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  • © 2019

What About the Future?

New Perspectives on Planning, Forecasting and Complexity

  • Prepares readers to think about the future of their businesses, society, and their own lives
  • Brings together multidisciplinary perspectives to revisit the concept and understanding of the future
  • Helps with proper understanding of planning, forecasting to reduce organizational stress and personal anxiety

Part of the book series: Science, Technology and Innovation Studies (STAIS)

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
  2. What Do We Mean by “The Future”?

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 1-7
  3. Risk and Uncertainty

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 9-12
  4. Values and the Future

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 13-20
  5. Why Do We Want to Know the Future?

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 21-27
  6. Prediction and Planning

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 29-44
  7. Complexity and the Future

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 59-75
  8. Analytics and the Future

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 77-95
  9. Imagination and the Future

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 97-109
  10. Expertise and the Future

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 111-117
  11. The Present and the Future

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 119-131
  12. Policy and the Future

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 133-140
  13. Attitudes, Expectations, and the Future

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 141-147
  14. The Future of the Future

    • Fred Phillips
    Pages 149-157

About this book

This book closely examines the concept and theory of 'future' from a multidisciplinary perspective, focusing on the practice of forecasting, especially in its interaction with complexity. It highlights the relations between forecasting, decision-making and strategy, mixing technical arguments (but minimal mathematics) with ideas from psychology and philosophy. Rich with examples, the book highlights the role of values and attitudes in deciding how to look at the future.

Written in a casual but precise style that makes the ideas easily digestible, it helps corporate strategists, practicing futurists, and researchers in the field of strategy or public planning gain a fundamental perspective on the future – before starting to predict things.




Authors and Affiliations

  • Anderson School of Management, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

    Fred Phillips

About the author

Fred Phillips is the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal 'Technological Forecasting & Social Change' (Elsevier). He is currently a Professor at University of New Mexico, USA, and Visiting Scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. He is the 2017 winner of the Kondratieff Medal, awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences, and 2019 recipient of the INEKA Medal. He is a Senior Fellow (and formerly Research Director) at the IC² Institute of the University of Texas at Austin, and a fellow of the Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET).

      
    


 

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access