ABSTRACT
The viable system model (VSM) of Stafford Beer has been deployed in various contexts during the previous decades. Equally, a variety of related contributions in literature has been published. The contribution is an attempt to capture current difficulties with the use of the VSM in practical applications. Based on an observational study, it is claimed that the VSM is currently stuck in the typical chasm of a bell-shaped diffusion curve. instead of (over)-simplifying the VSM or (over)-stretching its scope, the abstract nature of complexity balances of the model should be (re)-emphasized and better linked to the established tools and methods of classical organization theory.
