A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE DESIGN OF AN ENERGY ANALYSIS COLLABORATIVE STRUCTURE USING SOFT SYSTEMS METHODOLOGY

摘要

Small business energy analysts often specialize in one aspect of the energy analysis business. It is done by necessity due to scarcity of resources and to maintain a proprietary market niche. However, the same approach results in a growth inhibitor due to their lack of ability to address all the potential clients' needs. Moving to a multiple entity collaborative approach should be the logical step forward. Yet, interacting with multiple entities that do not communicate with each other well can be dysfunctional and unsatisfying for themselves and most importantly for clients. When multiple interests and beliefs are in place, soft systems methodology (SSM) can assist leaders to find the "middle" ground for all participants to collaborate. The goal of this study is to present a theoretical framework for the design of an energy analysis collaborative structure using soft systems methodology. The resulting theoretical framework should assist the collaborative leaders to perform a systemic analysis of processes in the targeted industry sectors to improve internal communication through an understanding of psychological, social, and cultural perspectives. In addition, SSM will be applied to explore the strategic design of an organizational structure to assist E3 (Economic, Energy, and Environment) practices and principles. The resulting model will shed light for engineering managers confronted with the creation and management of collaborative efforts on key aspects to observe.