Viability and change in the 21st century organisation: a cybernetic perspective

Abstract

The 21st century organisation works and networks in an interconnected world where ambiguity and uncertainty abound. This dynamic environment necessitates continuous vigilance over the forces that impact the organisation's performance, and continual refinement of the sociotechnical infrastructure that supports its purpose. Relevant and timely decision-making is essential to managing change. However, absent resilient structural arrangements in place to effectively cope with change, the outcomes of decisions taken will be speculative, at best. In this article, we explore the (core) functions that form the traditional paradigm of management and consider the cybernetic structure of the viable system model as an alternate means of maintaining organisational cohesion during times of relative normality and during times of change. Moreover, we describe a pragmatic conceptual framework, which bridges the gap between the traditional and the cybernetic approach that can be used to manage change. Finally, we apply this framework to transform a traditional performance monitoring scheme into an integrated multidimensional performance measurement system.