Towards establishing the use of holons as an enquiry method

This paper argues the need for utilizing holons as an enquiry method to identify problems associated with messy situations. We demonstrate the use of holons through an investigation of a department within a UK university. Similar work was conducted by the university higher management using its quality management and enhancement procedures. We employ the case study research method to assess the explanatory capability of both approaches and conclude that there is evidence to support the use of holons for enquiry purposes and that the holons provide a structure for both soft and hard systems modelling.