Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
21 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
A systems goals |
Systems exist to serve a purpose or puposes.
The notion of a goal is clearly tied to the purpose of some system.
For certain classes of system such as a technical systems then the goal or purpose of the system is relatively clear-cut. E.g. The purpose of a thermostat is to regulate room temprature.
For systems of human activity the goal or purpose of the system may be less clear-cut... and frequently will depend on who you ask..
Hence establishing the goal or goald of some system of action is the first step in designing any system of organisation... |
|
|
What is the goal of most systems of action? |
The goal of most systems of action relates to the issue of creating value.. because organisations are value creating systems.. |
|
|
What is value? |
Value is anything considered to be of worth to somebody. |
|
|
What is Micheal porter's view on organisations in relation to value? |
Thinks of organisations as value-chains... and believes that competition amongst business organisations is all about the attempt to deliver better value to customers. |
|
|
What is lean thinking? |
Lean thinking focuses on improving manufacturing by designing the value-stream to eliminate 'waste non-value-adding activities'. |
|
|
What is the first step in organisation design? |
Establishing the goal(s) of some system if action is the first step in any organisation design. |
|
|
What is the centeral transformation? |
The centeral transformation establishes the goal of some system of action.. it expresses the key value transformed by this system of action |
|
|
What is a coordination problem? |
A coordination problem exists when two or more actors have a goal in commin and have to take independent but inter-related action to achieve this goal.
Any system of action, designed to create value in some way, is subject to coordination problems. |
|
|
Driving on UK roads : coordination problems example |
. |
|
|
How are coordination problems solved? |
Coordination problems are sloved through conventions of action. |
|
|
How can ways of organising be designed? |
Ways of organising can be designed beacuse systems of action are subject to a property known as equifinality Equifinality means that the goal or outcome of some system of activity can be achieved in a number of different ways. |
|
|
What is business activity? |
Business activity involves the transformation of value, producing, distribtuing or consuming value. |
|
|
What is performance? |
In terms of activity, performance is some assessment or evaluatiob of whether you are doing the right thing (efficacy), doing something with the minimum resource (efficiency) or doing something that contributes to higher level goals (effectiveness). |
|
|
What is measurement? |
All measurement is a form of communication... we choose particular signs to stand for certain things in which we are interested. E.g. our meaurement of time employs a set of signs... which correspond to a set of arbitrary conventions of communication... |
|
|
How do we measure performance? |
We can use such signs to stand for certain features of some actvity or series of activities... Such as tick to indicate precisely when some activity happened as in the case of making some booking.. |
|
|
What is performance management? |
Performance management is the use of certain defined performance measures to control activity. |
|
|
Performance management as conrtol |
Control is typically exercised through some form of control activity which monitors some operating activity... This is how it typically works... Setting targets to be met... Communicating actual measures of performance... Communicating changes to activity... |
|
|
What does control typically rely on? |
Control typically relies upon target setting... Targets can be seen as a way of instituting goals within activities.. BUT BEAWRE Managers need to be careful in the design of performance measures as tragets... because actors eill always work towards targets... so make sure that targets are closely aligned with the goals of the activity system |
|
|
What is a role? |
A role is a convenient label (a sign) for a package of expected (conventional) actions. Roles when assigned, are resources which people utilise to guide their action. |
|
|
What is meant by 'Business activity occurs in patterns'? |
We can observe repeated sequences of action designed to achieve some goal. |
|
|
Key points. |
- Coordinated activity is conducted in order to achieve established goals. - Coordinated activity produces, distributes or consumes value. - The goal so some system of action can be expressed in terms of its centeral transformation. - Equifinality establishes that different systems of activity can be designed to fulfil the same goal. - Performance is the communication of certain features of action... such as how well it is achieving its goal(s). - Measurement of performance is important to the control of activity... typicalky through the exercise of feedback. - Coordination can be expressed as patterns of conventional activity. |
