System archetypes refer to specific patterns of behavior that one can identify in complex systems. Generally, patterns enable people to get an idea of how particular systems function. The systems in question may differ in many different ways, but it has been determined one can always find similarities or recurring themes. These similarities and recurring themes can be used to inform people of how these particular systems work. Additionally, knowing principles that systems follow to work can help people to understand them and examine its weaknesses.
Relationship between System Archetypes, Strategy, and Change Management
System Archetypes and Strategy
Strategy management requires managers to plan prospectively and install measures that produce positive and intended change. Fleck (2010) notes that system archetypes can be used prospectively to help managers in the formulation of the means by which the organizational will achieve its goals. Managers who have already developed strategic plans can use system archetypes to evaluate the strength and effectiveness of the policies and structures installed by the organization. Similarly, they can be applied to the policies and structures proposed by the management to determine whether they are capable of creating archetypal behavior. According to Caldwell (2012), the results collected from applying system archetypes prospectively can be used to inform the management as to when remedial action is necessary before the changes are implemented and adopted into the organization’s structure.
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There are several system archetypes that can be used to strengthen the strategic plan of an organization. However, it is important to observe that not all result in proposing actual solutions to the challenges faced by the organization. For example, one can note the example of a system archetype known as fixes that fail. This archetype includes two major elements that aim at stabilizing and reinforcing loops. They are major concerned with reducing the gap between the current and desired conditions without actually solving the intermittent problem. An appropriate example of this archetype is the debt-trap in which an organization takes a loan to repay another one. On the one hand, the undesirable conditions of late loan repayment are avoided. On the other, the organization gets into more debt. The major takeaway is that managers should identify and pick loops that match the strategic positioning of their organizations.
Archetypes and Change Management
Caldwell (2012) notes that change management is a core element of the organizational design and can be interpreted and understood by referring to a set of archetypes. System archetypes can be used by managers to identify the need for change and the ways in which an organization responds to modifications in design, structure, and internal controls. In the same argument, system archetypes can be used to invoke change into organizations facing perennial problems. For example, Barry & Elmes (2017) notes that system archetypes are the best places to ask the question “why does the organization keep experience same problems recurring over time?”
Conclusion
It is clear that system archetypes are tools used by managers to develop insight into patterns of behavior and are in general, indictive of the basic structure of the systems under focus. Having observed that, system archetypes are crucial instruments that can be used in strategy and change management. Understanding the underlying patterns in organizational design helps managers to determine whether or not change is necessary and sometime, help them to make strategic decisions help organizations to accomplish their desired ends.
References
Barry, D., &Elmes, M. (2017). Strategy Retold: Toward a Narrative View of Strategic Discourse. The Academy of Management Review, 22 (2), 429. Doi: 10.2307/259329
Caldwell, R. (2012). Systems Thinking, Organizational Change and Agency: A Practice Theory Critique of Senges Learning Organization. Journal of Change Management, 12 (2), 145 164. doi:10.1080/14697017.2011.647923
Fleck, D. L. (2010). Archetypes of organizational success and failure. BAR – Brazilian Administration Review, 6 (2), 78-100. Doi: 10.1590/s1807-76922009000200002
