"An organization's mission statement should contain its reasons for existence and its most general aspirations, its ideals. It should identify in very general terms the way by which the organization will pursue its ideals, that is, the business it wants to be in. It should formulate the ways by which it will attempt to serve each of its stakeholder groups. It should meet the preceding requirements in a way that is exciting and challenging to all its stakeholders. Finally, it should establish the uniqueness of the organization."

“Scientific models have all these connotations. They are representations of states, objects, and events. They are idealized in the sense that they are less complicated than reality and hence easier to use for research purposes. These models are easier to manipulate and "carry" than the real thing. The simplicity of models, compared with reality, lies in the fact that only the relevant properties of reality are represented.”

“A good deal of the corporate planning I have observed is like a ritual rain dance; it has no effect on the weather that follows, but those who engage in it think it does. Moreover, it seems to me that much of the advice and instruction related to corporate planning is directed at improving the dancing, not the weather.”

“Over time, every way of thinking generates important problems that it cannot solve.”

“Managers need all the information they want. Most MIS designers "determine" what information is needed by asking managers what information they would like to have. This is based on the assumption that managers know what information they need and want.”

“Analysis of a system reveals its structure and how it works. It provides the knowledge required to make it work efficiently and to repair it when it stops working. Its product is know-how, knowledge, not understanding. To enable a system to perform effectively we must understand it—we must be able to explain its behavior—and this requires being aware of its functions in the larger systems of which it is a part.”

“Analysis of a system reveals how it works; it provides know-how, knowledge, not understanding; that is, explanations of why it works the way it does. This requires synthetic thinking... Analysis is the way scientists conduct research. Synthetic thinking is exemplified by design.”