Systems
approaches
Chapter 4
Organization as a system
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A open, complex set of interdependent parts
that interact to adapt to a constantly
changing environment to achieve its goals
(Kreps)
Metaphor-biological reference (organismic)
Input-throughput-output-feedbackenvironment
Balance between the whole & individual
parts is crucial
Synergy-sum of whole >than sum of parts
– Consider what this means within an organization
SYSTEMS MODEL
(Kreps)
Environment
Energy
from the
Environment
Input
Transformation
Feedback
Output
System Basics
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System components
– Hierarchical ordered
– Interdependence
– Permeability
– Equilibrium
– Adaptation
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System processes
– Exchange processes
– Feedback processes
– Transformation processes
System properties
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Holism (synergy)
– System is more than the sum of its parts
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Negative Entropy
– Ability to sustain and grow (avoid entropy)
– Entropy=tendency of a closed system to
run down
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Complexity
– The more a system grows, the more it
develops
System properties
 Equifinality
-More than one way to achieve a goal or task
-More than one way to do the job
 Requisite variety
-Organization has to be as complex as the
environment it is in
-Organization needs to consider the
relationship with its environment
Cybernetics Systems
Theory
Study of regulation and control
 Corrective Feedback to maintain system
 Components
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– System goal
– Mechanisms
– Feedback
– System behavior
Weick’s Theory of
Organizing
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Organizations are something individuals
accomplish through interaction
Organizations are more than just
containers where communication happens!
Organizations are interaction!
Organizing
– Not just structure but activities consisting of
communication
– All organizing activities consist of behaviors that
are interlocked through communication
– People are part of their environment
Weick’s Theory of
Organizing
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Organizing
– All activities are designed to reduce
equivocality (unpredictability inherent in
every environment)
– Enactment (process of acting out or
making-organizational members construct
meaning and make sense of their
environment
– Members construct meaning through
interaction
Weick’s Model of
Organizing
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Ecological change (environment)
 Enactment (How you make sense of the
environment)
 Selection (How individuals deal with
equivocality or uncertainty using Assembly
Rules which are guidelines to reduce
equivocality
 Retention
– Causal maps-used to make sense of future
equivocality in the informational
environment
New Science Systems
Theory
Chaos theory
 Order emerges from disorder, not linear
or logical process
 Systems don’t strive for equilibrium
 Complexity and chaotic nature of
organizational systems means
emergence of innovation, form, and
processes
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The Congruence Model
(systematic way to consider root workplace
elements that drive org. performance)
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The higher degree of fit (congruence) among
organizational components, the more effective
the organization.
Fit = Alignment of strategy, work (task),
communication, people, structure, culture)
Interdependence is critical
Transformation = the work & business
processes that convert resources into offerings
(Consider input and output)
“The greater the total degree of congruence (fit)
among organizational components, the more
effective the organization will be.
Definitions of Fit
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The higher the compatibility among these
elements in the workplace, the greater the
performance. Consider match.
Individual-Organization (Culture)
– Does individual’s skill match work
expectations? (creative individual doesn’t
fit classical type org.)
– Does individual’s mang. Style match
informal or formal structure of org.?
– More about this model
Congruence Model
(Nadler & Tushman)
Input
Output
Informal
Organization
Environment
System
Formal
Organization
Strategy
Work
Resources
History
Unit
People
Individual
Methods for studying
organizational systems
Important to look a the “whole,” the “parts,” and
how the “connectivity” of the parts
 Modeling techniques
– Drawing and analyzing maps that
characterize org. communication systems
and the communication rules
 Network analysis
– Properties of networks and links
– Network roles-more than one role in a
network
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