Viable organisations need to be ethically astute. In examining questions of equity - access to resources (who gets what?) – attention is often diverted from systemically related questions of power (who owns what?) and questions of knowledge (who does what?). Moreover these questions relate to important questions regarding legitimacy (who gets affected by what some people get?). Such ethical and political questions are not easy to grasp or work with in terms of organisational development.
Drawing on ideas from critical systems thinking (CST) and critical systems heuristics (CSH), a pro-equity focus framework is suggested. A case study of the long-standing Narmada project in India is used to illustrate the workings of the framework in organising viability from an ethical standpoint. The presentation describes how the underpinning methodological ideas of CST incorporating triple-loop learning can enhance a more systemic practice of addressing issues of equity.
Martin Reynolds is a consultant, researcher and postgraduate programme director for Systems Thinking in Practice at The Open University, UK. His teaching and research focus on issues of critical systems thinking in relation to environmental responsibility, business administration, and international development.