Management Cybernetics in Practice
Many managers fail to realise that they are actually using methods derived from cybernetics in everyday business activity. The idea of control loops and feedback are well known but many fail to realise that they originate from a cybernetic standpoint.
Stafford Beer is known as the father of management cybernetics, focusing on the application of the natural laws of cybernetics in organisations, enterprises and institutes. One of the most unique features of his work is that he did not try to simplify reality in any way. William Ross Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety essentially reinforces the fact that complex situations can only be appreciated or managed with at least the same degree of complexity. The influences of this theory can be clearly seen in Beer’s work. By viewing reality “from a level that is high enough to allow all the factors that operate in complex systems to be separated out and presented in a form in which they are clearly recognizable and comprehensible to anyone who is curious” (Cwarel Isaf Institute, 2002), his models automatically encompass the right way to approach complexity.
Another distinguishing feature of Stafford Beer’s work is that he endeavours to make all processes that occur within systems closed. This is achieved by viewing processes as being circular, i.e. recursive. Viewed from this perspective, processes are ongoing, individual entities because when they end, they are taken back to the beginning. For managers this helps processes to become more visible and clearly defined – thus enabling them to be dealt with more efficiently.
Although Beer’s models are relatively few in number, they provide managers with interesting insights into the ways in which they can tackle complexity. As a result, their organisations (and they themselves) may become more able to react effectively and appropriately when faced with complexity. This in turn makes for a more stable, sustainable and flexible business. The following list compiles Stafford Beer’s most influential models:
- Team Syntegrity
- The Viable System Model
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