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Open Systems Theory “seeks solutions to problems within the broader context of organizational and environmental dynamics” (p. 74 Marion & Gonzales, 2014)

- Environments significantly impact organizational structure & behavior
- Systems are greater than the sum of their parts!

- Systems are composed of subsystems which are interacting & interrelated parts.

- Interdependence is exhibited in organizations which are in dynamic, interconnected relationship with their environment.

- Parts of systems are interconnected & subject to feedback (positive or negative)

- Systems are homeostatic, with perturbations resulting in new equilibrium states (altered subsystem interactions).

- Equifinality means there is no one best way to organize… but not ways all are equally effective..
- The idea of complex causality is central to open systems theory.

- Foundation for theories like Complex Adaptive Systems (Chaos), Learning Organizations & Karl Weick’s work on Loosely Coupled Systems

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“Looking for the one best way to do every single task in the organization” - Frederick Taylor

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CASE: There is a debate in your school around assessment practices. One group of teachers are pushing for a more authentic approach to assessment that allows students to essentially avoid high-stakes assessment situations whereas another group is strongly against this, arguing that test preparation is a key part of assessment experiences over the years of schooling. The principal of the school calls all of the department heads and coordinators into a meeting one day and exclaims, “We have to end this debate once and for all! What is the single best way to carry out assessment in schools?” You have noticed in the principal’s office there is a picture of Frederick Taylor hanging on his wall.

As a systems theory proponent, how might you respond to this quest for a single best solution?

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Where along Fiedler’s continuum would you place:

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Where along Fiedler’s continuum would you place:

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An organization you know well?
P–12 schools?
Research universities?
Community colleges?
A poorly disciplined middle school classroom taught by a substitute teacher?

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https://bit.ly/3AIPyTF

Dalal M., Sliva A., Blumstein D. (2018) Complex Causality: Computational Formalisms, Mental Models, and Objective Truth. In: Hoffman M. (eds) Advances in Cross-Cultural Decision Making. AHFE 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 610. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60747-4_11

Wittenborn, A., Rahmandad, H., Rick, J., & Hosseinichimeh, N. (2016). Depression as a systemic syndrome: Mapping the feedback loops of major depressive disorder. Psychological Medicine, 46(3), 551-562. doi:10.1017/S0033291715002044

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Place examples of successful differentiation within your organization here!

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Place examples of unsuccessful differentiation within your organization here!

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"Structural contingency theorist argue that, other things being equal, if an environment is stable and predictable, administrators can put together a rather simple organizational structure, one run by a handful of straightforward rule and with minimal supervision."

"No one person could possibly master that environment as a whole, for there is just too much to understand. The educational industry responds by dividing the environment into disciplines, thus certain people are assigned responsibility for math, some for language arts, some for social studies, and so on."

"If such sharing and coordination does not occur, the system ceases to be a unit and becomes instead a set of individual systems."

When an organization splits into sup-departments with different responsibilities, the people in the subroles tend to develop differing perceptions of need, task relevance, status, priorities, goals, time , and responsibility."

"As differentiation increase, then, conflicts and miscommunications increase. The system needs tome mechanism for coordination, or integration."

"Imagine schools in which the tasks to be performed are complex; production methods (pedagogy) can be standardized only in their most general features; raw materials (students) come with non-standardized learning profiles; and external, unpredictable contingencies (such as child abuse, poverty, anti-educational prejudice) constantly intrude on and disrupt the learning process (perhaps you don't have to work very hard at imaging this one). Such a system defies standardization under the banner of a few rules and regulations; rather, teachers and principals must have the latitude to respond uniquely to the unique problems they face daily. The system must be coordinated with feedback mechanisms. "

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https://www.oklahoman.com/article/5510879/the-blueberry-story-the-teacher-gives-the-businessman-a-lesson

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In the silence of that room, I could hear the trap snap ... I was dead meat, but I wasn't going to lie.

"I send them back."

She jumped to her feet. "That's right?" she barked, "and we can never send back our blueberries. We take them big and small, rich, poor, gifted, exceptional, abused, frightened, confident, homeless, rude and brilliant. We take them with ADHD, chronic illnesses and English as their second language. We take them all! Every one! And, that, Mr. Vollmer, is why it's not a business. It's a school!"

This story is important for everyone interested in Oklahoma City Public Schools to hear. Ninety percent of our students live in poverty and come through our school doors each day with a host of issues that need attention.

Our teachers, principals and administrators wouldn't even dream of sending them back. They are called to educate and support them, no matter what.

We, as a community must be called to fill in where we are needed. No matter what.

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The Blueberry Story: The teacher gives the businessman a lesson

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In the silence of that room, I could hear the trap snap ... I was dead meat, but I wasn't going to lie. "I send them back." She jumped to her feet. "That's right?" she barked, "and we can never send back our blueberries.

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An example of a causal loop diagram of cognitive, social, environmental, and biological dimensions from Wittenborn et al. (2016)

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One of the important aspects of open systems theory is complex causality. Dalal et al (2018) state: “The complex, indeterminate causation in a sociotechnical system can be characterized by structural and relational features that make it especially challenging to establish the underlying causal truth.”

You are leading a teacher evaluation committee and in the process, one group of teachers stand out as being significantly lower on the appraisal system than others. As the chair of the committee this strikes you as odd, because you have met many of them and they did not strike you as people of such a low professional caliber. However, even before receiving their evaluation results, many of the teachers in question abruptly resign. At the next meeting, someone in the committee cites their resignations as further evidence of their poor professional abilities, particularly suggesting “poor training” as the likely cause.

How do you respond, from a perspective of open systems theory & complex causality?