3.1 Methodology of a systematic approach to organization and management

For the first time the idea of ​​a systems approach was formulated by the Russian scientist A. A. Bogdanov in 1912-1928. in the work "General Organizational Science (Tectology)". Later in the mid-1930s, this idea was revived by L. von Bertalanffy in his work General System Theory. The main objective of the concept of a systems approach was, based on understanding the system as a complex of interrelated elements (parts), to find a set of laws and principles explaining the behavior, functioning and development of systems of different classes.

Many interesting and original models in the field of theory and practice of organizing systems were proposed by Russian scientists in the collections “Organization and Management” ed. Acad. A.I. Berg (1968); "Problems of system research methodology" (1972); in a series of works by M. I. Setrova, V. G. Afanasyev, and others. Among foreign works in this field, the book of American specialists R. Johnson, F. Casta and R. Rosenzweig, published in 1971, “Systems and Manual” and published in 1981 the work of J. Giga "Applied General Theory of Systems".

The systems approach ^* is closely related to the general theory of systems. He borrows from her the category of the system and a number of other provisions, but remains an independent area of ​​scientific knowledge. We give the definition of this category and scientific direction adopted in the special literature.

The systems approach in management theory is:

• focus on the integrity of the organization;
• the interdependence of parts of the organization working for the same purpose;
• orientation of management to the final results of the company in a rapidly changing external environment.

The system approach is a methodology for analyzing and synthesizing objects of nature, science and technology, organizational and industrial complexes as systems.

The category of a system is a scientific tool for the study of objects, processes and their management. At the heart of the system approach is the concept of the system.

The system is an ordered set of interrelated and interacting elements (parts), naturally forming a whole, possessing properties that are absent from the elements and relations that form it.

With this interpretation, the systems are: a living organism formed by a collection of cells; an enterprise uniting and uniting into a whole the whole set of production processes, groups of people; various types of resources, finished products, etc.

Consider the content included in the definition of a system of terms: "parts", "properties ^* " and "connection ^* ".

From the definition of the system and its environment, it follows that any system can be divided into subsystems, parts, objects, and there is an unlimited number of such parts.

A property is the quality of the parameters of the parts and the system. Properties allow you to describe objects of the system quantitatively, expressing them in units having a certain dimension. In this case, the properties of parts may change as a result of the action of the system.

Connections are what connects parts and properties in a system process into a single whole. Links exist between all system elements and between systems and subsystems.

The system ^* exists as some kind of holistic education only when the intensity of the essential connections between its parts (elements) is greater than the intensity of their connection with the environment.

At the same time, the objects (parts) function as a single whole - each object, subsystem, element works for the sake of a single goal facing the system as a whole.

Certain relations are established between the elements (parts) in the system, determining one or another of its properties. These relations and properties that characterize the relationship, orderliness and interaction of all elements are a concrete manifestation of the main principle of the systems approach - the integrity of the system.

All parts of the system are interdependent. If one of them will be absent or work incorrectly, then the whole system either will not work at all or will work inefficiently.

All biological organisms are systems. Our life and health depend on how well many interdependent organs function. Therefore, the doctor in the treatment of the patient collects information about breathing, metabolism, pulse, eating habits, stress, etc., before making a diagnosis and prescribing you a medicine.

All organizations are socio-technical systems . A good leader, as well as a doctor, must collect information on all essential elements of the organization in order to diagnose problems and take corrective actions.

The fundamental discovery underlying the whole science of management is the representation of an enterprise as a system of the highest order of complexity, a system of which people are parts.

Large and complex systems have the following features:

1. complex internal organization - a combination of social (people), technical (equipment, machines and mechanisms), economic (limited resources) and information (information flows for decision-making) components;
2. the presence of distinguished parts or subsystems that have a meaningful nature of the activity according to the multi-purpose aspect of the functioning of the system;
3. the presence of a large number of diverse internal connections in each subsystem between its elements and the minimum necessary external connections between subsystems;
4. the presence of a large number of diverse links between the system as a whole and the elements of the external environment (suppliers, consumers, competitors, the state, etc.);
5. circulation within the system of large material and information flows, and hence the need to organize an extensive information network, ensuring the rational functioning of the system;
6. hierarchical management structure ^* with vertical (external) and horizontal (internal) connections between parts (subsystems), respectively, combining the principles of centralized and decentralized management.

These signs of large and complex systems must be taken into account when building production and organizational systems and their subdivisions, and also act as criteria when analyzing the correctness of the construction and operation of existing systems.

The system approach ^* allows to solve scientifically sound problems of optimization of the structure and functioning of large and complex systems. The system approach involves three aspects of the formation, functioning and study of the system: functional, elementary and organizational.

The functional aspect consists in determining the composition of the functions — the tasks to be performed by the system and the corresponding separate subsystems of the latter. The implementation of the functional aspect is based on building a tree of system goals, the top of which is the main goal, and the branches are local (ensuring) goals, the realization of which ensures the achievement of the main goal.

Since the achievement of any goal involves certain actions, each goal is actually achieved through the implementation of a certain task function, and the goal tree is in fact an even more extensive tree of task functions.

The set of functions, tasks, focused on the implementation of a specific program (goal), goods, market or customer, in the future allows you to create the basic blocks (units) of any structure.

The elemental aspect provides for the selection in the system of a specific set of elements necessary for the implementation of specific functions and tasks. In this case, there is a movement along the tree of functions-tasks from the bottom up: at the lowest level, as a rule, performers are determined. As they move, they unite in target groups of specialists and teams with the presence of managers.

The organizational aspect establishes the structure of the system; a clear and precise goal for each structural part forms the composition and content of the links between the elements of the system. The presence of the structure of the organization, combining the elements into a single holistic entity, defining the rules and direction of interaction of the elements of the system, is a necessary condition for the existence of the object.

Ensuring the relationship and unity of these three aspects of the system approach in the formation of the organization and its structural parts allows you to streamline and simplify the structure of the company, to achieve the integrity of the parts and their acquisition of qualitatively new properties and characteristics. As a result of the implementation of this approach, the prerequisites for the effective management of the organization are created.

Any true system, mechanical, biological or human, is characterized by interdependence. The whole system is not necessarily improved, if one of its functions or parts is improved, it becomes more efficient. The effect may be reversed: the system can be seriously damaged and even destroyed. In some cases, in order to strengthen the system, it is necessary to weaken its part — to make it less accurate or less effective. For example, in order to improve the reliability of designed production systems, the equipment load factor should be less than one by the amount of the required reserve (10-15%). In any system, the work of the whole is important: it is the result of growth and dynamic equilibrium, adaptation and integration, and not simple technical efficiency.

The initial lack of approaches of various schools to management lies in the fact that they focus only on one important element, and do not consider management effectiveness as a resultant one, depending on many different factors. This is the fundamental difference between the modern approach to management. Thus, a systematic approach ^* is not a set of some guidelines or principles for managers, it is a way of thinking in relation to organization and management. That is why systems theory has helped to integrate the contributions of all schools, which at various times dominated the theory and practice of management.

The initial provisions of the theory of systems management are:

1. Organization ^* (enterprise, firm, corporation) is a system. As in a biological organism, in an organization all parts of it are interconnected.
2. Subsystems are individual parts that make up the whole organization. Each subsystem is a part of the system, which, in turn, may be a subsystem for a higher order system. For example, the subsystem "site" is part of the system "shop", and the "shop", in turn, is a subsystem that is part of the system "enterprise".
3. Synergy means the concept by which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Synergy emphasizes interdependence among all parts of the organization. With regard to business, this means that individual units within an organization are more productive when they cooperate and interact than when they operate independently.
4. An organization is an open system, that is, it interacts with the external environment, and the task is to determine the optimal degree of activity;
5. Borders are points at which an organization meets with the external environment. For most organizations, the boundary between the firm and the external environment is constantly changing, for example, changing sources of raw materials, labor, technical re-equipment, markets, etc.
6. The flow is the movement of material, information, energy flows and human energy in the system. The organization receives raw materials, components, and comes the finished products and services.
7. Feedback is the process of obtaining information about various systems in order to determine their condition and make adjustments, to carry out regulation. For example, on the basis of accounting data on the production process, carry out the function of operational regulation on deviations from the plan.
8. In line with the systems approach in the management of the 60-80s. One of the most well-known concepts of this time has evolved - the concept of organizational behavior.

Organizational behavior is a field of knowledge oriented towards a better understanding of human behavior and the use of this knowledge to help people more productively fulfill their responsibilities in organizations and get more satisfaction from it. The core values ​​that characterize the concept of organizational behavior are as follows:

1. Emphasis on establishing causal relationships in the study of individual behavior.
2. The impact of the learning process on individual behavior change.
3. Humanistic approach to man (without violence).
4. Caring for organizational effectiveness.
5. The desire to rely on empirical (experimental) research and scientific method.

By providing insight into how and why individuals and groups behave, organizational behavior ^* prepares people to become better employees and managers ^* . The basic idea that passes through the concept of organizational behavior is that the behavior of people is simultaneously caused by their own personal characteristics and the environment in which they are located.

All of the above leads to the conclusion that the theory of systems provided the management discipline with the basis for the integration of concepts developed and proposed by earlier schools. However, the theory of systems in itself does not say which elements of the organization as systems are especially important. This theory does not specifically define the main variables affecting management efficiency. Obviously, managers need to know the structure of organization variables as systems in order to apply system theory to the management process. This definition of variables and their influence on the effectiveness of an organization is the main contribution of the situational approach, which is a logical continuation of the theory of systems.