KWAME NKRUMA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS STUDIES

NAME: FRED MUTALE MWANSA

KNU: 20211636

COURSE: BBS 150

COURSE NAME: PRINCIPALS OF MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT: 01

LECTURER: MR. J, LUKUNDE

DUE DATE: 10th November, 2021

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Management focuses on new and innovative ideas simply because it is the product of the 20
century. Many scholars started coming up with different approaches of management in early
1900s. But management has been practiced for over thousand years. Basically, today we can’t
say there is one good theory of management. They are six approaches to management. These
include universal process approach, the operation approach, the Behavioral approach, the system
approach, the contingency approach and the attributes of excellent approach.

System theory is type of approach to management that engages all types of management
approaches. Its main aim is to provide is to prepare an individual to understand how to interact
with the environment. This paper is going to explain about the system theory. How management
has been able to engage the internal and external realities.

2.0 SYSTEM THEORY

Biologist, Ludwig von Bertalanffy, introduced principles of General systems theory in 1950 and
was furthered by Ross Ashby 1964. This theory their other scholars that have also contributed
something to it that makes to be unique. Some of the scholars are Chester Barnard, Flood,
Jackson, Robbins, Calter and Harry to mention a few.

This biologist Von Bertalanffy after doing his research he saw that management was not
functioning as expected. Because most of the theories that where discovered just concentrated
just within the organization, because of this many scholars who took part to explain about system
theory thought of dividing system theory into two parts.

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System theory is defined as a complex and highly interlinked network of parts exhibition
synergistic properties the whole is greater than the sum parts .It is also a collection of interrelated
parts acting together to achieve some goal which exists in the environment; Flood and Jackson
(1991). Checkland (1981) defines system theory as a model of a whole entity which may be
applied to human activities. Schoderbek et al (1985) explains system theory as other set of object
together with relationships between the object and the attributes related to each other and to the
environment so as to create or form a whole.

2.1 closed and open system

Many scholars after doing their research on system theory thought of classifying system theory
into two types namely which is closed and open system.

Closed system theory is the type of theory that just works within the organization. In shot it does
not attract with the environment. While open system theory it interacts with the environment.
Many scholars have proved that open system theory is the best type of system theory that an
organization can use for it to function effective and inefficient.

Sometimes open system can be referred as an organization system. The open system of
management can be best described in the diagram below:

Input Organization
Output
People, capital, Transformation
Input utilized
managerial skills process

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 Feedback

Inputs these are things an organization can get from the environment they include people, capital,
managerial skills as well as technical knowledge of skills. It also includes the various claimants
groups of people making demands on the organization; such as employees, consumers, suppliers,
stockholders, federal, state and local governments.

Transformation process this is where inputs are transformed into an effective and efficient
manner into output in an organization this can be viewed from different angles. Focus can be on
such management functions as finance, production, personal and marketing.

External variable these are components of a system model, the external environment plays a key
role in the transformation of inputs into outputs. While is it true that organizations have little or
no power to change the external environment they have no alternative but to respond to it.

Outputs these are inputs that secured and utilized by transformation through the managerial
functions with the due consideration for external variables into outputs. Outputs of different
kinds vary with the organization. They usually include the many of the following; products,
services, profits, satisfaction and integration of the goals of various claimants to the organization.

2.2 ELEMENTS OF SYSTEM THEORY

Chester Bernard 1938 defined system theory as a cooperative system. Cooperative system theory
he says is complex thing of physical, biological, personal and social components which are
functioning in systematic way by reason of interaction of two or more person for at least one
definite end. Chester Bernard come this theory because the experience he had as a top level bell
telephone manager. He came up with elements that he thought could be useful to theory.

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Waring (1996) defined the system at a simple level as a recognizable whole, which consists of
number of parts (called components) that are connected up in an organized way (the system
structure). These components interact, that is, there are processes going on. This basic deception
covers the popular idea of interconnected parts and processes as in the central heating system. It
further argued that, system approach to management implies the application of system ideas such
as emergencies and hierarchy (layered structure), communication and control problem situation
(Jackson 1995).

These elements that Bernard came up with are willingness to save, common purpose to save and
communication. He felt that an organization did not exist if these elements where not present and
working indipendently. He viewed that communication is the bridge between individual
willingness and common purpose to save. The author agreed that Bernard says about
communication being a bridge between individual willingness to save common purpose.
Communication is the life blood of an organization.

Willingness to save brings empowerment and effectiveness and efficiency to the organization.
This helps the manager to serve the organization willingly to archive a particular desired goal.
Common purpose to save this means to focus on a group to produce an interaction in which
participates, respond collectively and collaboratly, are aware of the common purpose and
reflexively act in terms of that purpose. Ossenbruggen 1994 defines the system as an organized
integrated that saves a common purpose.

Communication is the mechanism through which human relation exist and develop schram 1993.
Communication is receiving information, signals through appropriate media enabling individuals
or groups to persuade to set information or express emotions.

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2.3 THE GENERAL SYSTEM

The way the organism interacts with each other. So is the organization interacting with the
environment? Organization always wants to grow and achieve its goals on changing environment
than to remain at the same position. It is for this reason that the general system theory has come
to applied to the study of the organization function such as design of management planning and
control system.

General system theory is defined as complex systems share organism principles which can be
discovered and molded mathematically. There are models, principals and laws that apply to the
generalized system of their particular kind, nature of their component elements and relations
between them von bertalanffy 1968. Bartalanffy what he was proposing about the general system
theory it was more than that. He was referring to an organized body of knowledge.

2.3.1 System science is the system that covers formal sciences such as complex system,
dynamic system theory, information theory and cybernetics. This system has application in
the natural and social sciences and engineering. The most stressed out things are interactions
between a system and its embedding environment. Complex trajectories of dynamic
behavior that sometimes stable while the various limits.

System dynamic is the approach to understanding the behavior of complex system overtime.
The dynamic theory is based at the stability of the response of a system to perturbation. The
issue of stability originates from mechanics. Basically, dynamic system is wide such as
mathematics, physics, biology and engineering.

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2.3.2 System technology is defined as his hardware of computers, automatics, self-regulating
machinery and the software of the new theoretical development and disciplines. Because of
this technology that was brought in by bartalanffy has been able to perform a lot complexity
related to the system as compared first technologies that where discovered

2.3.3 System philosophy is a discipline aimed at making a new philosophy by using system
concepts. System philosophy is system that was agreed between Laslvo and bartalanffy the
founder of general system theory. Bartalanffy revised it in his 1996 book of general system
theory b adding a new preface in which he embraces system philosophy as one element of
general system theory alongside the system science and the system technology.

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3.0 CONCLUSSION

System theory has played a big role in the evaluation management. In the modern day this
theory has brought a lot of changes and how organizations are being ran. This has created room
on how the organization can interact with the environment and how the environment can benefit
from the organization from what it will produce.

System is a whole which exhibit properties which only have meaning in terms of the interactive
processes of its components. Managers have the greater acknowledgment of seeing it is a whole
this approach of management makes managers to have different means and ways on how to
manage an organization and this has helped on at the internal and external realities this theory
also tries by all means to bring in other management theories.

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References