SIGNPOSTS TO CRITICAL SYSTEMS THINKING AND PRACTICE - AN INVITED ARTICLE

Outlines the emergence of critical systems thinking and practice and t he reasons why such a development in the systems approach was necessar y. Considers the limitations of traditional systems thinking and the s trengths and weaknesses of three alternatives to the traditional syste ms approach - soft systems thinking, organizational cybernetics and em ancipatory systems thinking. Reflection on the relationship between th ese different strands of the systems approach gave impetus to the birt h of critical systems thinking. Details the nature of critical systems thinking, as resting on five commitments, and describes a new methodo logy (''total systems intervention'') to operationalize this approach.