A unified open systems model for explaining organisational change - Information Systems Foundations: Constructing and Criticising - page 141

Organisational politics, power and control are related to self-awareness in systems. In
this regard, organisations are treated as open-natural systems whose collective behaviour
is characterised by political relationships and their interaction (Scott, 1998). This can
make the system behave in an apparently irrational manner as groups or political net-
works work to protect and maintain control over their domains rather than pursue the
organisation's mission and goal (Pfeffer, 1981). If the domain of interest to the organisation
is under control, it is unlikely that the status quo will be changed and this contributes
to a resistance to change. Organisational culture that incorporates this feature is thus
potentially dysfunctional, and requires a transformational approach to change. However,
the psychological aspect of self-awareness in systems is beyond the scope of the proposed
model.
Bifurcations and self-organisation
As illustrated in Figure 11.6, if organisations can be successfully transformed, they be-
come more sophisticated and their ability to survive and prosper in a more demanding
environment is enhanced. A successful transformation means that organisations can self-
organise into another form that is more complex and sophisticated. We propose that the
increase in capability can be interpreted in a more concrete way as follows:
1. an increase in the ability to utilise resources and energy more effectively and effi-
ciently;
2. an increase in the ability to seek, process, and make sense of information;
3. an increase in the organisation's knowledge as a result of learning and relearning
from history.
Figure 11.6 can be displayed in another form as Figure 11.9 - a bifurcation diagram.
Figure 11.9. Bifurcation diagrams showing (a) the possibility of successful
or unsuccessful change, and (b) change, entropy and self-organisation.
As the level of environmental contingency and turbulence increases, adaptation becomes
less effective in coping with the change. If this situation continues until a critical point,
which is called a bifurcation point (point B in Figure 11.9 (a)), is reached and the system
is either radically changed to a more complex and sophisticated form with higher capab-
ility and capacity for survival (see also Figure 11.6, which displays only successful
changes) or it fails to make a successful change and experiences a decline. The change
displayed in diagram Figure 11.9 (a) represents only a simple version of organisational
change using a bifurcation diagram. A more elaborate version, which explains change
in organisation in detail, can be found in Guastello (1995, 2002).