Kinesiology 2298A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Heene, Dependency Theory, Institutional Theory
16 Dec 2016
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Systems View of Organizations
Systems Defined
-A system is composed of
•A number of parts
•Relationships between these parts
•Attributes of the parts and their relationship to whole
-“This interdependence of the elements is therefore a defining characteristic of a system.”
•Morecroft, Sanchez, & Heene, 2002, p. 8
-The human body is an example of a system
-A system involved seeing, understanding, and working with the whole
Closed vs. Open Systems
-Closed: relatively impervious to the environment
-Open: reacts to change
•Relatively open to the influences of the surrounding environment — social, cultural, and
economic conditions
•Organizations are open systems because they are influenced by their environment and the
different environmental variables that exist
Distal and Proximal Environments of a System
-Proximal is directly connected while general is more around the system
-General: economic, social, legal, technological, legal
•I.e. advances of technology of the boats, the economic support for the facility and the
community’s views on the construction of the facility
-Proximal: customer, competition, labour, supplies
•I.e. the suppliers of the boats, the facility itself
Key Components of the General (distal) Environment
-Economic
•wages, labour, physical costs, state of economy
-Social
•Demography of the population, social values
-Political
•Democracy, corruption, influence of political parties
-Legal
-Technological
Key Components of the Task (proximal) Environment
-Customer
•Client characteristics - those who buy goods and services
-Competition
•Others producing similar services
-Labor
•Employees and their reflections
-Suppliers
-Legal is also considered a important key component of the task environment given the
changing the environment
•Internal rules, policies, and regulations
Processes in Open Systems
-Negative Entropy: stop process toward disorder and decay; management must adapt to
change!
•Self Regulation: of internal process, changes in personnel, organization structure
•Progressive Segregation: greater specialization and regulation of work units
•Progressive Mechanization: as systems grow, there is a need for more and better control
1. Equifinality (—> <—)
•2 systems star from different positions can end up at some final position
•Objectives can be achieved in different, multiple ways
•Ex. Laurier and Western both want to make the football finals, both are using completely
different techniques/organizations/strategies, but they both end up making the finals —>
the objectives are achieved in very different ways
2. Multifinality (<— —>)
•Similar internal conditions can lead to a different final states
•Ex. Queens and Western’s football team do they exact same processes but they end up in
completely different process —> organizations react and change differently to their
environment
-Take Home Point: managers must reject “one right way” - can succeed (and fail) in several
ways
Organizations as Systems of Inputs-Throughputs-Outputs (**EXAM both midterm & final)
-An open system is in an exchange relationship with its environment
-The system receives the necessary inputs (resources) from the environment
-It then processes those inputs into certain outputs (finished products) for the benefit of society
Inputs-Throughputs-Outputs
-Inputs: resources that flow into organizations
•Materials resources (money, facilities, equipment, etc.)
•Human resources (professional employees, investors, volunteers, etc.)
•Values, norms (constrain the organization to operate in certain ways)
-Throughputs: transforming inputs into outputs
•Structures and systems (authority, rewards - what does each person get out of it)
•Processes (i.e. planning, organizing, leading, and evaluating)
Document Summary
A system is composed of: a number of parts, relationships between these parts, attributes of the parts and their relationship to whole. This interdependence of the elements is therefore a de ning characteristic of a system. : morecroft, sanchez, & heene, 2002, p. 8. The human body is an example of a system. A system involved seeing, understanding, and working with the whole. Open: reacts to change: relatively open to the in uences of the surrounding environment social, cultural, and economic conditions, organizations are open systems because they are in uenced by their environment and the different environmental variables that exist. Proximal is directly connected while general is more around the system. General: economic, social, legal, technological, legal: i. e. advances of technology of the boats, the economic support for the facility and the community"s views on the construction of the facility. Proximal: customer, competition, labour, supplies: i. e. the suppliers of the boats, the facility itself.
