A unified open systems model for explaining organisational change - Information Systems Foundations: Constructing and Criticising - page 125

11. A unified open systems model for
explaining organisational change
Doy Sundarasaradula, School of Economics and Information
Systems, University of Wollongong
Helen Hasan, School of Economics and Information Systems,
University of Wollongong
Abstract
This paper presents an approach to developing a unified conceptual model to describe
and explain change in organisations, viewed as complex systems. The authors propose
a model that brings together the traditional open systems model (based on principles of
homeostasis, steady state, and cybernetics) and the dissipative systems model (based on
thermodynamic non-equilibrium principles) to explain distinctively different phases of
change. Gradual and incremental change can be explained by using the traditional open
systems model, whereas dramatic and discontinuous change can be explained by the
adoption of the dissipative systems model. These two phases of change occur naturally,
depending on the nature and pattern of external and internal disturbances. Since the
implementation of any information system involves some degree of organisational change,
it would be valuable to the IS community to more clearly understand organisational
change processes, thereby increasing the possibility of success.
Introduction
We currently dwell in a turbulent environment, one in which change constantly occurs
and elements in the environment are increasingly interrelated (Emery and Trist, 1971;
Terreberry; 1971; Robbins, 1990). The nature of change has recently tended to be revolu-
tionary rather than evolutionary. One possible explanation is that the progress in inform-
ation and telecommunication technologies, together with the inception of the Internet
as a global computer network, has made the world substantially more interconnected
than ever before. This acts as a catalyst in fostering further change so that change is
now the norm rather than an occasional occurrence. This poses an immense challenge
to academics and practitioners alike in successfully understanding and managing organ-
isations as complex entities.
One of the prime sources of change in organisations is the introduction of new technology
(especially information technology) into the organisation (Davenport, 1993; Gasco, 2003;
Bertschek and Kaiser, 2004). Recently, the concept of re-engineering was introduced as
a means of achieving a dramatic improvement in organisations' productivity and effect-
iveness by radically redesigning business processes through extensive application of
information technology (Hammer, 1990; Hammer and Champy, 1993; Davenport, 1993).
However, the chance that a re-engineering project can be successfully implemented in
an organisation is surprisingly low, as organisational inertia and resistance to change
must be overcome, and the ability to do this varies from one organisation to another
(Robbins, 1990). Moreover, successful implementation of information systems projects