Social systems are forces that influence the quality‐of‐life within human communities, and are especially relevant for advancing or constraining a people's economic, spiritual, social‐cultural, and political development. As the world moves toward reinventing and redesigning social systems to cope with increasing complexity and challenges of the approaching twenty‐first century, ‘user designers’ need to re‐examine more closely how systems affect/effect stakeholders. This discussion links humanistic and systemic views by exploring the notion that particular system types can be incompatible with certain qualities of human nature. Four general qualities of human nature (developmental, socio‐teleological, value‐seeking, and creative/innovative) are selected and discussed in the context of the design and operation of rigidly controlled, deterministic, purposive, heuristic goal formulating, and purposeful intermediate systems types. Design Inquiry and key concepts for social system design are introduced and discussed in context to social systemic organizations designing for quality‐of‐life. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Traditional ethnic cultures have difficulties co-evolving with their rapidly changing environments, especially the larger societal environment. Often cultural systems are unable to assist members in coping with accelerating technological, social and political changes. Systems inquiry offers ways and means to address this predicament. This article explores the value of applying a systems approach to the creation of institutional arrangements by which ethnic groups might better develop their cultural systems in order to create mutually beneficial co-evolutionary relationships with the societal environment.

Social systems are forces that influence the quality-of-life within human communities, and are especially relevant for advancing or constraining a people's economic, spiritual, social-cultural, and political development. As the world moves toward reinventing and redesigning social systems to cope with increasing complexity and challenges of the approaching twenty-first century,`user designers' need to re-examine more closely how systems affect/effect stakeholders. This discussion links humanistic and systemic views by exploring the notion that particular system types can be incompatible with certain qualities of human nature. Four general qualities of human nature (developmental, socio-teleological, value-seeking, and creative/innovative) are selected and discussed in the context of the design and operation of rigidly controlled, deterministic, purposive, heuristic goal formulating, and purposeful intermediate systems types. Design Inquiry and key concepts for social system design are introduced and discussed in context to social systemic organizations designing for quality-of-life. #