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Organization as a Total System
Young, Stanley
10/3  (Spring 1968): 21-32

The article views organization as a set of flows, information, men, material and behavior. Firstly, on a normative basis, organizations should be viewed as a total system in order to increase organizational output. Secondly, irrespective of the developing managerial concepts, the bureaucratic structure itself represents such a serious constraint that only minimal advantages would accrue. Thirdly, the essential role of the manager is that of designer of organizational or behavioral systems. In conclusion, the engineering and management sciences face the same fundamental problem the creation of improved systems. Both suggest that quantitative modeling be performed, based on their respective underlying sciences, physical and social. However, in the engineering sciences the design and implementation of machine-to-machine systems tends to be organizationally highly systematic, whereas such a development is yet to occur with respect to the management sciences in their designs of man-to-man systems.

 

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