Open systems theory

Open systems theory is applicable to everything from fraternal lodges to the organizational behavioral management of an agile, software firm. Open systems involve an input and output interaction and dependence with and upon the external environment. Open systems involve energies as well as matter, which flow into and out of the system, in contrast to a closed system, where energy can enter or leave but matter may not. Open system, within the context of human resource management is a system that is capable of self-preservation and regulation on the basis of the throughput of resources from the external environment. The essential portions of the system are those upon which the system is dependent for self preservation and continual functionality.

There are four basic types of systems: Deterministic, Animated, Social and Ecological. The hierarchy of which is as follows: animated systems have as the deterministic in their compositional parts, just as people use objects to accomplish tasks in their environment. Social systems contain people as parts, and all systems are part of the ecological environmental system. In my organization, the people are treated as organisms and not as robotic slave machines as was the case in the days of what is now referred to as ‘classical theory of organizational behavioral science.’ People are nurtured, developed and given leeway in times of crisis or familial need. We are also funded by investors who are people outside the organization who contribute to our existence, so long as we forge ahead and continue to bring in additional revenue. Corporations were once purely mechanical in nature, but have responded to their environment’s social welfare and civil rights developments as well as advances in social sciences, by transmuting into a more organic and holistic system with a reactive management. The open systems model is particularly helpful in the analysis of organizations as it aids in the avoidance of overlooking all factors that contribute to an event. (Ackoff, 1999)






























References

Ackoff, R. (1999). Re-Creating the Corporation: A Design of Organizations for the 21st Century. Oxford University Press. Ch 1-2

Harrison, M. (2004). Diagnosing Organizations: Methods, Models, and Processes (Applied Social Research Methods) (3rd ed.) Ch. 2 (pp. 27-39)