Russell L. Ackoff

Russell Ackoff Lincoln ( born February 12, 1919 in Philadelphia, † October 29, 2009 in Paoli (Pennsylvania) ) was an American organizational theorist.

Russell Ackoff was a pioneer in the fields of operations research and systems thinking.

Life

Russell L. Ackoff was an American scientist and business consultant. He received his bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1941. Between 1942 and 1946 he made ​​military service, then he received his doctorate in 1947 at the University of Pennsylvania was the first PhD student of C. West Churchman.

From 1947 to 1951 Ackoff was assistant professor of philosophy and mathematics at Wayne State University, then from 1951 to 1964 Professor of Operations Research at Case Institute of Technology. In the years 1961 and 1962 he was also a visiting professor at the University of Birmingham. From 1964 to 1986 he was Professor of Systems Sciences and Management Science at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The first of several honorary doctorates he received in 1967 from Lancaster University.

Russell Ackoff had a son and two daughters from his first marriage; after the death of his first wife he married in 1987 a second time.

Work

Russell L. Ackoff developed the soziosystemischen approach in organization theory. He also worked on the design of business and management theory. He postulated the so-called Interactive Management, whose primary task is to plan the future of the company and shape. Companies should be made continuous in an iterative process of Interactive Planning. The question is not how the company will look like in the future, but as it is now to adapt to the idealized picture of themselves.

The Interactive planning is done in reverse. First, an idealized image of the company is developed, so would it look like in the present. Following a design process is started, which has very precise approach to this goal.