Advanced systems have a boundary, an internal structure, environment effectors and receptors ( Whitworth et al., 2006 AU23: The citation "Whitworth et al., 2006" matches multiple references. Please add letters (e.g. "Smith 2000a"), or additional authors to the citation, to uniquely match references and citations. ). Simple biological systems (cells) formed a cell wall boundary and organelles for internal cell functions. Cells like Giardia developed flagella to effect movement, and protozoa developed light sensitive receptors. People are more complex, but still have a boundary (skin), an internal structure of organs, muscle effectors and sense receptors. Computer systems likewise have a physical case boundary, an internal architecture, printer/screen effectors and keyboard/mouse receptors. Likewise software systems have memory boundaries, a program structure, input analyzers, and output “driver” code.
Published in Chapter:
A Brief Introduction to Sociotechnical Systems
Brian Whitworth (Massey University Auckland, New Zealand)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 7
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-026-4.ch066
Abstract
The term sociotechnical was introduced by the Tavistock Institute in the 1950’s for manufacturing cases where the needs of technology confronted those of local communities, for example, longwall mining in English coalmines (see http://www.strategosinc.com/socio-technical.htm). Social needs were opposed to the reductionism of Taylorism, which broke down jobs on say a car assembly line into most ef- ficient elements. Social and technical were seen as separate side-by-side systems which needed to interact positively, for example, a village near a nuclear plant is a social system (with social needs) besides a technical system (with technical needs). The sociotechnical view later developed into a call for ethical computer use by supporters like Mumford (Porra & Hirscheim, 2007). In the modern holistic view the sociotechnical system (STS) is the whole system, not one of two side-by-side systems. To illustrate the contrast, consider a simple case: A pilot plus a plane are two side-by-side systems with different needs, one mechanical (plane) and one human (pilot). Human Computer Interaction (HCI) suggests these systems should interact positively to succeed. However plane plus pilot can also be seen as a single system, with human and mechanical levels. On the mechanical level, the pilot’s body is as physical as the plane, for example, the body of the plane and the body of the pilot both have weight, volume, and so forth. However the pilot adds a human thought level that sits above the plane’s mechanical level, allowing the “pilot + plane” system to strategize and analyze. The sociotechnical concept that will be developed changes the priorities, for example, if a social system sits next to a technical one it is usually secondary, and ethics an afterthought to mechanics, but when a social system sits above a technical one it guides the entire system, that is, the primary factor in system performance.