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.

Socio-technical systems theory is associated with the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and particularly with the names of Emery, Rice and Trist. From the 1940s onward, theorists attempted to transfer behavioral science and systems ideas to industry through the consultancy mechanism.

 (Jackson, Michael C. (2000) Systems Approaches to Management, Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers. P117.)