Emerging as an influential school in the 1950s and 1960s, systems management drew on ideas from fields such as psychology, economics, sociology, and biology. Contributors included Kenneth Boulding, Daniel Katz, Robert Kahn, and Ludwig von Bertalanffy.
Systems theorists sought to understand the conditions organizations face and how organizations respond to them. They viewed a firm not as an isolated entity but as a set of connected activities that exchanges resources and information with its surroundings.
All flashcards
What is systems management?
An approach that studies organizations as connected systems and considers how their environments affect organizational processes and outcomes.
What is an open system?
A system that interacts with its environment, receiving resources and information and returning products, services, or other value.
What does “it depends” mean in contingency management?
There is no single best management method for every situation; the appropriate response depends on the relevant internal and external conditions.
Which external conditions can shape managerial decisions?
Examples include employment laws, labor-market supply and demand, suppliers, customers, technology, and competitors.
How does Woodward’s work illustrate contingency thinking?
It shows that conditions such as the technology used in a job can affect management choices, including how much training workers need.
Quiz questions
What characterizes an open system in management?Answer: It exchanges resources and information with its environment.
Which perspective rejects a single management method for all situations?Answer: The contingency perspective.
In an open-systems perspective, how can customers affect an organization?Answer: Purchases provide revenue, and responses provide information about its products.
A company changes its hiring tests to comply with employment law. Which idea best explains this decision?Answer: External conditions can influence managerial decisions.
Why might a job involving complex technology require more training than a low-tech job?Answer: The technology and demands of the work can create different training needs.
Based on Principles of Management by David S. Bright, Anastasia H. Cortes, Eva Hartmann, K. Praveen Parboteeah, Jon L. Pierce, Monique Reece, Amit Shah, Siri Terjesen, Joseph Weiss, Margaret A. White, Donald G. Gardner, Jason Lambert et al. (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.