Frank Stowell

Frank Stowell is Emeritus Professor of Systems and Information Systems at the University of Portsmouth. He has a PhD in Organisational Change and his research centers around methods of participative design. He has supervised a number of research projects from modeling complex decision-making in mental health care, knowledge management, through to methods for client-led information systems development. He has been co-chair of a number of research council funded projects notably the Systems Practice for Managing Complexity project, designed to help managers address complex issues, which has developed into a self sustaining network. His latest publication The Managers Guide to Systems Practice (2012, Wiley Chichester) is a text written expressly with the kind of managers in mind who have attended the workshops over the past decade. The text deals with Systems ideas and models that are discussed as potential methods of addressing the complex issues encountered in the workplace. He is past President of the UK Academy of Information Systems and the UK Systems Society (http://www.ukss.org.uk/). He presently occupies the chair of the Council of Information Systems Professors and has recently joined the Board of the World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics. He has published papers and texts in the field and presented papers at a number of international conferences in Europe and the United States. Prior to his academic career he was employed by central government as a consultant within the Management Systems Development Group and has experience of defining and developing IT supported management information systems.

Publications

Systems Research for Real-World Challenges
Systems Research for Real-World Challenges
Frank Stowell. © 2018. 398 pages.
In a complex and changing world, current scientific approaches to problem solving have drastically evolved to include complexity models and emerging systems. Breaking problems...
Expanding the Discourse on Organizational Inquiry, Power and the Metaphor Commodity
Expanding the Discourse on Organizational Inquiry, Power and the Metaphor Commodity
Frank Stowell. © 2018. 25 pages.
Models of organization are unsatisfactory as they assume a certain level of predictability, but research shows that each organization is unique and cannot be encapsulated by a...
Using Soft Systems Ideas within Virtual Teams
Using Soft Systems Ideas within Virtual Teams
Frank Stowell, Shavindrie Cooray. © 2017. 23 pages.
Recent research adds support to the view that the way that individuals act as part of a virtual group is different from behavior in face-to-face meetings. Specifically...
The Systems Forum: What Value Have Systems Ideas in Making Sense of The Complexity of Issues Like Migration?
The Systems Forum: What Value Have Systems Ideas in Making Sense of The Complexity of Issues Like Migration?
Ian Roderick, Frank Stowell. © 2017. 27 pages.
This is a report on the first session of a new venture for the UK Systems Society, called 'The Systems Forum'. We seek to discover how the idea for a Systems Forum might...
“Systems”, Strengths, Weaknesses and Challenges
“Systems”, Strengths, Weaknesses and Challenges
Frank Stowell. © 2017. 11 pages.
Systems and Cybernetics no longer occupies the position, in academic circles, it once did. There are many reasons why this is the case but a common reason given is the lack of...
Using Soft Systems Ideas within Virtual Teams
Using Soft Systems Ideas within Virtual Teams
Frank Stowell, Shavindrie Cooray. © 2016. 22 pages.
Recent research adds support to the view that the way that individuals act as part of a virtual group is different from behavior in face-to-face meetings. Specifically...
Addressing Team Dynamics in Virtual Teams: The Role of Soft Systems
Addressing Team Dynamics in Virtual Teams: The Role of Soft Systems
Frank Stowell, Shavindrie Cooray. © 2016. 22 pages.
Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) is providing businesses with the means of assembling virtual teams comprising of members in diverse locations. However research shows that...
The Systems Forum: What Value Have Systems Ideas in Making Sense of The Complexity of Issues Like Migration?
The Systems Forum: What Value Have Systems Ideas in Making Sense of The Complexity of Issues Like Migration?
Ian Roderick, Frank Stowell. © 2016. 24 pages.
This is a report on the first session of a new venture for the UK Systems Society, called 'The Systems Forum'. We seek to discover how the idea for a Systems Forum might...
International Journal of Systems and Society (IJSS)
International Journal of Systems and Society (IJSS)
Alfonso Reyes Alvarado. Est. 2014.
The International Journal of Systems and Society (IJSS) is dedicated to promoting the use and development of cybernetic and systems ideas within society. The journal aims to...
Organisational Power and the Metaphor Commodity
Organisational Power and the Metaphor Commodity
Frank Stowell. © 2014. 9 pages.
Organisational intervention is problematic as each inquirer has a different notion of what an organisation is and in order to make sense of it the inquirer adopts a model or...
Peter Checkland Interview
Peter Checkland Interview
Frank Stowell. © 2013. 8 pages.
Systems Approach Applications for Developments in Information Technology
Systems Approach Applications for Developments in Information Technology
Frank Stowell. © 2012. 391 pages.
The intricate fields of information systems and information technology consist of innumerable interrelated facets from hardware to software and creators to end users. All systems...
A Question for Research: Do We mean Information Systems or Systems of Information?
A Question for Research: Do We mean Information Systems or Systems of Information?
Frank Stowell. © 2010. 14 pages.
In this chapter I raise questions about the nature of Information systems, the way that they are designed and developed and suggest areas that IS researchers may wish to...
From Synergy to Symbiosis: New Directions in Security and Privacy?
From Synergy to Symbiosis: New Directions in Security and Privacy?
Vasilios Katos, Frank Stowell, Peter Bednar. © 2009. 14 pages.
The objective of this article reflects upon the isomorphic relationship between ideas across disciplines. In this instance we are considering the value of a well established...
Do We Mean Information Systems or Systems of Information?
Do We Mean Information Systems or Systems of Information?
Frank Stowell. © 2008. 12 pages.
This article raises questions about the nature of information systems and the way they are designed and developed, and suggests areas where IS researchers may wish to...