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Summary: Organizations, social systems conducting experiments - System Theory (MAN-BCU321)
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Summary of the book for the course system theory
[Meer zien]Voorbeeld 4 van de 62 pagina's
Voorbeeld 4 van de 62 pagina's
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ContentsChapter 1 Introducing Organizations as Social Systems Conducting Experiments ................................. 2
Chapter 2 The Experimental Arche: Ashby’s Cybernetics ....................................................................... 8
Chapter 4 The Social “arche,” Organizations as Social Systems: Luhmann .......................................... 20
Chapter 5 Epilogue to Part I: The Two “Archai” Combined................................................................... 29
Chapter 6 Beer: Functional Design Principles for Viable Infrastructures .............................................. 31
Chapter 7 Specific Design Principles: de Sitter’s Organizational Structures ......................................... 40
Chapter 8 Epilogue to Part II: functional and specific design principles ............................................... 53
Chapter 9 Poor Survival: Disciplining Organizational Behavior ............................................................. 56
,Chapter 1 Introducing Organizations as Social Systems
Conducting Experiments
Introduction
The main topic of the book is organizations as social systems conducting experiments and finding
principles to improve their design.
Making Sense of Organizations: From “Phenomena” to “Key Features”
By relating key features into a theory it is possible to make sense everyday organizational situations.
This is called Aristotle’s method. Aristotle’s method starts with phenomena, things as they present
themselves in our experience. He analyzed opinions to arrive at key features of the phenomenon: its
archai. Finally, he related these archai into a theory allowing for an understanding of the
phenomenon. The method seems particularly useful if the phenomenon is something we are already
involved in, yet is hard to pin down exactly: a phenomenon like organization.
Situation 1: Strategy Formulation
Strategy formulation is a challenging and uncertain process, as selecting the wrong goals can
endanger an organization's survival. It's impossible to determine the right strategy with certainty due
to many unpredictable factors. This makes the activity of selecting goals both difficult and risky. Key
activities in strategy formulation are inherently social and rely heavily on communication.
Managers engage in discussions, express their viewpoints, negotiate, and make compromises, all of
which are influenced by prior communications and decisions. This communication about
communication shapes the strategy formulation process. Ultimately, the strategy developed serves
as a foundation for future communications and decisions within the organization, highlighting the
interconnectedness of communication and strategic choices.
Situation 2: A Worker in Trouble
In any organizational task handling disturbances is essential to achieving goals. However, regulation
is challenging due to the unpredictability of disturbances, which can stem from errors in the inputs or
issues that arise during task execution. Because it's difficult to foresee which regulatory actions will
be needed, some suggest equipping workers with the ability to generate regulatory responses based
on the situation. This approach introduces uncertainty, as workers must make judgments and test
their regulatory actions without guaranteed outcomes.
Regulation is also socially embedded, involving communication about issues like outputs, materials,
and potential solutions. This communication includes negotiation, compromise, and power dynamics.
Additionally, job-related actions can be seen as communicative acts that convey messages and
trigger further interactions. Tasks are socially embedded in three ways: they rely on prior
communication (such as organizational decisions), involve communication in their execution, and can
be interpreted as conveying messages. This situation highlights that selecting regulatory actions is
done under uncertainty and within a social context, where expectations and communication play
crucial roles.
Two features (Archai) of organizations:
1. Their experimental character
2. Their social systemic character
,The First “Arche”: The Experimental Character of Organizations
Organizations operate in an experimental manner, where decisions about goals, processes, and
regulatory actions must be made despite uncertainty about their outcomes. Organizational decision-
making lacks certainty and requires action even in ambiguous situations. Each decision acts as a
hypothesis in an organizational experiment. We hope these decisions will achieve desired effects,
but due to the inherent unpredictability, we cannot be sure of the outcomes or avoid potential side
effects. This ongoing process of hypothesizing and adjusting reflects the challenge of striving to
achieve goals in an uncertain world.
The Second “Arche”: The Social Systemic Character of Organizations
The social systemic characteristic of organizations emphasizes that they are not just groups of
isolated individuals but are defined by dynamic, meaningful interactions (communication). This
communication is essential for transforming a collection of individuals into a cohesive group working
towards a common goal. Everything within an organization involves communication and is influenced
by past interactions and anticipated future ones. Thus, organizations can be seen as systems of
interconnected communications, where social
The authors argue that these features reflect common sense and can be generalized to all
organizations, asserting that it's impossible to fully understand organizations without considering
these aspects.
The Relation Between the Social Systemic and the Experimental Character of Organizations
The book uses Aristotle’s method of analyzing commonly held ideas to identify key features of
organizations, which are described as experimental and social systemic. Organizations are seen as
social systems conducting experiments with their survival. Communication within organizations is
central to this process, as it involves evaluating, selecting, implementing, and reassessing goals,
processes, and regulatory actions. Organizational communication is interconnected, with current
communication influenced by past discussions and shaping
future ones. The concept of "organizations as social
systems conducting experiments" reflects the idea that
decisions are made under uncertainty, with communication
serving as the mechanism through which these
experiments are conducted and refined.
Organizations as Social Systems Conducting Experiments
Conducting Experiments
Conducting experiments is a key feature of organizations.
What is at Stake in the Experiment: Maintaining a Separate and Meaningful Existence
It is important to understand how organizations select their goals, regulatory actions, and
transformation processes, particularly under uncertain conditions. The issue at stake is the
organization's survival. Survival can be understood in two different ways.
In the abstract sense, survival simply means maintaining the organization’s separate existence within
its environment. This view focuses on the organization’s ability to continue existing regardless of its
specific goals. However, this perspective is limited because not all organizations prioritize mere
existence. For example, an organization focused on eradicating malaria may dissolve once that goal is
, achieved, as its purpose has been fulfilled. Thus, survival in this basic sense cannot be the ultimate
goal for every organization.
The second, more meaningful sense of survival is about maintaining a separate existence that serves
a purpose deemed valuable by society. For an organization to survive meaningfully, it must engage in
primary processes that are aligned with significant goals. These goals should not only ensure the
organization’s existence but also contribute positively to its environment. This ties survival to the
organization’s purpose (raison d’être) and implies that survival is valuable only if it supports
meaningful activities.
Meaningful goals can vary widely but fundamentally, they relate to
the organization’s contribution to society. Drawing on Aristotle’s
ethics, which emphasize the development of human capacities and
living a fulfilled life, organizations contribute to society by enabling
its members to grow and develop. This could translate into
corporate social responsibility and ethical business practices.
Organizations are not just striving to exist, they are aiming to exist in a way that is meaningful both to
themselves and to the broader society. This requires balancing survival with the pursuit of goals that
have intrinsic value, contributing to the overall well-being and development of society.
There are two senses of survival for organizations
The poor sense of survival refers to maintaining a separate, meaningful existence by selecting and
achieving goals that are considered meaningful for various practical reasons, such as profitability or
customer demand. This approach is commonly accepted in management practices and literature.
The rich sense of survival involves maintaining a meaningful existence by choosing and pursuing
goals that contribute to creating societal conditions that enable human beings to develop and realize
their full potential. While this sense of survival includes profit-making, it emphasizes the broader
impact on society and aligns with concepts of social responsibility.
Conducting the Experiment: Adaptation and Realization for Meaningful Survival
Processes and objects are involved in organizational experiments aimed at meaningful survival. To
survive in a changing environment, organizations must adapt their goals and realize them.
Adaptation helps organizations stay aligned with environmental changes, while realization tests the
effectiveness of these goals.
The focus then shifts to transformation processes, which turn inputs into outputs across different
organizational levels, from operational to strategic. For these processes to contribute to
organizational goals, they must be strategically regulated, meaning goals are set to ensure that
transformation processes align with the organization’s objectives. However, these processes are
often disrupted by various internal or external disturbances, requiring operational regulation
through monitoring and intervention.
To effectively carry out transformation processes and their
regulation, organizations must establish infrastructural conditions in
three key areas: organizational structure (division of work), human
resources (skilled personnel), and technology (machines, ICT). This
process of setting up these conditions is termed regulation by design.
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