The well-being of social systems

The emphasis is on social systems that are intentionally created to accomplish one or more purposes and, by design, size, and/or intention, are highly vulnerable to their membership. Such systems tend to prosper and evolve in desirable directions as long as they measure up to certain criteria. At the most basic and immediate level, such systems need to achieve their purposes, effectively perform their appointed tasks, and satisfy their stakeholders. Effectiveness reports try to focus on criteria such as these. But, limiting measures to these, though publicly desirable, present only part of the system picture. Ignored are the implications of the presence of certain system characteristics that have a profound effect on the system's evolution and well‐being. This paper explores a more comprehensive set of variables believed to be useful for both the immediate and longer‐range time frame. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.