Major changes in today's world have made renowned authors recognize that the existing strategic models are not providing adequate solutions to deal with society's changing problems. The present research effort aims to understand the strategic problem and develop a concise study of the internal and external aspects of strategic problem dynamics, taking as a starting point the approaches inherent in complexity theory. As a result, it was found that organizations are the products of couplings between two or more separate systems; they couple to the socio‐human system, and these, to the rest of the planetary dynamics. As a last analysis, this configuration is strongly analogous to the dynamics based on symbiosis, found recently in biology. This latter approach suggests that it is an inspiring, important and useful metaphor for the improvement of theoretical frameworks in management. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Systems thinking comprises one of the greatest revolutions of the 20th century. The core of such approach embodies crucial epistemological questions, which refer to the need to formulate methods suitable to their premises. As the theoretical reflexive space cannot be neglected within the scientific process, not only the construction of empirical methods, but also the methodologies for building theoretical hypotheses to describe and explain complex phenomena must be appropriate to the perspectives of the ideals of such complexity. Thus, the present research effort aims at proposing a structured methodological approach, based on the philosophical principles of the general systems theory and Husserl's phenomenology, which can be used as an alternative to describe and explain complex systems phenomena. As a solution to the problem at stake, we present a research framework based on a hybrid procedure, which applies analogue processes and also eidetic reduction in order to build theoretical descriptions capable of synthesising complex dynamics in a structured manner. Despite some challenges inherent to its nature, the proposed method shows robustness in philosophical terms, to organise the formulation of theoretical hypotheses in an action research environment.

The instabilities experienced in Brazil, especially during 2014 when World Cup spending triggered a series of protests in the country, showed a weakness in the distribution of political power in the country. This study proposes an improved distribution of power that could ensure greater government autonomy and stability in the republic. This is accomplished by applying the principles of Stafford Beer's viable system model to the three state powers of Brazil: the executive, legislative and judiciary. We found that the current distribution of power requires greater autonomy of the judiciary, as well as breaking from the procedure of the political parties' pre‐selection. This would ensure greater representation of citizen demands. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The present work aims at understanding the system (components and interrelations) of the indication of provenance type of geographical indication for territorial development. A case study of a Brazilian region that has a cheese indication of provenance, Serro, was performed with a systemic approach based on the soft system methodology. Data were collected through document analysis, direct observation, and interviews (with 15 subjects) and analysed through content analysis. Results indicate that the registration itself does not generate all aspects of territorial development. The recognition of a geographical indication can stimulate the process, but its success depends on actors' Weltanschauung and the systems' interconnections. Thereby, leaderships assume a fundamental role in modelling this type of structure. This opens possibilities for government policy linked to development, which can benefit from a systemic perspective, because it involves complex demands, ambiguous relations, conflicts of interests, and interconnected solutions involving multiple institutions. KEYWORDSartisanal cheese, indication of provenance, place of provenance, public policy, soft system methodology

ResumoA administração como ciência ainda é relativamente nova e como tal, vivencia desordens internas, relativas ao seu objeto de pesquisa, sua relevância e sua própria forma de perceber o mundo. Entre Marx e Weber a ciência da administração se colocou frente a um dilema de ordem epistemológica, onde determinados paradigmas assumiram o papel de juízes da verdade. Este ensaio teórico sugere que, como uma ciência abrangente, a administração precisa reestabelecer o elo entre teoria e prática. Para tal, é preciso transcender as disputas epistemológicas e alargar a percepção da administração para abranger as características pertinentes a cada objeto de estudo. Palavras-chave:Teoria; Prática; Administração. AbstractManagement as a science is relatively new and still experiencing internal disorders relating to its research object, its relevance and its own way of perceiving the world. Between Marx and Weber, administration science has put forward an epistemological dilemma where certain paradigms assumed the role of judges of the truth. This theoretical paper suggests that, as a wide-ranging science, management needs reestablish the link between theory and practice. To do so, we must transcend the epistemological disputes and broaden the perception of management to cover every relevant object of study characteristics.

RESUMOO objetivo deste artigo é explorar o desenvolvimento de barreiras impostas pela cultura organizacional na implantação de Balanced Scorecards (BSC), através estudo em uma grande indústria de alimentos. O artigo contempla a abordagem da cultura organizacional em uma visão sistêmica, suportada pela metodologia de P. Checkland -Soft Systems Methodology, com a criação de modelos para posterior análise das relações entre os atores. A principal barreira cultural identificada foi a falha no processo de transferência do conhecimento. Os autores propõem a utilização de reforços positivos nos operadores que detém o conhecimento, de modo a difundi-lo em toda a unidade.Palavras-chave: Balanced Scorecard; Soft Systems Methodology; Cultura Organizacional. ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to explore the development of organizational culture barriers imposed by the implementation of Balanced Scorecards (BSC) through a comparative study in a large food industry. The article considers the approach of organizational culture by a systemic view, supported by the methodology developed by Peter Checkland -Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), with the creation of models for subsequent analysis of the relationships among the actors. The main identified cultural barrier was the failure of the knowledge transfer process. The authors propose the use of positive reinforcement for operators who are knowledge holders in order to spread it throughout the unit. RESUMENEl objetivo de este artículo es explorar el desarrollo de barreras impuestas por la cultura organizacional en la implantación de Balanced Scorecards (BSC), a través de estudio en una gran industria de alimentos. El artículo contempla el abordaje de la cultura organizacional en una mirada sistémica, soportada por la metodología de P. Checkland -Soft Systems Methodology, con la creación de modelos para posterior análisis de las relaciones entre los actores. La principal barrera cultural identificada fue el fracaso en el proceso de transferencia del conocimiento. Los autores proponen el uso de reforzamientos positivos para los operadores que detienen el conocimiento, de modo a difundirlo en toda la unidad.

Globalization is a phenomenon that is present in modern society and, with its expansion, it is essential that companies can meet the constant demands of the market, but for this, it is necessary to make the best decisions and deal with various adversities related to the economy, competition, management, among others. The success of investment projects is determined by a set of techniques that must be applied so as not to compromise the viability of the project. When this viability is surrounded by uncertainties, a useful alternative to knowing the risks is the use of the Monte Carlo method. The present work aims to address the risk factors in a company of the furniture sector, using the Monte Carlo simulation to analyze the viability of this project. The methodology adopted was developed from a case study, through an exploratory research. The results showed that the investment project is viable, estimating a return between the 4th and 5th year of the project, in addition, the balance after the 10 years of investment would be around R$ 4,128,211.63, a value that represents 161.25% of the initial investment.

The properties of the firm are crucial starting points for developing theories on economy and management. The aim of this study is to propose a general theory of the social organization of production, mapping the essential conditions for its creation, development, and growth. In order to do so, we propose an evolutionary theory in which the relations of the organization's sociotechnical system manifest themselves through a self‐perpetuating dynamic where leaders take on the role of social attractors and their viable outline is defined by their capacity for regeneration and by the flows of resources and information that pass through them. This goes against the finalist conceptions of the firm, in which the scope is to meet external demands. In this type of dynamics, the objective of the structure is to ensure its own organization and the realization of its identity and autonomy.