Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Churchman studied various aspects of planning. He maintains that the
planning activities, followed by most organizations that are based on a
scientific approach (mathematical, economic, or even behavioral), are
essentially reactive because the inputs are assumed to be external to the
system (organization). Instead of being reactive, by using the systems
approach, one can continuously monitor the environmental conditions
around the system (organization) and elicit proactive responses because
the objectives of the organization are under his control. They are internally
determined.
Planning relies heavily on thinking and intuition. The initial phases of
planning are very important. They should be undertaken with people
from actual operations. Such planning often leads to the discovery of
hidden or new goals. The finding of new goals is the correct use of the
planning process of a project. For the new goals to be accepted or have
any impact, one needs key persons, with influence in the organization,
involved. Planning helps the managers themselves get good ideas, while
the project team gets better plans with which to work.
The scope of the planning need not be curtailed by what is feasible
presently. Planning should not be limited to current situations, but pay
equal attention to how the situation may change by the time the final
system is delivered.
Yet another lesson from Churchman is the importance of using technol-
ogy for the sake of solving a problem — as a means, not as an end in
itself. In particular, with respect to the information aspects of the system,
his position was that a system should be designed to provide individual
freedom with organizational flexibility — privacy with ethics, without com-
promising security. Systems exist for both organizations and individuals.
Management by Exception
Anthony Stafford Beer (1926-2002) was a theorist in operational research
and an international consultant in management sciences. He published
his first topic in 1959;
built on the ideas of
Norbert Wiener, Warren McCulloch, and William Ross Ashby, and argued
for a systems approach to organizational management.
Beer is best known for the Viable Systems Model (VSM). It was inspired
by his study of the human form, the muscles and organs and the various
internal systems of the human body. It was based on systems theory and
cybernetics. It identifies and analyzes the mechanisms that sustain the
viability of complex systems, at several defined levels. Beer claimed that
any organization could be considered in light of the way humans “manage”
themselves by responding to the vagaries of a changing environment.
Cybernetics and Management
