Page 15 - DMGT520_ORGANIZATION_CHANGE_AND_DEVELOPMENT

Organization Change and Development

Notes The congruence model’s value is an analytical tool for:
1. Assessing the characteristics and functioning of each of the elements.
2. Evaluating the goodness of fit or how well the elements go together.

1.5.3 Socio-technical System Theory and Open System Planning

Two major variants of open system theory are –socio-technical system theory (STS) and open
system planning.
Socio-technical system theory was developed by Trist and others at the Tavistock institution in
1950’s. According to this theory organisations are comprised of two independent systems, a
social system and a technical system and changes in one effect the other. It is the conceptual
foundation for efforts in work redesign and organisation restructuring of OD.

Open system planning explains that:
1. Scanning the environment to determine the expectations of external organisations and
stakeholders.

2. Developing scenario of possible futures both realistic and ideal.
3. Developing action plans to achieve the desired result.
Mostly OD practitioners engaged in redesign projects use a combination of socio-technical
system theory and open system planning.
The other theories of OD are grouped into the four broad categories:
1. Life cycle

2. Teleology
3. Dialectical
4. Evolutionary theories
Where and when do these theories apply to explain development in organisational entities?
To address this question it is useful to emphasize four distinguishing characteristics in the
preceding discussion of the four theories. Each theory: (1) views process in terms of a different
cycle of change events, (2) which is governed by a different “motor” or generating mechanism
that (3) operates on a different unit of analysis, and (4) represents a different mode of change.
The four groups are distinguished from each other either on the basis of unit of change or mode
of change. The unit of change is either the single individual identity, interactions among people
or relationship between organisations. The mode of change is either prescribed or constructive:
 A life cycle model depicts the process of change in an entity as progressing through a
necessary sequence of stages. An institutional, natural, or logical program prescribes the
specific contents of these stages.
 A teleological model views development as a cycle of goal formulation, implementation,
evaluation, and modification of goals based on what was learned by the entity. This
sequence emerges through the purposeful social construction among individuals within
the entity.
 In dialectical models of development conflicts emerge between entities espousing opposing
thesis and antithesis that collide to produce a synthesis, which in time becomes the thesis
for the next cycle of a dialectical progression. Confrontation and conflict between opposing
entities generate this dialectical cycle.

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