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Stafford Beer: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|British management consultant and cyberneticist}} | {{Short description|British management consultant and cyberneticist}} | ||
{{EngvarB|date=August | {{EngvarB|date=August 2014}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=August | {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} | ||
{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| name = Stafford Beer | | name = Stafford Beer | ||
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}} | }} | ||
'''Anthony Stafford Beer''' (25 September 1926 – 23 August 2002) was a British [[theorist]], consultant and professor at the [[Manchester Business School]].<ref name=MBS>{{cite web|title=Manchester Business School Alumni|url=https://www.mbs.ac.uk/about/our-history/|access-date=13 June | '''Anthony Stafford Beer''' (25 September 1926 – 23 August 2002) was a British [[theorist]], consultant and professor at the [[Manchester Business School]].<ref name=MBS>{{cite web|title=Manchester Business School Alumni|url=https://www.mbs.ac.uk/about/our-history/|access-date=13 June 2018}}</ref> He is best known for his work in the fields of [[operational research]] and [[management cybernetics]]. | ||
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
===Early life=== | ===Early life=== | ||
Beer was born in [[Putney]], London in 1926. At age 17 he was expelled from [[Whitgift School]] and enrolled for a degree in philosophy at [[University College London]]. But in 1944 he left to join the army, first as Gunner in the [[Royal Artillery]], but he soon received a commission first in the [[Royal Fusiliers]], and then as a [[company commander]] in the [[9 Gorkha Rifles|9th Gurkha Rifles]]. He saw service in [[India]] and stayed there until 1947. Upon returning to England he was assigned to the Human factors Branch of [[Operations research]] at the [[War Office]]. In 1949, he was demobilised, having reached the rank of captain.<ref name=Tel>{{cite news|title=Obituaries: Stafford Beer|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1405557/Stafford-Beer.html|access-date=31 August 2015|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=28 August | Beer was born in [[Putney]], London in 1926. At age 17 he was expelled from [[Whitgift School]] and enrolled for a degree in philosophy at [[University College London]]. But in 1944 he left to join the army, first as Gunner in the [[Royal Artillery]], but he soon received a commission first in the [[Royal Fusiliers]], and then as a [[company commander]] in the [[9 Gorkha Rifles|9th Gurkha Rifles]]. He saw service in [[India]] and stayed there until 1947. Upon returning to England he was assigned to the Human factors Branch of [[Operations research]] at the [[War Office]]. In 1949, he was demobilised, having reached the rank of captain.<ref name=Tel>{{cite news|title=Obituaries: Stafford Beer|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1405557/Stafford-Beer.html|access-date=31 August 2015|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=28 August 2002}}</ref> | ||
He dropped the use of his first name "Anthony" when he was about twenty-one and persuaded his brother, Ian Beer, to sign a statement that he would not use the name Stafford which he also was given.<ref name=Pickering>{{cite book|last1=Pickering|first1=Andrew|title=The cybernetic brain : sketches of another future|date=2011|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0226667904|edition=Pbk.}}</ref> | He dropped the use of his first name "Anthony" when he was about twenty-one and persuaded his brother, Ian Beer, to sign a statement that he would not use the name Stafford which he also was given.<ref name=Pickering>{{cite book|last1=Pickering|first1=Andrew|title=The cybernetic brain : sketches of another future|date=2011|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0226667904|edition=Pbk.}}</ref> | ||
===United Steel=== | ===United Steel=== | ||
In 1956 he joined [[United Steel Companies|United Steel]] and persuaded the management to fund an operational research group, the Department of Operations Research and Cybernetics, which he headed. This was based in Cybor House, and they installed a [[Ferranti Pegasus]] computer, the first in the world dedicated to management cybernetics.<ref name=Cabezas>{{cite web|last1=Cabezas|first1=Guido|title=Stafford's Curriculum Vitae|url=http://www.oocities.org/gicabezas/Beer.html|website=Guido Cabezas Fuentealba|publisher=Universidad del BioBio|access-date=18 August | In 1956 he joined [[United Steel Companies|United Steel]] and persuaded the management to fund an operational research group, the Department of Operations Research and Cybernetics, which he headed. This was based in Cybor House, and they installed a [[Ferranti Pegasus]] computer, the first in the world dedicated to management cybernetics.<ref name=Cabezas>{{cite web|last1=Cabezas|first1=Guido|title=Stafford's Curriculum Vitae|url=http://www.oocities.org/gicabezas/Beer.html|website=Guido Cabezas Fuentealba|publisher=Universidad del BioBio|access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref> | ||
===SIGMA=== | ===SIGMA=== | ||
In 1961 he left United Steel to start an operational research consultancy in partnership with [[Roger Eddison]] called SIGMA (Science in General Management). Beer left SIGMA in 1966 to work for a SIGMA client, the [[IPC Media|International Publishing Corporation]] (IPC). He left IPC in 1970 to work as an independent consultant, focusing on his growing interest in social systems.{{citation needed|date=August | In 1961 he left United Steel to start an operational research consultancy in partnership with [[Roger Eddison]] called SIGMA (Science in General Management). Beer left SIGMA in 1966 to work for a SIGMA client, the [[IPC Media|International Publishing Corporation]] (IPC). He left IPC in 1970 to work as an independent consultant, focusing on his growing interest in social systems.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} | ||
===Cybersyn=== | ===Cybersyn=== | ||
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===Later activity=== | ===Later activity=== | ||
{{unreferenced section|date=August | {{unreferenced section|date=August 2015}} | ||
In the mid-1970s, Beer moved to mid-[[Wales]] where he lived in an almost austere style, developing strong interests in poetry and art. In the 1980s he established a second home on the west side of downtown [[Toronto]] and lived part of the year in both residences. He was a visiting professor at almost 30 universities and received an earned higher doctorate (DSc) from the [[University of Sunderland]] and honorary doctorates from the [[University of Leeds]], the [[University of St. Gallen]], and the [[University of Valladolid]]. He was president of the World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics. | In the mid-1970s, Beer moved to mid-[[Wales]] where he lived in an almost austere style, developing strong interests in poetry and art. In the 1980s he established a second home on the west side of downtown [[Toronto]] and lived part of the year in both residences. He was a visiting professor at almost 30 universities and received an earned higher doctorate (DSc) from the [[University of Sunderland]] and honorary doctorates from the [[University of Leeds]], the [[University of St. Gallen]], and the [[University of Valladolid]]. He was president of the World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics. | ||
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===Family life=== | ===Family life=== | ||
He was married twice, in 1947 to Cynthia Hannaway, and in 1968 to Sallie Steadman. His partner for the last twenty years of his life was [[Allenna Leonard]], a fellow cybernetician. Beer had five sons and two daughters, one of whom is [[Vanilla Beer]], an artist and essayist.{{Citation needed|date=July | He was married twice, in 1947 to Cynthia Hannaway, and in 1968 to Sallie Steadman. His partner for the last twenty years of his life was [[Allenna Leonard]], a fellow cybernetician. Beer had five sons and two daughters, one of whom is [[Vanilla Beer]], an artist and essayist.{{Citation needed|date=July 2016}} She exhibited with [[Roger Kohn]].<ref>[http://www.peacockuniversitypress.com ''Prenez, Mangez et Vivez''] Peacock University Press (2006)<!--ISSN/ISBN needed--></ref><ref>[http://www.integratedcircles.com Simon Beer profile], integratedcircles.com; accessed 22 August 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.newwavephotos.com/MarkBeer.htm Mark Beer profile], newwavephotos.com; accessed 22 August 2015.</ref> | ||
==Work== | ==Work== | ||
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==Awards== | ==Awards== | ||
Beer received awards from the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences]] in 1958, from the United Kingdom Systems Society, the [[Cybernetics Society]], the [[American Society for Cybernetics]], and the [[Operations Research Society of America]].{{citation needed|date=August | Beer received awards from the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences]] in 1958, from the United Kingdom Systems Society, the [[Cybernetics Society]], the [[American Society for Cybernetics]], and the [[Operations Research Society of America]].{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} | ||
==Literature== | ==Literature== | ||
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==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
* {{citation |year=2004 |editor=Rayward, W. Boyd |editor2=Bowden, Mary Ellen |author=Pickering, Andrew |author-link=Andrew Pickering |chapter=The Science of the Unknowable: Stafford Beer's Cybernetic Informatics |title=The History and Heritage of Scientific and Technological Information Systems |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=76OOQannpBgC&q=history+heritage+technological |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=76OOQannpBgC&q=stafford+beer's+cybernetic&pg=PA29 |place=Medford, New Jersey |publisher=Information Today, Inc |access-date=19 March | * {{citation |year=2004 |editor=Rayward, W. Boyd |editor2=Bowden, Mary Ellen |author=Pickering, Andrew |author-link=Andrew Pickering |chapter=The Science of the Unknowable: Stafford Beer's Cybernetic Informatics |title=The History and Heritage of Scientific and Technological Information Systems |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=76OOQannpBgC&q=history+heritage+technological |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=76OOQannpBgC&q=stafford+beer's+cybernetic&pg=PA29 |place=Medford, New Jersey |publisher=Information Today, Inc |access-date=19 March 2013}} | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||