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Before the Internet: The Relevance of Socio-Technical Systems Theory to Emerging Forms of Virtual Organisation

Before the Internet: The Relevance of Socio-Technical Systems Theory to Emerging Forms of Virtual Organisation

Ken Eason
Copyright: © 2011 |Pages: 12
ISBN13: 9781609605070|ISBN10: 1609605071|EISBN13: 9781609605087
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-507-0.ch006
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MLA

Eason, Ken. "Before the Internet: The Relevance of Socio-Technical Systems Theory to Emerging Forms of Virtual Organisation." Knowledge Development and Social Change through Technology: Emerging Studies, edited by Elayne Coakes, IGI Global, 2011, pp. 85-96. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60960-507-0.ch006

APA

Eason, K. (2011). Before the Internet: The Relevance of Socio-Technical Systems Theory to Emerging Forms of Virtual Organisation. In E. Coakes (Ed.), Knowledge Development and Social Change through Technology: Emerging Studies (pp. 85-96). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60960-507-0.ch006

Chicago

Eason, Ken. "Before the Internet: The Relevance of Socio-Technical Systems Theory to Emerging Forms of Virtual Organisation." In Knowledge Development and Social Change through Technology: Emerging Studies, edited by Elayne Coakes, 85-96. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2011. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60960-507-0.ch006

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Abstract

Virtual organisations, in which the technology mediates the interactions in the social system, are an emergent form of socio-technical system. This chapter reviews the concepts and techniques of the 50 years of socio-technical systems theory development that preceded the internet to examine their relevance for the study of the virtual organisation. It first examines the socio-technical system concept of work organisation in relation to the quality of working life and relates these issues to contemporary forms of virtual organisation. It then examines work organisations as open systems and explores the implications of task interdependencies for the delivery of operational work. It questions whether socio-technical concepts are appropriate for emergent forms of virtual social community and concludes that many socio-technical characteristics are also likely to be found in these forms of organisation. The chapter then examines the implications of a technology that mediates communications between people in the social system. It concludes with a plea that we go beyond the design of technical systems to support virtual organisations and, in the tradition of socio-technical systems research, concern ourselves with the joint design of the social and technical components of virtual organisations.

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