From Systems Thinking to Open Systems Theory

by Dr Mike Beitler on 5th February 2008

For lasting change to take place, it must be embedded in the culture of the organisation. Systems Thinking addresses this, and Open Systems Theory takes it one step further.

Introduction

Systems thinking is important for Organisational Change (OC) practitioners (and managers) because rarely is there an "evil" person in the organisation bent on bringing pain and destruction. Bad behaviour, or ineffective behaviour, is often unwittingly rewarded by management. Protecting one's 'turf', not communicating with peers, not contributing to the team, high absenteeism, and resisting change happen for a reason.

In many organisations, the management team goes "headhunting" immediately after an error occurs or a problem arises. "Heads will roll!" they declare. The assumption is that there is a bad person causing the problem; if they get rid of the person, they get rid of the problem.

More often than not, the person is not "the problem." The problem is typically embedded in the system. If we don't change the system, we will soon face the same problem again.

Lessons from Other Professionals

Systems theory was not originally developed by OC practitioners. Systems theory has roots in the early theories of physical scientists. They correctly understood that physical phenomena don't operate in a closed vacuum; physical phenomena continuously interact with other phenomena in any given system.

Fortunately, the wisdom of systems theory did not start and end with the physical scientists. Social scientists, including sociologists and psychologists, have also adopted a systems approach.

Systems thinking has been a highly effective tool of counselors with at-risk youths. Many frustrated counselors were devoting many hours to these youths. Typically, after these youths faced up to their problems, and committed to changing their behaviour, they were sent home. But with alarming predictability, these at-risk youths reverted to their old behaviours. Why? Were they insincere about change?

Counselors eventually realised that sending these youths back to the same abusive fathers, alcoholic mothers, and drug-abusing friends was inviting failure. The youths needed support for their new behavior; that meant changing the system. Counselors began counseling the entire family. Changing the system (the family) has been much more effective.

Organisational change consultants and managers must take the same systemic approach. Peter Senge is often quoted for his work on organisational learning. Personally, I believe Senge's larger contribution is in the application of systems thinking to business organisations. Systemic change involves a lot of work, but the change is powerful and lasting.

Open Systems

Open systems theory takes systems thinking one step further. Systems Theory changes our diagnostic focus from the individual to the system. Open Systems Theory helps us recognise the fact that the system itself is embedded in another, larger system. This larger system - its environment - exerts substantial influence on the organisation.

As OC practitioners we may see system-wide problems that exist within the walls of the organisation, but we must remain aware of the environment in which the organisation operates. A business organisation's environment includes its customers, suppliers, competitors, government regulators, and so on.

About the Author:

Dr. Mike Beitler is the author of "Strategic Organizational Change" and "Strategic Organizational Learning". His books are used at General Motors, Coca-Cola, IBM, Wachovia, BASF, Glaxo Smith Kline, Daimler-Chrysler, and many more great companies. His work is written for practitioners who need real-world tools and strategies to be truly effective in their organisations.

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