System equivalence: the application of joint optimization

Abstract

The concepts of joint optimization and socio‐technical systems have been in the literature for over 40 years. However, efforts to operationalize these concepts for managerial practice have not progressed at the same pace as the theory on joint optimization has advanced. This paper represents an effort to turn the theoretical concept of joint optimization into managerial practice by introducing the concept of system equivalence. In this paper system equivalence (the level at which all three systems (social, technical, and environmental) are mutually equivalent in value (is described to indicate how it should be used. This paper then discusses the usefulness of this concept for managerial practice.

Citation

Washington, M. and Hacker, M. (2000), "System equivalence: the application of joint optimization", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 18-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/13683040010362328