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Kathmandu University
1 March 2010
SYSTEMS APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT

● Presenter: Rebat Kumar Dhakal

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Presentation outline
1. 1. System
2. 2. Systems theory
3. 3. Systems approach to
management
4. 4. General systems theory
5. 5. Social systems theory
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1. SYSTEM
"No longer do we see the
world in a blind play of
atoms, but rather a
great organization.” -
Harper Perennial, 1987
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 SYSTEM
A set of things or parts forming a whole.
A system is a composition of several components
working together to accomplish a set number of
objectives. - Ernest Madara (2008)
A system can be biological, physical or social.
Ecosystem, solar system, a business or an organization
Systems exist at all levels
Ø persons
Ø families

Ø organizations

Ø communities

Ø societies

Ø cultures and so on.

 Holon*

Each social entity whether

large or small, complex or
simple, is a holon (Greek =
expresses the idea that each entity is
simultaneously a part and a whole).
WHOLE > SUM OF ITS PARTS
The whole becomes greater
than the sum of its parts
because the whole includes
elements, which cannot be
broken down and applied to
individual members.

The properties of these letters,

when considered together can
 A system consists of
Thus, a
four thingssystem is a set of
Objects – the parts,
things that affect one
I.

elements, or variables within

another within an
the system. These may be
environment and form
physical or abstract a
or both.
larger pattern
Attributes
II. – thethat is or
qualities
different
propertiesfrom
of theany of the
system and
its
parts.objects.
III. Internal relationships
Characteristics of a
System
a) organization: there is an orderly way
in which things work and operate
b) goal directedness: there are a
number of goals or objectives to be
accomplished
c) Integration: a way in which things are
tied together
d) Interaction: a way in which the
components interact
e) Interdependence: a way in which the
various components depend on each
other
a) Input –the element
that initiates
Elements of aan activity
System
e.g. the data entry
through the devices
such as keyboard,
mouse and scanner etc.
 Types of
Systems
a) Open vs. closed systems
b) Adaptive system (self organizing
system or cybernetic system)
c) Physical vs. abstract systems
d) Deterministic vs. probabilistic systems
e) Natural vs. man-made system
f) Mechanistic vs. biological systems
g) Information system (management
information system)
h) controlled (cybernetic) or uncontrolled
An organization as a system

An organization is an open
system that brings together
people to undertake activities for
achieving an objective which can
be profit-oriented (business) or
charity-oriented e.g. local
authority.
The organizations are made up of
people in different departments
An organization takes in raw
materials, energy and labor and
through its production systems
transforms or adds value to these to
produce goods / services. It is
obligatory for the management to
control the various operations by
collecting feedback from customers
to remain relevant and where
necessary it may have to enhance
performance or take corrective
actions if the results are below
expectations.
Systemic Thinking
§ Using the mind to
recognize pattern, conceive
unity, and form some
coherent wholeness – seeking
to complete the picture.
§ Comprehension of the
whole/part nature of life is
the central tenet of systemic
thinking.
 Subsystems in an Educational
Enterprise
The learning experience subsystem: the
cognitive- information
Banathy (1987)
processing of the learner
.

The instructional subsystem: the production

of the environment or opportunities for learners
to learn by the instructional designers and
teachers
.

The administrative subsystem: decision

making of resource allocation by the
administrators based on the instructional needs
and governance input
.

The governance subsystem: the production of

policies which provide directions and resources
for the educational enterprise in order to meet
 2. SYSTEMS THEORY
Basic idea : objects in the world
are interrelated to one another.
It provides a framework by which
groups of elements and their
properties may be studied jointly in
order to understand their outcomes.
The fundamental systems-interactive
model of organizational analysis features
the continual stages of input,
throughput, and output .
System Model. Littlejohn (1999)
 Input Process Output

Human Activities
•burning fuels
•Concentration of Rise in Global
•deforestation
GHG increases Temperature
•Unhealthy GHE
•Industrialization (Global warming)
behavior
Solar Energy
Outcome
System Model Of Climate
Change Climate Change

•Contamination
Health Effects Pathways
•Temperature related Impact
•Transmission
illness and death
•Air pollution related dynamics •Regional weather
•Water and food change
•Heat waves
borne disease •Changes in agro- •Extreme weather
•Vector borne disease
-ecosystem hydrology •Temperature
and water shortage •Socio-economic
•Precipitation
•Mental, nutritional and
and demographic
other health effects disruption
Climate Change& Human Health.
NYSoCC, 2008.
 Ideas of Systems View

Ø all phenomena can be viewed

as a web of relationships among
elements.
.

Ø all systems, whether electrical,

biological, or social, have
common patterns, behaviors,
and properties that can be
understood and used to develop
Systems theory comes from the GST proposed by
 The systems
approach
Components of the organizational
concepts (systems approach) have been
used to manage armies and
governments for millennia. However, it
was not until the Industrial Revolution of
the 19th and 20th centuries that formal
recognition of the "systems" approach
to management, philosophy, and
science emerged.
(Whitehead 1925, von Bertalanffy 1968)
Four major concepts underlying systems approach

Specialization: A system is divided into smaller

components allowing more specialized
concentration on each component.
Grouping: Related (sub)disciplines are grouped to
avoid generating greater complexity with increasing
specialization.
Coordination: The interactions among the
components are coordinated.
Emergent properties: Dividing a system into
subsystems requires understanding the "emergent
properties" of a system; i.e., recognizing why the
system as a whole is greater than the sum of its
parts. E.g. two forest stands may contain the same
 3. Systems Approach to
Management
It views a company as an
interconnected purposive
system that consists of
several business sections.
It is the study of a firm in its
totality so that the men and
material resources of the firm
can be organized to realize
Flow, Process, & Response in
Business Systems
The collaborative working of input
and output factors = the flow in a
system.
The processes consist of several
subsystems that are interconnected
by procedures.
The response/feedback focuses on
the information which is utilized for
executing certain operations. The
information is the know-how that is
The systems approach to management
is based on GST – the theory that says
that to understand fully the operation
of an entity, the entity must be viewed
as a system which requires
understanding the interdependence of
It implies
its parts. that every manager should
be much more precise about
decision-making and information
flow.
First a detailed systems study will be
necessary to decide on the best
objectives and then subsidiary
systems must be set up to realize
The management system is
composed of a number of
parts that function
interdependently to
achieve a purpose. It is an
open system. It interacts
with its business
environment which
includes customers,
7-S Model
A framework for analyzing organizations and
their effectiveness.
1. Strategy;
2. Structure;
3. Systems;
4. Style;
5. Skills;
6. Staff; and
7. Shared values.
To improve management of an
organization, one has to pay attention
to all of the seven elements at the same
The System approach views
the organization as a unified,
purposeful system composed
of interrelated parts. This way
the manager can look at the
organization as a whole or
part of the larger outside
environment. Activity of any
part affects all other parts of
the organization.
- Stephen Rampur, 2009.
 4. General Systems
Theory
Nothing can be understood in isolation
but must be seen as part of a system.
Includes the narrower field of social
systems, is a cross-disciplinary body of
scientific thought that developed during
the 20th century.
General systems theory can be defined
as: system in which the elements are in
exchange, and which are bounded
constitute a system, which operates
Background

GST was originally proposed

by Ludwig von Bertalanffy in
1928. He proposed that a
system is characterized by
the interactions of its
components and the
nonlinearity of those
interactions.
Contd.
Contd. Background

Since Descartes, the

"scientific method" had
progressed under two
related assumptions. A
system could be broken
down into its individual
components so that each
"Humanistic" Features of General Systems
Theory
It Bertalanffian
The also implies GSTthat
is ethical
everybody
and tendsit to
ecological because aims at
increasing the awareness
treat life with in
every human of the need of being
reverence, and also
functionally interconnected with
tend
each to with
other, treat each
his/her
other with
community, with dignity.
the whole
humanity.
Social Systems
Perspectives
A philosophical viewpoint on the
relationship of persons with their social
environment.

A social system is composed of persons

or groups who interact and mutually
influence each other’s behavior.

A social system is a bounded set of

interrelated activities that together
constitute a single entity.
 The Social Systems
Approach
The social systems approach encompasses
both holistic (group/ top-down) and
atomistic (individual/bottom-up) views at
once.
The holistic view implied “downward”
causality, while the atomistic view implied
“upward” causality.
Holistic Viewpoint:
The whole determines the actions of its
parts.
People are determined by society.
 5. Social System Theory
A social system is a set of inter-
related and inter-dependent
components
People, Families, Groups,
Organizations, Communities, etc
are all OPEN SYSTEMS
System BOUNDARIES separate
one system from the next– and
tension occurs at the boundary.
 Social System Theory

*Emphasis is placed on
the “root causes” of social
problems

* Social justice is the

ultimate goal
Social System Theory is
“holonistic” requiring:
Specification of the focal system
Specification of the units that
constitute that holon
Specification of the significant
environmental systems
Specification of one’s own position
relative to the focal system
Process Factors affecting social
systems
A change in one part of the system will
impact changes in other parts of system

Two internal processes affecting social

systems :

Morphostasis refers to those

processes that help the system
maintain itself, whereas
morphogenesis refers to those
processes that help the system
change, grow, more elaborate.
 Changes in Social
Systems
Changes in systems may come
about in a variety of ways, for
example, by accessing and
influencing the elite decision-
makers. Changes can also come
about through conflict and setting
new goals, directions, and values.
Changes occur as individuals or
groups move away from center or
towards the center as well, that is,
 Chaos Theory

For a system to function as a system, rather

than a collection of parts, it must have ways of
self-organizing and even directing behavior. ...
A wild ecosystem is chaos driven. An
organism or organization is purpose driven. ...
.

Chaos theory concerns the analysis of

unpredictable systems that are extremely
sensitive to initial conditions. One
important example of a chaotic system is
climate. A tiny inaccuracy in a single
measurement of a chaotic system—such as
a temperature variation of a fraction of a
degree—can produce large errors in
In a 1980 lecture, cosmologist
Stephen Hawking pointed out that
Chaos theory is an attempt to
explain and model the seemingly
random components of a system.
One of the most important
discoveries from chaos theory is
that a relatively small, but well-
timed or well-placed jolt to a
system can throw the entire
system into a state of chaos.
 Approaches to the Study
of Systems
A cross-sectional approach
deals with the interaction
between two system.

A developmental approach
deals with the changes in a
system over time.
 Approaches to evaluating
subsystems
A holistic approach examines the
system as a complete functioning unit.
A reductionist approach looks
downward and examines the
subsystems within the system.
The functionalist approach looks
upward from the system to examine
the role it plays in the larger system.
All three approaches recognize the
existence of subsystems operating
within a larger system.
 Equilibrium

When all forces in a system are

balanced to the point where no change
is occurring, the system is said to be in
a state of static equilibrium.
Dynamic (steady state) equilibrium
exists when the system components
are in a state of change, but at least
one variable stays within a specified
range.
Homeostasis is the condition of
 SUMMING UP
The concept of system appears throughout the
social and natural sciences and has generated a
body of literature of its own (‘general systems
theory’). A system is any pattern of
relationships between elements, and is regarded
as having emergent properties of its own, over
and above the properties of its elements. The
system is seen as possessing an inherent
tendency towards equilibrium and the analysis
of systems is the analysis of the mechanisms
which maintain equilibrium, both internally and
externally, in relation to other systems.
??
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Thank
You !