Organizational Development: A Manual for Managers and ... - FPDL
Organizational Development: A Manual for Managers and ... - FPDL
Organizational Development: A Manual for Managers and ... - FPDL
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Part I.<br />
Key Aspects of Organization<br />
Chapter 1.1<br />
Organization as System <strong>and</strong> Living Organism<br />
What we mean by organizations is indeed changing.<br />
Peter F. Drucker (1996)<br />
Self-organizing is the fundamental thing we need to underst<strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> to learn to work with.<br />
Peter Vaill (2000)<br />
System<br />
An organization of any kind is a complex configuration, comprised of many interrelated<br />
components, or elements. When the interaction between these elements is such that each<br />
correlates with another directly or indirectly through other elements – we can talk about a higher<br />
level, or a system. From Latin <strong>and</strong> Greek, the term system means to combine, to set up, to place<br />
together.<br />
Many principles, derived primarily from the study of biological systems, are often used in the<br />
analysis of an organization as a system. One can find some of them in a book by Gareth Morgan,<br />
Images of Organization:<br />
• The concept of an “open system”: The idea of openness emphasizes the key relationship<br />
between the environment <strong>and</strong> the internal functioning of a system. Environment <strong>and</strong> system<br />
are understood as being in a state of interaction <strong>and</strong> mutual dependence. The open nature<br />
of biological <strong>and</strong> social systems contrasts with the “closed” nature of many physical <strong>and</strong><br />
mechanical systems.<br />
• Homeostasis. This concept refers to self-regulation <strong>and</strong> ability to maintain a steady state …<br />
on the basis of what is now called “negative feedback”, where deviations from some<br />
st<strong>and</strong>ard or norm initiate actions to correct the deviation.<br />
• Requisite variety. This idea states that internal regulatory mechanisms of a system must<br />
be as diverse as the environment with which it is trying to deal.<br />
• Equi-finality. This principle captures the idea that in an open system there may be many<br />
different ways of arriving at a given end state. Living systems have flexible patterns of<br />
organization that allow the achievement of specific results from different starting points,<br />
with different resources, <strong>and</strong> in different ways.<br />
• System evolution. The capacity of a system to evolve depends on an ability to move to<br />
more complex <strong>for</strong>ms of differentiation <strong>and</strong> integration, <strong>and</strong> greater variety in the system<br />
9