BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

ORGANIZATION (Characteristics of a human) 2)4)

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According to R. ACKOFF "The four essential characteristics of an organization can be briefly identified as its: a) content, b) structure, c) communications, and d) decision-making (choice) procedures" (1960, p.3).

It is this last point that identifies human organizations, as different from those defined by BERTALANFFY

ACKOFF states in a more detailed way:

"1. Some of its components are… human beings. Wires, poles, switchboards and telephones may constitute a communication system, but they do not constitute an organization…

"2. Responsability for choices from the set of possible acts in any specific situation is divided among two or more individuals or groups of individuals… a) by function… b) by geography… c) by time…

"3. The functionally distinct subgroups are aware of each other's behavior either through communication or observation…

"4. The system has some freedom of choice of both means (courses of action) and ends (desired outcomes) (p.2).

How these characteristics show through in specific parts of an organization is described for example as follows by H. MINTZERG (1979) who identifies the following ones:

"- the operating core where tasks are centred around the actual production of goods or services

- the strategic apex where top management functions are carried out

- the middle line which links the strategic apex to the operational core

- the technostructure where the structure and processes within the organization are planned, organized and re-organized

- the support staff which supports the functioning of the operational core"

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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