Abstract
This chapter uses the VSM to understand and observe how people in organizations manage their own complexity as they strive to maintain stability in a chaotic environment. The VSM offers strategies to manage complexity at the least cost to people and organizations. People manage organizational complexity intuitively and of course in the process they make more or less costly mistakes. The aim of this chapter is increasing our ability to observe and diagnose shortcomings in this management. It offers practical support to diagnose common communication failures. These failures tend to be archetypical in the sense that they are recurrent observations made in many organizations. The value of archetypes is facilitating the diagnosis of identity and structural problems. From a methodological perspective they highlight the shortcomings of the organizational systems in which people experience performative situations or difficulties in implementing change.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Argyris C, Schön D (1978) Organizational learning: a theory of action perspective. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA
Argyris C, Schön D (1996) Organizational learning II. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA
Bauman Z (2000) Liquid modernity. Polity Press, Cambridge
Beer S (1981) Brain of the firm, 2nd edition. Wiley, Chichester
Eisenhardt KM, Martin JA (2000) Dynamic capabilities: what are they? Strateg Manage J 21(21):1105–1122
Espejo R (1989a) P.M. Manufacturers: the VSM as a diagnostic tool. In: Espejo R, Harnden R (eds) The viable system model: interpretations and applications of Stafford Beer's VSM. Wiley, Chichester, pp 103–120
Espejo R (1989b) The VSM revisited. In: Espejo R, Harnden R (eds) The viable system model: interpretations and applications of Stafford Beer's VSM. Wiley, Chichester, pp 77–100
Espejo R (1997) Structural archetypes; Internal document for the Contraloria General de la Republica de Colombia. Syncho, Ltd., Birmingham, UK
Espejo R (2001) Auditing as a trust creation process. Syst Pract Action Res 14(2):215–236
Espejo R (2008) Observing organizations: the use of identity and structural archetypes. Int J Appl Syst Stud 2(1/2):6–24
Espejo R, Bowling D (2002) Structure for transparency in nuclear waste management: report on the system of waste management in the UK. Syncho, Ltd., Lincoln
Espejo R, Bula G, Zarama R (2001) Auditing as the dissolution of corruption. Syst Pract Action Res 14(2):1, 39–56
Espejo R, Schuhmann W, Schwaninger M, Bilello U (1996) Organizational transformation and learning. Wiley, Chichester
Girard M, Stark D (2003) Heterarchies of value in manhattan-based New Media Firms. Theory Cult Soc 20(3):77–105
Nachira F, Nicolai A, Dini P, Louarn ML, Leon LR (2007) Digital business ecosystems. European Commission Information Society and Media, Brussels
Reyes A (2001) Second-order auditing practices. Syst Pract Action Res 14(2):157–180
Sennett R (2005) The culture of the new capitalism. BBC Publishing, London
Tapscott D (2009) Grown up digital. McGraw-Hill, New York
Teece JD (2008) Technological know-how, organizational capabilities, and strategic management: business strategy and enterprise development in competitive environments. World Scientific Publishing, London
The Economist (Nov 20, 2008) Harm done: the tortured life of baby P. The Economist, London
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Espejo, R., Reyes, A. (2011). Identity and Structural Archetypes. In: Organizational Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19109-1_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19109-1_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-19108-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-19109-1
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)