Anthony Stafford Beer (September 25, 1926 - August 23, 2002) was a British theorist, academic, and consultant, best known for his work in the fields of operational research and management cybernetics. September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years). ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... In mathematics, theory is used informally to refer to a body of knowledge about mathematics. ... Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ... A consultant (from the latin consultus meaning legal expert) is a professional who provides expert advice in a particular domain or area of expertise such as accountancy, technology, the law, human resources, marketing, medicine, finance, public affairs, communication, or more esoteric areas of knowledge, for example engineering of different kinds... Operations research, operational research, or simply OR, is the use of mathematical models, statistics and algorithms to aid in decision-making. ... Again, in a ship, if a man were at liberty to do what he chose, but were devoid of mind and excellence in navigation (αρετης κυβερνητικης), do you perceive what must happen to him and his fellow sailors? (Plato, Alcibiades, 135A). ...

Beer was born in London. He started a degree in philosophy at University College London, but left in 1944 to join the army. He saw service in India and stayed there until 1947. In 1949 he was demobilized, having reached the rank of captain. London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. ... University College London, commonly known as UCL, is one of the colleges that make up the University of London. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

Beer had become aware of operational research while in the army and he was quick to identify the advantages it could bring to business. He joined United Steel and persuaded the management to found an operational research group, the Department of Operations Research and Cybernetics, which he headed. In 1959 he published his first book, Cybernetics and Management, building on the ideas of Norbert Wiener, Warren McCulloch and especially William Ross Ashby for a systems approach to the management of organisations. 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Norbert Wiener Norbert Wiener (November 26, 1894 - March 18, 1964) was a U.S. mathematician and applied mathematician, especially in the field of electronics engineering. ... One or more images would improve this articles quality. ... William Ross Ashby (September 6, 1903, London, England - November 15, 1972) was a British psychiatrist and a pioneer in the study of complex systems. ...

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 International Publishing Corporation (IPC). He was appointed development director at IPC and pushed for the adoption of new computer technologies. Also in 1966 he wrote Decision and Control. Beer left IPC in 1970 to work as an independent consultant, focusing on his growing interest in social systems. 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... IPC Media is a large British publishing company, mainly producing consumer magazines. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ...

His biggest independent project was never completed. In 1970 Beer was approached by Salvador Allende's elected socialist government of Chile to develop a national real-time computerised system Cybersyn to run the entire Chilean economy. When General Augusto Pinochet seized power in a violent military coup in 1973, the Cybersyn project was abandoned. Beer continued to work in the Americas, consulting for the governments of Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela. He also wrote a series of four books, based on his own Viable System Model for organisation modeling: Platform for Change, Designing Freedom, Heart of Enterprise and The Brain Of The Firm. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Salvador Isabelino del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Allende Gossens (July 26, 1908 – September 11, 1973) was President of Chile from September 1970 until his removal from power and death in September 1973. ... Project Cybersyn was a Chilean attempt at real-time computer-controlled planned economy in the years 1970-1973 (during the government of president Salvador Allende). ... General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte[1] (born November 25, 1915) was head of the military dictatorship that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... The Viable Systems Model (VSM) A Model of Organisational Structure. ...

In the mid 1970s Beer renounced material possessions and 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. Beer kept active with work in his field and in 1994 he published Beyond Dispute: The Invention of Team Syntegrity. Team Syntegrity is a formal model, built on the polyhedra idea of systems for non-hierarchical problem solving. Motto: (Welsh for Wales for ever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056  Area    - Total 20,779 km² (3rd... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...

Beer was a visiting professor at almost thirty universities and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Leeds and the University of Sunderland. He was president of the World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics and received awards from the Royal Swedish Academy for Engineering Sciences, the United Kingdom Systems Society, the Cybernetics Society, the American Society for Cybernetics, and the Operations Research Society of America. An audio file of his talk "Forty Years of Cybernetics" to the Cybernetics Society is available from their website. Parkinson Building, University of Leeds The University of Leeds, England, is one of the largest universities in the United Kingdom and the most popular by applicants, with 52,444 applicants in 2003 for 7,228 places (UCAS). ... St Peters Campus The University of Sunderland is located in the City of Sunderland in North East England. ...

He was married twice, in 1947 to Cynthia Hannaway and in 1968 to Sallie Steadman. Beer had five sons and three daughters. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

External links

• [http://www.cybersyn.cl/archivos/Eden%20Medina%20JLAS%202006.pdf Designing Freedom, Regulating

a Nation: Socialist Cybernetics in Allende’s Chile]

• Official Stafford Beer web site
• Commemorative web site about Stafford Beer
• Cybernetics Society Memorial
• Stafford Beer Biography from Vanilla Beer