Table 1.

The main characteristics of four perspectives for problem solving

Characteristic of perspectives	Technical/scientific perspective	Interpersonal/social perspective	Existential perspective	Systemic perspective
Goal	Problem solving focuses on implementation and a product	Action, stability, process	Lives and fates of individual human beings and their life-worlds	Problem within the context of a larger whole; trying to establish the nature of different relationships
Mode of inquiry	Modelling, data, analysis	Consensual and adversary	Intuition, learning, experience	Encompass all above mentioned; connecting to the whole
Ethical basis	Rationality	Justice, fairness	Morality	Holistic approach
Planning horizon	Long-term	Intermediate	Short-term and long-term	Long-term, focus on the consequences
Communication	Technical report, briefing	Language differs for insiders, public	Personality important	Personality important as a part of a whole

Source: adapted by the authors of the paper based on Linstone (1989); Mitroff (2000).