An approach applying SSM to problem situations of interests conflicts: Interests‐coordination SSM

AbstractCheckland's Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) made an epoch‐making contribution to systems research. This paper researches Interests‐coordination SSM (ISSM), an approach of applying SSM to deal with the problem of interests conflict. We think there is a hierarchy of the systems methodologies for problem solving. ISSM is at the level lower than the level of Checkland's SSM in the hierarchy and is specially designed for dealing with the soft problem of interests conflict. The soft problem of interests conflict and the Interest Man assumption are ISSM's theoretical foundation. Therefore this paper first, on the basis of phenomenology, researches the implications of interests conflict, soft problem of interests conflict and Interests Man assumption, then presents the ideas that in the soft problem of interests conflict the man is an Interests Man, the interests of Interests Man include not only egotistic but also altruistic aspects and that the game behaviour is the fundamental behaviour of the Interests Man. Afterwards this paper, studies the practical logic stages of ISSM on the basis of these ideas. The key point of ISSM is how to make the accommodations between conflicting interests via the process of interests coordination and game. At the end a case is introduced in that we successfully used the ISSM to direct the implementation of a Knowledge Management (KM) project in an enterprise of China. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.