SATM 6.2.3.2. The Early Stages of Socio-technical Systems Thinking

Socio-technical systems theory sees organizations as pursuing primary tasks that can best be realized if their social, technological, and economic dimensions are jointly optimized and if they are treated as open systems and fitted into their environment.

SATM 6.2.3.1 Introduction to Socio-technical Systems Theory

The second set of empirical investigations that helped shape the organizations-as-systems perspective were those carried out within the socio-technical systems tradition.

SATM 6.2.2.9 Methodology

Donaldson (1996, The normal science of structural contingency theory, in: Handbook of Organizational Studies, S.R. Clegg, C. Hardy and W.R. Nord, eds., Sage, London.), the leading contemporary advocate of the approach, regards the paradigm of contingency theory as providing a basis for research "leading to the construction of a scientific body of knowledge". The theory underpinning the approach is sociological functionalism: Just as biological functionalism explains the way the organs of the human body are structured so as to contribute to human well-being, so sociological functionalism explains social structures by their functions. That is their contributions to the well-being of society.

SATM 6.2.2.8 Recent Developments

One interesting development in contingency theory has been to see the best way to structure an organization as contingent upon the amount of information processing it has to do, which in turn is dependent on the uncertainty and diversity surrounding its basic task. 

SATM 6.2.2.7 The Managerial Subsystem

Management is clearly a functional imperative of efficient and effective organizations, since come management is needed to balance the pulls exerted by the other subsystems and fit the organization into its environment.

SATM 6.2.2.6 Environment

The survival of organizations as open systems depends upon some degree of exchange with outside parties. The higher the degree of environmental uncertainty and turbulence, the more the structure of an organization needs to be adaptive with fluid role structures, co-ordination achieved by frequent meetings, and considerable lateral communication.