A Systemic Approach for Modeling Virtual Enterprise’s Management Features

Nikitas A.  Assimakopoulos; Aggeliki D. Theodosi

doi:10.6180/jase.2003.6.2.04

A Systemic Approach for Modeling Virtual Enterprise’s Management Features

Computer Science and Information Engineering

Nikitas A. Assimakopoulos ¹ and Aggeliki D. Theodosi¹

¹Department of Informatics University of Piraeus Karaoli & Dimitriou 80, 185 34 Piraeus, Greece

Received: September 8, 2002
Accepted: March 3, 2003
Publication Date: June 1, 2003

Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.6180/jase.2003.6.2.04

ABSTRACT

In this paper we investigate essential properties of virtual enterprises and the consequent modeling requirements. Apart from that, we define agent’s autonomy. As agents in AI (Artificial Intelligence), virtual enterprises are treated as autonomous entities. Requirements are derived from two types of virtual enterprises, a repetitive and a one-of-a-kind production or service enterprise. A virtual enterprise model should represent properties which include the dynamics of decision-making, the negotiations among participants for the definition of autonomy, authority, beliefs and responsibilities, the mapping of organizational entities to decisional roles, the ability to identify and analyze a variety of conflict types and the existence of conflict resolution paths. These properties have to be analyzed by matching enterprise-engineering tools. An ontological theory is also needed to systematize the concepts that must be supported by the protocol languages for parallel distributed planning, scheduling and control algorithms in the virtual enterprise. We are presenting an approach to this problem using systemic methodologies such as TSI (Total Systems Intervention), SAST (Strategic Assumption Surfacing & Testing), SSM (Soft Systems Methodology), and PSM (Problem Structuring Methodology) in order to decompose the enterprise to autonomous entities - and trace possible problems - and solve participants disagreements in an edifying, for the enterprise, way. A useful trial example to implement and comprehend the above methodologies is that of the virtual team of an enterprise, which offers management services to hospitals and health centers in Greece.

Keywords: Systems Approach, SAST, SSM, PSM, TSI, Virtual Enterprise, Enterprise Modeling

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