TY - JOUR AB - Inquiry into managerial situations, problems and issues is needed very often. A mode of inquiry using situation‐actor‐process (SAP)‐ learning‐action‐performance (LAP) (SAP‐LAP) models of flexible systems management is presented here. It is argued that in order to gain deep insight and for effective action, a SAP‐LAP model of inquiry may be developed by identifying critical questions in each element of the SAP‐LAP paradigm. Three generic SAP‐LAP models for inquiry into general problem solving, change, and flexibility are presented followed by an illustrative application. These models may be adapted according to the requirements of the context under consideration. VL - 38 IS - 5 SN - 0025-1747 DO - 10.1108/00251740010340526 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740010340526 AU - Sushil PY - 2000 Y1 - 2000/01/01 TI - SAP‐LAP models of inquiry T2 - Management Decision PB - MCB UP Ltd SP - 347 EP - 353 Y2 - 2024/04/25 ER -