for improving the practice of the information systems. A broad-based approach is also essential to correctly interpret the increasing volume of practical and academic discourse on this subject.

With a multidisciplinary approach, this article establishes the need for understanding the philosophical and historical aspects of systems concepts, compares the "scientific" and "systems" approaches to solving information systems problems in organizations, and suggests a new architecture of information systems based on the systems philosophy. The foundational ideas of the two approaches are compared on ten dimensions of organizational functioning, and the information systems architecture proposed in the paper is based on the architectural framework of classical Greco-Roman building architecture.

• Primary focus of organizational functioning and problem solving
• Broad approach to determining the purpose of the organization
• Nature of relationships between the elemental units of an organization
• Type of interactions that take place between the subsystems and associated relationships
• Characteristics of intra-organizational relationships
• Patterns of inter-organizational information exchange
• Solutions derived for organizational problems
• Responses generated by the organization to the internal or external stimuli in the planning process
• Motivations that propel the organization to enhance its value chain, and
• Consequences resulting from the response generated by the organization.

The systems world-view emphasizes a holistic focus on organizational problems while the traditional scientific world-view suggests a fragmented approach to such problems, due to its reductionist methodology. In terms of the information systems practice, the systems view translates into "top down" design, heavily emphasized in the contemporary information systems practice. A holistic perspective on the problems of information systems requires a simultaneous understanding of the environmental, organizational, technological, and human dimensions of the system. Teleological purpose implies that systems possess an ostensible "purposefulness" originating "within" them. These objectives are considered to be inherent in the behavioral properties and the "design" of the system. In addition, teleological activity demonstrates the presence of sensitivity and persistence while non-teleological activity is merely "functional." Equifinality, which implies that a system can achieve an objective by following different paths with different initial conditions, is another manifestation of teleology. The scientific view, on the contrary, assumes that systems follow a predefined set of rules to achieve their objectives which are externally determined. Newton argued in the General Scholium that the universe was created with all its governing laws so that it can function like a clockwork without the day to day interference of the creator spirit. This argument epitomizes the scientific thinking about the lack of internal purpose and inherent design in systems, and the mere "functionality" of their behavior. According to the systems view, the interactions among the elements of a system are synergistic, which means that the overall effect of these interactions is immensely greater than the sum of the individual effects. While the scientific view assumes liner and causal relationships among the system components, the systems view assumes non-linear effects. Aristotle's dictum, "The whole is more than the sum of its parts," expresses the essence of this property of systems. Norbert Wiener's interdisciplinary studies in cybernetics, based on the assumption of the commonality of relationships between man and machine, conducted at MIT over a decade, contain ample evidence of the presence of synergy in systems [Wiener, 1961].

Similarly, while the scientific view assumes a static and mechanistic organization of reality, the systems approach assumes that the internal relationships among the various elements of a system dynamically evolve in response to the environmental conditions. An open environment, characterized by continuous exchange of matter, energy, and information, is assumed by the systems approach while the traditional scientific paradigm postulates a closed environment that does not exchange resources with the system.

The systems view recommends synthetic solutions to the organizational problems while the scientific view, based on empirical observation, methodical analysis, and laboratory techniques, emphasizes the analytical approach. The planning responses generated by organizations, in scientific approach, are essentially reactive since the stimuli are assumed to be external. On the other hand, the systems view encourages proactive planning responses in organizations. Proactive responses are possible because the goals of the organizations are internally determined and the environment conditions can be easily monitored. One of the assumptions of the systems view is that the information related problems of organizations and organisms are intrinsically stochastic. Therefore, the analysis and design approaches are required to create an internal flexibility in the systems to accommodate the sudden changes in the organizational states. The scientific view, with its assumption of deterministic consequences, discourages rapid responses to sudden and chaotic changes occurring in the organizations. The "systems" view of organizations as open and dynamic systems thus provides a better approach to the analysis, design, deployment, and management of computer based information systems.

In the first part of the 20th century, with all the horrors of two wars and the general inability of science to solve the intractable problems of mankind, a movement against the reductionist approach of science developed in the intellectual circles of Europe and America. This movement, known as the general systems theory, was first proposed by biologists and psychologists by virtue of their broader and deeper understanding of the organisms and humans as the highest forms of organization. The philosophical underpinnings of the general systems theory are discussed in the following section of this paper.

In the contemporary systems context, the prolific writings of Ludwig von Bertalanffy on "General Systems Theory" comprise the nucleus of the systems discipline. Bertalanffy, a biologist by profession, exposed the glaring weaknesses of the "mechanistic" approach as applied to the behavior of living organisms and intricate organizations. He believed that living organisms and organizations display intricate patterns of behavior, synergistic interactions, and innate purpose. Consequently, the mechanistic view that organisms are mere automatons with randomly determined goals without discernible design and purpose cannot adequately explain their phenomenology. He viewed organisms as "whole" entities whose distinctive characteristics and organizing principles cannot be reduced to simple and isolated components. This approach was originally identified as "organismic biology" or "the system theory of organisms." These speculations were the precursor of the modern systems theory which is considered the philosophical infrastructure of information systems. Bertalanffy's claims were considered preposterous by some skeptics in the early stages of the development of the systems theory but his ideas have become widely accepted since the early 1960's [Egler, 1953]. The growth of computer and communications technologies and the complexities of developing software for these systems have made the theory extremely relevant to the discipline of information systems. It is widely accepted by information systems professionals that organizations and information systems must be viewed as open, dynamic, and purposeful systems for effective development and deployment of information and communications technologies. Recent studies of the characteristics of "conscious" systems have also demonstrated the relevance of Bertalanffy's ideas to living systems. It has been found that conscious systems cannot be reduced to phenomenology of matter-distribution and energy-flux in space and time. Their interrelationships and the existential holistic dimension play a pivotal role in defining their organization and autonomy [Schwarz, 1992].

In his work of remarkable breadth and considerable originality, C. West Churchman introduced the concept of "Inquiring Systems" during the 1970's [Churchman, 1971]. Inquiring systems are essentially very complex, self-learning, and self-examining systems relevant to the high level problem solving in organizations. Recommending the use of the systems philosophy for designing inquiring systems, Churchman reasons that: (a) the design of an inquiring system should assimilate the concept of distinguishing between reality and non-reality, and only a system that can relate its information to the "whole" reality can accomplish this purpose. Leibniz's theory of "monads" can contribute to the design of these systems since the monads symbolically contain the entire reality in them; (b) John Lock's "Essay on Human Understanding" is relevant to the design of inquiring systems in that it views the human mind as a tabual rasa, lacking any innate ideas. The system design based on this principle can receive unbiased information as inputs and develop a clearer sense of understanding, just like the human mind as a blank slate; (c) Since an inquiring system must have some innate processing capability regardless of inputs and outputs, Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" and conceptualization of a priori ideas can be helpful in the design of inquiring systems; and (d) Hegal's dialectical approach can be used in the design of inquiring systems since it leads to objectivity in understanding and a self learning process based on the dialectical method; and finally (e) E.A. Singer's philosophical ideas emphasizing a metrological approach to design can be helpful in designing inquiring systems since formal measurement, units, and standards are extremely important for these systems. Churchman also seems to introduce a "spiritual" dimension to the systems philosophy. Additionally, he proposes that Carl Jung's classification of the functions of mind into the categories of thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition are extremely relevant to inquiring systems. Similarly, Jung's typology of human temperaments as extravert and introvert can also be considered relevant to the design of complex, self learning systems. Churchman suggests that all these historical ideas can be applied to deciding strategic choices for global inquiring systems. Going beyond the traditional paradigm of science where fascinating discoveries are routinely made, inquiring systems imply a need for the "expression of the activity of inquiry rather than its mere appreciation." Churchman's "inquiring" systems are in many ways similar to Bertalanffy's "open" systems, but Churchman's emphasis on management, social, and computer sciences rather than biology make his approach more directly relevant to management information systems [http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/~gem/].

Gestalt psychology, practiced and popularized by three German psychologists, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler, and Max Wertheimer in the early part of the 20th century, emerged from their experimental investigations in psychology, logic and epistemology. The school of gestalt psychology has also made a remarkable contribution to the development of the systems theory and practice by arguing against the "simple dichotomy of science and life" [Koffka, 1955]. Gestalten, a German language term, means "pattern" or "configuration" and gestalt psychologists believe that perceived visual patterns demonstrate unexpectedly arising properties that are drastically different from their static images [Rock, 1990]. Gestalt psychologists also believe that both the organization of the nervous system and the images projected on the retina play an indispensable role in the visualization of objects. Again, this holistic view of psychology, diametrically opposite to the analytical and fragmented view of traditional psychology, is essentially a "systems" view. Wertheimer performed elegant experiments on the perception of movement and organization of perception, and Kohler studied insight and learning in apes. In addition to the experimental proofs of the presence of a holistic perspective in the mind, the gestalt psychologists also proposed the "systems" philosophy of the mind. According to Gestalt, the brain is primarily an open and dynamic system possessing a natural tendency towards achieving an equilibrium of energy. This suggestion is very similar to the prevailing theoretical assumptions of strategic level organizational information systems based on artificial intelligence. Due to these similarities, the ideas of gestalt psychology are now being utilized in neural networks and artificial intelligence, and modern cognitive psychology is considered extremely close to gestalt psychology.

The third pillar of the systems discipline is "cybernetics," a term coined in 1947 by the famous mathematician Norbert Wiener at MIT from the Greek word kybernetike which was, in turn, used by Plato to mean "helmsmanship". The theory of cybernetics is explained in Norbert Wiener's seminal work, Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine and it is now widely used to study the problems of signal processing, information transfer, artificial intelligence, servo mechanisms, and even linguistics. Cybernetics is "essentially an attempt to bring together and reexamine lines of research that had formerly been pursued in isolation" [Guilbaud, 1959]. The synthetic techniques of cybernetics can be eventually applied to the analytical problems in specific disciplines. In cybernetics, the terms "control and communication" have a much broader meaning. Control implies the influence exerted by the components of a system upon one another, and communication is considered an essential property of the internal relationships of an organization [Hilton, 1966]. Computer based information systems are very similar to servo mechanisms since both are characterized by a high degree of interaction among their components, equilibrium seeking and goal directed behavior, networks of relationships, and "feedback" as the fundamental means of control. Cybernetics, therefore, remains highly germane to computer based information systems, although it was initially conceptualized for industrial control. In its broader interpretation, it is also applicable to organizations despite their multiplicity of goals that the cybernetic theory did not originally address. Figure 1 shows a broad comparison of the two approaches discussed in the previous section. It is believed that the motivation for cybernetics came from the work of James Clark Maxwell on governors for different types of machinery. These ideas were further elucidated, in connection with building architecture, by Jaque Lafitte, a French architect, who explained the operation of advanced forms of machines in which the sources of energy and sources of information are very closely associated. Modern computer based information systems are a perfect example of these mechanisms.

The concept of Inquiring systems is included by Richard Mason and Ian Mitroff in their comprehensive framework for MIS research [Mason and Mitroff, 1973]. The inclusive approach of these management scientists to MIS development is a specific application of the systems approach to solving organizational information systems' problems. In the Mason and Mitroff framework a convincing argument is made to include different psychological types, classes of problems, methods of evidence, organizational contexts, and modes of presentation in the design of management information systems and MIS research. Managers rely on different methods of evidence generation to make decisions. These methods are classified into five categories and each category is associated with the ideas of a famous European philosopher, as follows. (a) Data based method of evidence with John Locke, (b) Model based with Leibniz, (c) Multiple-models based with Kant, (d) Conflicting-models based with Hegel, and (e) Learning Systems based on the ideas of Singer and Churchman. Mitroff and Linstone have recently argued for a broader-based systems approach to solving larger problems of businesses, society, and science [Mitroff, 1993]. In fact modern organizations supported by information technology can be viewed as inquiring systems since organizational learning and creation of true knowledge are essential for their functioning in a competitive environment [Courtney, et. al., 1998].

The systems approach was first applied to the creation of a stable transportation infrastructure and the architecture of public buildings in the Roman empire. Suggestions are being made that this approach can be successfully used in the architecture of information systems. Therefore, I discuss, in the following section of this article, how the ancient ideas of a famous architect of the classical age can be applied to the formulation of a comprehensive management information systems architecture in organizations.

In his famous work De architectura libris dicem (Ten books on architecture), Vitruvius takes a very simple yet comprehensive view of architecture, emphasizing the harmony of its three dimensions: FERMITAS, UTILITAS, and VENUSTAS. I have summarized these dimensions in Table 2 with their closest contemporary English meanings. In addition, I have added in the table the equivalent concepts of organizational information systems architecture relevant to each dimension. The adaptation of Vitruvius's principles by Alberty in the 15th century have played a dominant role in the renaissance and neoclassical architecture of modern Europe and the United States. The stability of this architecture due to its "noble" simplicity can be used as a foundation by the information systems community to design and create reliable, useful, and aesthetically pleasing information systems.

Ever since the term software engineering was coined in 1969 at a NATO conference in Italy, it validity has been questioned by software professionals because software development is not a mature engineering discipline. It lacks the detailed approach, standard methods, and routine design practices that are essential to any kind of engineering. The design principle of Vitruvius can be applied to software architecture for creating standard methods and codifying routine practices http://www.cs.cmu.edu/People/Vit/vitruvius.html]. As a design handbook, de archetitura was an extremely successful book, and if software engineering and architecture have to become established disciplines, a Vitruvius type methodology is needed. An important software engineering project, the Vitruvius Project at Carnegie Melon University, is currently being undertaken to include the architectural philosophy of Vitruvius in software design and implementation. The purpose of the project is to "capture, organize, and disseminate design knowledge" so that software engineers and architects do not have to reinvent solutions for each project [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/People/Vit/vit-project.html]. Most software practitioners retain their knowledge at the architectural level of abstraction. This is the level where the knowledge of software engineering has to be captured, organized and disseminated. Most of the existing software design practices are based primarily on drawing simple boxes and diagrams with rudimentary CASE tools. In specifying the details of the system with diagrams, architectural considerations are often disregarded. The architecture-based approach is needed to create a common understanding of the underlying principles of software design before specifying the requirements of the system. Rather than concentrating on the detailed design concepts, such as object oriented design, client server approach, and computer aided systems engineering, the Vitruvius project emphasizes the high level abstractions associated with software development. The architecture of software is defined in an easy-to-understand notation with a specialized architectural description language (ADL) called Unicon, before the low level details are specified [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/People/Vit/unicon/reference-manual/Reference_Manual_1.html]. The project is expected to result in a system that will be useful in creating software architecture containing conceptual simplicity, structural strength, and esthetic appeal to software designers and users.

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