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  • Book
  • Open Access
  • © 2022

The Institutional Compass: Method, Use and Scope

  • Presents a simple, intuitive representation of large amount of data concerning any institution
  • Combines qualities and quantities in a robust, objective way
  • Offers a powerful tool for the critique of an institution
  • This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access.

Part of the book series: Methodos Series (METH, volume 18)

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Hardcover Book USD 59.99
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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
  2. Part I

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. General Introduction

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 3-6Open Access
    3. Vocabulary

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 7-11Open Access
    4. The State of the Art in Decision Making

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 13-32Open Access
  3. Part II

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 33-33
    2. The Three Qualities Again

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 35-39Open Access
    3. Constructing an Institutional Compass: Methodology

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 41-80Open Access
  4. Part III

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 81-81
    2. Merging the Compass with Systems Science

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 83-87Open Access
    3. Adapting the Compass to Align with Ecological Economics Thinking

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 89-105Open Access
    4. Further Manipulations and Extensions Using the Notion of Sphere

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 107-113Open Access
    5. The Compass as a Representation

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 115-118Open Access
    6. The Compass Used for Qualitative Accounting

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 119-123Open Access
  5. Part IV

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 125-125
    2. Case Study I: The World Health Organisation, by Ana Mulió Álvarez

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 127-158Open Access
    3. Case-Study II: Report on Product Label Project

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 159-160Open Access
    4. Concluding Philosophical Remarks

      • Michèle Indira Friend
      Pages 173-181Open Access
  6. Back Matter

    Pages 183-202

About this book

This open access book presents a new generation multi-criteria, multi-stake holder, decision aide, called an "institutional compass". Based on hard data, the compass tells us what quality-direction we are heading in as an institution, region, system or organisation. The quality is not chosen from the usual scalar qualities of: good, neutral and bad. Instead, it is a quality chosen between: harmony, discipline and excitement. None is good in and of itself. We need some of each.

The compass marks a new generation in four respects. 1. The representation of the data is intuitive and simple to understand, and therefore can be used to communicate and justify policy decisions. 2. Any data can be included, i.e., none is excluded. This makes the compass tailored to particular situations, voices and contexts. 3. The data includes different time horizons and different types of value: monetary, use, social, sentimental, religious, intrinsic, existential... 4. The process of compass construction can be made inclusive at several junctions. An institutional compass can be extended to evaluate products, add normativity to a systems analysis, reflect world-views such as that of ecological economists or function as an accounting system to manage scarce resources.

There are four parts to the book. The first part introduces the general ideas behind the compass. In the second part, the author presents the method for constructing the compass. This includes data collection, data analysis and a mathematical formula to aggregate the data into a single holistic reading. In the third part, the author extends the methodology: to incorporate it into systems science, adding a normative and quality-direction dimension, to use it as a non-linear accounting method and more thoroughly to reflect the philosophy of ecological economists to give a real measure of sustainability. In the fourth part, we see three case studies: one for the World Health Organisation, a second is the use of the compass to label products in a shop and the third is as a regional compass for Hauts-de-France. The book ends with philosophical conclusions.

Throughout the book, we see tight arguments, refreshing ideas and a thorough treatment of objectivity in decision making.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Univ. Artois, UMR 8181, UCCS – Unité de Catalyse et Chimie du Solide, Univ. Lille, CNRS, Lille, France

    Michèle Indira Friend

About the author

Michèle Indira Friend is temporarily a researcher with UCCS: Unité de Catalyse et de Chimie du Solide at Université Lille Nord-Europe. More permanently, she is Associate Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University. She is a member of the International Society for Systems Science, the International Society for Ecological Economics, the Association of Symbolic Logic, the International Society for Philosophy of Chemistry and many others. She is a philosopher of: logic, mathematics, relativity theory, chemistry, systems science, economics and the environment.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

Softcover Book USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access