Sociotechnical Systems and Work Approaches - Essay Example

Sociotechnical Systems and Work Approaches Introduction Sociotechnical systems (STS) are a technique that identifies the interaction between workers and the technological adoption in workplaces. This involves the theory concerning the social aspects of human and society plus the technical facets of organizational structure and procedures. Organizations adopt this approach to monitor the interrelatedness of social and technical features that affect a company or the society (Olsen, Pedersen & Hendricks, 2009). The concept aims at ensuring that efficiency and humanity do not contradict each other within the working environment. The sociotechnical systems use electronic channels such as emails, blogs and social media among other elements. The effectiveness of this approach in organizations depends on the dual focus and joint optimization that considers the blending aspects. The Historical Perspectives Scientific Approach Different management approaches facilitated the adoption of the STS concept into organizations. The first approach is the scientific approach that used technical measures to assess commands in order to determine how work could be implemented in an efficient way. This approach discovered different principles of scientific management, such as managers were to replace the traditional systems with new technical guidelines (Wolf, Finnie & Gibson, 2008). It also involved the management hiring and developing workers to embrace specialization of tasks. The other scientific principle was ensuring that employees work towards accomplishing plans. The managers were also required to ensure that there was a proper division of labor between the administration and staffs (McLaughlin, 2009). The significance of this approach is that it emphasized the call for cooperation between the management and the personnel, which is a requirement of the STS. The cooperation aspect in the organization operates through shared decision making between the top management and the junior workers. Systems Approach The other historical perspective that helped to support and to encourage the adoption of a socieotechnical approach is the systems concept. The pioneers of the systems approach believed that a company is a structure made up of various independent departments that work as one unit. The systems comprise of an open and closed systems depending on the interactions with other elements in the industry (Wailgum, 2007). For instance, the open system is part of the STS because of its interactions with the external environment and this enables an organization to access constant information and resources from other foreign sources. The introduction of new technology requires an organization to make adjustments in each department for the collective performance of tasks. It is also apparent that organizations are perceived as social systems that accommodate diverse personalities. This facilitates the information sharing, consultations and the implementation of actions (Wailgum, 2007). In regards to sociotechnical concept, the systems approach concentrates on the relationship between evaluation and self-regulation in decision-making collaborations. Humanistic Approach Humanistic approach also influenced the evolution of the sociotechnical systems and work aspects in organizations. This approach focuses on the human motivation and common human requirements. It also centers on the organizational culture concerning employee behaviors and socialization (Tidd & Bessant, 2009). This implies that the organization is a community of people that enhances unity and human virtues. However, the presence of informal groupings is essential for work satisfaction, productivity and moral building since they foster staff relationships. Humanistic approach also entails motivation aspects and unity building in organizations, which makes it a sociotechnical approach (Bateman & Snell, 2007). Workers need to understand that the technical presence in their organization increases productivity and efficiency. The management should communicate in the correct time to avoid cases of resistance and sabotage (Mele, 2003). As a result, the humanistic approach aims at uniting workers towards the organization’s development through the enactment of a culture that guides the connection between the innovation and the society. Contingency Approach Contingency approach is another management style that evolved to support a sociotechnical approach. It holds that management that can use any administrative style that suits the different situations and employees (Kliener & Hendrick, 2008). This is because situations normally occur due to variations in the external environment, which forces organizations to change in order to accommodate them. As a result, this approach links with sociotechnical system that maintains that organizations have independent qualities. This implies that some aspects of work cannot be divided because this might affect the operations of other elements (Bansal, 2009). The historical perspectives that support sociotechnical approach focus on the relationships between the external environment, human and the technical elements. The three aspects should have independent elements that do not affect the operations of the other departments. This is to ensure that productivity, motivation and communication are enhanced in the different levels. Stages of Innovation Everett Rogers inspired the development of the diffusion of innovation theory. This started through an observation of the farmers who failed to implement new technologies because the other farmers had not done the same (Upton, et al, 2010). In this regard, diffusion is the adoption of an innovation by members of a society, influenced by originality, communication channels used for conveying the innovation, time coverage and the nature of the community receiving the advancement. In order for innovation, decision-making to occur, the five stages are followed. The stages entail knowledge in which people should understand the existence of innovation. The other stage is persuasion that aims at encouraging people to accept the innovation because of its impact on them (Shane, 2009). Decision is another stage that enables people to consider adopting the innovation and the execution phase by the users (Magsood & Finegan, 2009). The last stage is the confirmation in which the users acknowledge that the adoption of the innovation was the appropriate action to take. The sociotechnical system encourages innovation that helps both the company and the society without causing negative repercussions. The spread of technical skills should be uniform, starting from the strategic departments to the rest of the community and the departments (Cummings & Worley, 2009). Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation Rogers’ diffusion of innovation enlightens the execution of sociotechnical systems founded on the five phases. This implies that organizations should have conditions that make the social and technical aspects cohesive (McGrath & Zell, 2001). For instance, an organization that plans to embrace a new technology will first inform the workers of its value in their productivity. The workers will only accept the innovation if they are satisfied with its impacts in the organization (Larsen & McGuire, 2008). In this way, the common correlation between people and technology positively affects operations. The five stages inform the implementation of sociotechnical systems by identifying the correlation between technology and users because of the independence that depends on the performance of the other. In this regard, the entire procedure relies on human capital and their ability to embrace the innovation (Singh, 2008). This is because the technical adoption should ensure self-sustenance without causing conflicts between departments and workers. However, it is apparent that organizations adopt the technical aspects in different categories, such as innovators, early adopters and laggards among others. Conclusion Sociotechnical approach mainly depends on the social and technical coordination in an organization. This connection is based on the interaction that enhances the conditions facilitating the successful or unproductive organizational performance. The other condition is the optimization of the different aspects that tend to improve the quantity of changeable relationships. The four theories of humanistic, contingency, systems and scientific have helped in the understanding and implementation of the sociotechnical approaches. This is because the scientific approach discovered different principles of scientific management, such as managers were to replace the traditional systems with new technical guidelines. The humanistic approach focuses on the human motivation and common human requirements by centering on the organizational culture concerning employee behaviors and socialization. The systems aspect and contingency theories build on organizational culture, motivation and relationship with the external environment. Rogers’ diffusion of innovation also depends on five stages, which considers the adoption, implementation and the confirmation of the technology to its users or workers. References Bateman, T.S. & Snell, S. A. (2007). Management. Leading and collaborating in a Competitive world. McGraw-Hill. New York, NY. Bansal, S. (2009). 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