Abstract
In this chapter we build on the concept of organization as a closed network of relations having identity to explain in detail the Viable System Model (VSM). This model offers a systemic form of observing collectives and institutions in today’s societies. The VSM clarifies the quality of the strategies used by a collective to manage the complexity of its self-defined tasks and is a particularly helpful instrument for organizational diagnosis. This chapter develops complexity management strategies for policy-making and policy implementation and explains processes to maintain the organization’s cohesion and support its adaptation in a problematic environment. Though the Viable System Model is used most commonly as a tool to observe and describe organizations it also supports, most importantly, the design of effective communication structures.
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Notes
- 1.
In Beer’s terminology the Cohesion Function is System 3 and monitoring is System 3*; in our view these two systems are the two sides of the same coin and therefore treating them as independent of each other is an inadequate fragmentation.
- 2.
Earlier versions of this model (Espejo 1989c) talked about the monitoring-control mechanism; however the socially negative connotation of control suggested the convenience to talk about the cohesion mechanism. What is apparent is that the above discussion has offered a control strategy that is very different to the hierarchical, coercive strategy.
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Espejo, R., Reyes, A. (2011). The Viable System Model: Effective Strategies to Manage Complexity. In: Organizational Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19109-1_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19109-1_6
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