Compare Viable Systems Model (VSM) and Soft Systems Model (SSM) in terms of their way of dealing with organisational issues.

Essay by gekkyleeUniversity, Master'sC, February 2003

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INDEX

1. The Differentiation between VSM and SSM

1.1 Viable System Model..........................................................................2

1.1.1 A brief overview of VSM.......................................................2

1.1.2 Argumentation on VSM........................................................3

1.2 Soft Systems Methodology....................................................4

1.2.1 A simple description of SSM................................................4

1.2.2 Commentary on SSM..........................................................5

1.3 Comparison between VSM and SSM......................................6

2. The Mutualism between VSM and SSM...............................8

2.1 The Relationship between SSM and the VSM.............................8

2.2 Combining use of the VSM and the SSM...............................10

3. Conclusion..............................................................................10

4. Bibliography............................................................................11

1. The Differentiation between VSM and SSM

1.1 Viable System Model

The VSM is a powerful tool; it establishes the adequacy of the strategies used by an organization to cope with the complexity of its tasks. The VSM is a model of the web of regulatory mechanisms that are needed in an organization to cope successfully with the inherent large complexity of real-world tasks.

1.1.1 A brief overview of VSM

There are five systems in the process of VSM, each of which takes the different functions.

The system 1 of an organization consists of the various parts of it directly concerned with implementation. Each part of System 1 should be autonomous in its own right, so that it can absorb some of the massive environmental variety that would otherwise flood higher management levels. This means the parts themselves must be viable systems and must exhibit the five functions-- the model is 'recursive'; the structure of the whole is replicated in each of the parts. System 1 has some special primacy in Beer's VSM because it consists of other viable systems and because it produces the viable system of which it is part. The management 'meta-system', Systems2-5, emerges from the need to facilitate the operations of system 1, and to ensure the suitable adaptation of the whole organization. System 2, coordination, is necessary to ensure that the various elements...