Chapter 1: Organization as a System:
Organizational Environment, Organizational Components
Basic Theories: System Theory and Contingency Theory
Prof.Dr.Seçil TAŞTAN
ORGANIZATION;
•Organizations are the social and economic entities that are founded
to satisfy the needs and requiements of the people and the society.
•Two or more people form the organization and allocate thier
resources for a common goal. The most important goal is to achieve
the desired objectives.
•The main goals of the organizations;
•Making profit and surviving
•Serving for the society
•Other goals..(employment, new products, economic development,
sustainability, producing benefit, etc.)
•They are social entities which usually cope with the environmental
factors (environmental pressure)
•Classifications: Different size, national/international, legal/illegal,
economic/nonprofit, industrial/servise, etc.
Production Factors and System of Organizations
Inputs (plant/building, labor, machine, technology, knowledge,
Raw materials, entrepreneur)
Process (transaction and transformation)
Output (product: service or good)
The process involves;
Management
Culture
Human capital management
Production
Decision making
Poblem solving
Organizing the resources and HR
Structure
Communication/coordination
Leadership and motivation
Internal and external environmental factors that effect the
organization
Structure
Economic env
Strategy, Mission,
Social and cultural env
Vision, Goals
Technology and Internediaries
infrastructure (wholesellers)
Org. culture Suppliers
The Customers and consumers
founders/shareholders Population/demographic
Members(employees structure
and managers)
Resources and capital..
Two main mechanism enables the organization
to function:
Management functions
Organizational functions
Problem: Coping with both environmental and
internal challenges
**Successful organizing is the allocation of the
right resources with the right human resources
towards achieving the organizational goals.
So, where is the human capital??
Everywhere, every step, every process!
Creating the organization, sustaining and maintaining the
organization, retaining the organizational effectiveness!
Thus, the most important thing for the sustainability and
efficiency of orgs is the human capital functioning.
The socio-psychological structure of the human capital is
also important.
The most vital internal env factor is human capital
Managing Human Capital;
•Employing right person to right job
•The behaviors of human in •Job satisfaction
organizations •Organizational
•The anger, anxiety, emotions and commitment
•Organizational justice
negative feelings of human at work •Organizational trust,
•Morale of human, • attendance and
•İmplicit and explicit conflicts, involvement
•Power relationship •Absenteesm and intention
•Motivation to quit
•Turnover
•Performance management •Monotony, fatigue, stress,
•Quality of work life •Health problems, accidents
•Well being •Communications processes
•Physical and psychological work •Training,development,
conditions empowering
•Teamwork
•Group dynamics
Human Capital Model
Manageing human capital entails the study of 4
dimentions consisting individual, group,
organization, environment
İndividual,
Group
Organization
The env of the organization (both functional and
societal)
The approach
Holistic view
System view
All small factors are considered
Open system
“a holistic approach” is used.
Nominalism
Anti-positivism
Descriptive
Organization as an open system
Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968)
Offered a more comprehensive view of organizations
– Designed to deal with complexity
– Takes a holistic view
1955/60 – 1980
Organizations are not just closed boxes.
They are open and dependent on their
environment.
Systems Theory
Synergy
Interdependence
Interconnections
– within the organization
– between the organization and the environment
Organization as ORGANISM
“A set of elements standing in inter-relations”
Social Systems Theory
Systems are divided into two main classes:
– Open Systems that interact with their environments.
– Closed Systems that do not interact with their environments.
A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH
Linear model?
Principles of General Systems Theory
Laws that govern biological open systems can be applied to
systems of any form.
Open-Systems Theory Principles
– Parts that make up the system are interrelated.
– Health of overall system is contingent on subsystem
functioning.
– Open systems import and export material from and to the
environment.
– Permeable (geçişken) boundaries (materials can pass
through)
– Relative openness (system can regulate themselves)
– Principle of entropy
– Synergy (whole is greater than sum of parts)
Characteristics of Organizations as Systems
Input-Throughput-Output
– TRANSFORMATION MODEL (input is transformed by system)
Feedback and Dynamic Homeostasis (kendi kendini koruma)
– Positive Feedback
– Negative Feedback
– Dynamic Homeostasis - balance of energy change (organizma dışı
meydana gelen olaylarda kendini koruma)
Organizations as organisms
•Organisms, like businesses, compete for
survival and evolve.
•An organism is responsive to its environment,
it can learn and adapt.
•Like organisms, businesses are born, grow and
die. (life cycle)
•Organisms are receptive to environmental
feedback.
•Living systems
•environmental conditions
•adaptation
•life cycles
•recycling
•needs
•evolution
•survival of the fittest
•health
•illness
