Organisations as interconnected sub-systems

The Open Systems school sees organisations as the composition of interconnected sub-systems. These systems do not act in isolation, but as open systems. First, they are open to, and interact, with their external environment. Secondly, the are open internally. Each sub-system interact with each other. The Open Systems school is one of the three perspectives widely adopted in change management.

Main goal of the Open Systems school is to view organisations in its entirety. As such it attempts to have an holistic view.

Principal sub-systems in open systems

Many boundaries and labels has been used by theorists to categorise sub-systems in an open system. A general agreement is present that the main sub-systems are the ones that cover leadership, people, structure, and technology (Burnes, 2017).

Miller (1967) argues that there are four principal organisational sub-systems:

• Organisational goals and values. The stated organisational objectives and the values it wishes to promote in order to attain them. The goals and values should not only be compatible with each other, but also its internal and external environment.
• Technical sub-system. The specific combination of knowledge, techniques and technologies which an organisation requires in order to function.
• Psychosocial sub-system. Also referred to as organisational climate and culture. The combination and interplay of relationships, norms and values that make up the society of the organisation. It is influenced by an organisation's environment, history, and employees as well as its tasks, technology and structures.
• Managerial sub-system. Spans the entire organisation. Responsible for relation an organisation to its environment, setting goals, determining values, developing comprehensive strategic and operational plans designing structure and establishing control processes. This sub-system has the responsibility for consciously directing an organisation and ensuring that it attains its objectives.