Understanding Leadership in Complex Systems - Henderson, Jeffrey Shawn

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Résumé :
This work proposes that Carl Menger?s Subjective Theory of Value (STV), and its subsequent elaboration by Ludwig von Mises as Praxeology, provides a useful alternative to more common methods in the study of action and social phenomena, and more specifically, to leadership in complex social systems. Rather than being based on rationality assumptions and algorithmic predictability, the STV emphasizes transient subjectivity shaped by a complex world of lacking information, mistakes, disequilibrium, uncertainty and attempted error correction that defy mathematization and exact prediction. As such, it is a framework to make sense of human action systems in terms of subjective understanding, learning, and uncertainty, rather than quantitative predictability. Accordingly, the aim of this work is to explain the STV as a general theory of action and to demonstrate its capability in developing adequate qualitative theory and to elaborate on some of the major topics that its implications raise with regard to leadership. The power of the method can be seen in that its procedure naturally branches out to facilitate an understanding of a broad selection of processes and may provide the basis for a universal theory of leadership.

Sommaire:
PART I: THE SUBJECTIVE THEORY OF VALUE AND PRAXEOLOGY.- MENGER'S SUBJECTIVE THEORY OF VALUE: CHOICE UNDER UNCERTAINTY.- MENGER'S SUBJECTIVE THEORY OF VALUE: CHOICE UNDER UNCERTAINTY.- MISES' PRAXEOLOGY.- MISES' APRIORISM.- The Universality of Praxeology.- PRAXEOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP.- LEADERSHIP AS A PROCESS OF EXCHANGE UNDER UNCERTAINTY.- DISCUSSION SCOPE AND OUTLINE.- PART II: THE PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF MISES' PRAXEOLOGY.- METHODOLOGICAL APRIORISM.- METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES REGARDING THE ROLE OF EMPIRICAL DATA IN PRAXEOLOGY.- THE THEORY OF HUMAN ACTION, ITS A PRIORI CATEGORIES AND ASSUMPTIONS.- METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES IN PRAXEOLOGY.- DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF PRAXEOLOGY.- PART III: ENTREPRENEURSHIP, IMITATION AND INNOVATION.- PRAXEOLOGY VERSUS SOCIAL EVOLUTION AS A PRIORI FRAMEWORKS.- ENTEREPRENURSHIP AS EVOLUTION OF ACTION.- THE ULTIMATE A PRIORI OF DISCOVERY.- THE LOGIC OF PERCEIVED POSSIBILITIES: PRAXEOLOGY AND THE PROCESS OF EVOLUTIONARY LEARNING.- DEFINING INNOVATIONFROM A PRAXEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE.- THE A PRIORI CATEGORY OF IMAGINATION.- SOME A PRIORI ASPECTS OF LEARNING.- PART IV: THE HUMAN ACTION OF LEADERSHIP.- CONCEPTUALIZING LEADERSHIP.- THE FOLLOWER PURPOSEFUL RESPONSE.- THE CATEGORY OF THE RESPONSE CUE (R CUE).- THE SUBJECTIVE THEORY OF VALUE AND FOLLOWING.- UNCERTAINTY.- POWER AS A CATEGORY OF LEADERSHIP ACTION.- META LEADERSHIP.- PART V: SYNTHESIS.- THE PRINCLES OF PRAXEOLOGY AND ITS ROLE AS A METHOD OF SOCIAL SCIENCE.- EVOLUTION AND CHANGE IN ACTION.- LEADERSHIP.- Epilogue.