The Art of War : system of systems engineering perspectives

• Published in: Chinese management studies Vol. 2; no. 4; pp. 317 - 326
• Main Author: Teck Foo, Check
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 10.10.2008
• Subjects: Artificial intelligence; Behavior; Boards; Chief executives; Engineering; Engineers; Information systems; Strategic planning; Systems engineering; Boards; Systems engineering; Chief executives; Information systems
• ISSN: 1750-614X; 1750-6158
• DOI: 10.1108/17506140810910953

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the ancient, 2,500 years old The Art of War by Sun Tzu from a system of systems engineering perspectives. The aim is to show that even for an emerging discipline in engineering the underlying concepts may be much more deeply rooted.Design methodology approach - The author approaches the subject by an in-depth analysis of recent conceptualizations of system of systems engineering. The author relates by analysis these concepts back to business strategy. He illustrates from his own empirical work how corporate strategy is but an equivalent to "system" of systems. From original writings of Sun Tzu in The Art of War he then develops a generic model of system of systems.Findings - Ideas in system of systems engineering, an emerging multi-discipline are far more deeply rooted in history, at least 2,500 years or even more. Using the cockpit of as an illustrative metaphor, the author argues for a research agenda to design an The Art of War boardroom information system.Practical implications - In this paper, the author argues why in the design of information system, it is useful to take a system of systems perspective. He draws upon the example of cockpit design of aircraft as inspirational design in modeling a futuristic The Art of War boardroom.Originality value - In this paper, the author illustrates how cross disciplinary researches between engineering, business and history may be so enriching. That in designing information systems for an The Art of War boardroom it is useful to use metaphorical equivalences. In this case, it is from the informational design of cockpits in fighter aircraft.