Business Restructuring: A Cybernetics Intervention

1
Business RestructuringA Cybernetics Intervention

• S.J. Brewis1 K.N.
  Papamichail2 V. Rajaram2
• 1BT Wholesale, UK
• 2Manchester Business School, UK

Cybernetic implications for large businesses
In an infinite world and a finite time to decide,
How can we answer the most rudimentary of
questions 'that faced with this predicament what
do we do next'. (Brewis, S., 2002)
2
Philosophical Musings
3
Motivation for the work
Warren McCulloch Redundancy of Potential
Command Decentralised Centralisation
Conant Ashby Theorem Every good
regulator of a system must contain a model of
that system
Viable System Model Fractal unfolding
using value production exchange with
environment.
4
Information Systems and Decision Support Systems
CONTEXT
CONTENT
CONTEXT
Information Systems deal primarily with the data
(content), leaving behind the context.
5
Cybernetics Theory
What does this mean ???
Setting Direction
Steering the Course

• Dissipative Structures

• Information / Action

• Variety to absorb information from the environment

• Variety to absorb information from itself

6
The Battle space landscape
7
The VPU A Commercial Business Function
Investment
Return
8
Commercial Business Function
9
Business VPU Context Framework
5
4
3
2
3
1
1
1
1
1
10
The Snowflake model
11
The Snowflake VPU model
12
Best practice in decision making
best practice scores

• The aim of the project is to develop a new
  conceptual framework and analytical diagnostics
  tool to assess and improve organisational
  decision making practices
• First phase of the project
• explore ongoing and past decision lifecycles and
  decision making practices in BT
• identify critical factors in the assessment of
  decision making practices

Process
Information
Performance



Efficiency
Technology




People Skills
Management Structures

Context
For further information please contact Vidya.Raja
ram (vidya.rajaram_at_mbs.ac.uk)
13
Conclusions

• Discussed a new VSM application
• Presented the snowflake model
• Combined the two disciplines of Organisational
  Behaviour and Decision Support Systems
• Introduced a business enterprise ontology
• Was it a success story?

14
Thankyou