Week Five - Systems Approaches

The systems metaphor has replaced the machine metaphor for organizations.  Instead of seeing organizations as machines which are predictable, the systems metaphor relates organizations to organisms which emphasizes the complexity and unpredictability of organizations, and how interaction with the environment is necessary for its survival.

This interaction is that of an open system.  As Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1950, p. 23) states “a system is closed if no material enters or leaves it; it is open if there is import and export and, therefore, change of the components”.

Unlike classical approaches, systems approaches (as shown in Miller 2009) focus on how an organization must rely on its subsystems and supersystems to function well (hierarchical ordering and interdependence).  To ensure an organization’s survival, there must be a constant exchange of information and material in and out of an organization (permeability), as well as constant feedback.  Also, the complexity of the inner workings of an organization must match the complexity of the organization itself (requisite variety), or it cannot deal with external problems.

The systems theories (Cybernetic Systems Theory, Karl Weick’s Theory of Organizing, and New Science Systems Theory) together stress the importance of feedback and interdependence to reach system goals, making sense of equivocal information (information which can be interpreted in different ways) (Wagner & Gooding 1997), and the importance of complexity and chaos in organizations.

The case study (explored in the tutorial) ‘Sensemaking after the Acquisition’ (Miller 2009) is a great example of Weick’s Theory of Organizing.  An independent contractor is not being provided information about what changes to expect in her role because of the change of ownership at her firm, despite reassurances that she would soon be contacted.  Therefore, she cannot make sense of the equivocal information she is receiving from others and consequently panics.

Understanding the move from classical to systems approaches, the difference between open and closed systems, and the important features in each of the three systems theories are vital to understanding communication today.

References

Bertalanffy Lv 1950, ‘The theory of open systems in physics and biology’, Science, vol. 111, no. 2872, pp. 23-29.

Miller, K 2009, Organizational communication: approaches and processes, 6th ed, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, Boston, MA.

Wagner, JA & Gooding RZ 1997, 'Equivocal information and attribution: An investigation of patterns of managerial sensemaking', Strategic Management Journal, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 275-286.