Rational Perspective of the Organizations
The rational system’s perspectives of the organization align its focus on the formal structures of an organization. The rational approach views the organization as a group of people operating together to achieve a specific goal. According to Sater De Andrade, Resende Carvalho, Freitas de Oliveira, & Ravelli Cabrini, (2020), the perspective attempts to develop efficient work procedures by utilizing formal structures and mechanisms. In many organizations, the scientific approach to manage and control activities are being used. These scientific approaches aim at having increased efficiency in meeting their objectives. This is done by evaluating the variables that influence the production process and the knowledge of productivity. Such techniques can only be practiced by adopting formal managerial control over specific tasks, thus embracing the ideology of rational perspectives in an organization.
The rational system of organizations is bound by various constraints, characterized by authority, rules, performance programs, coordination, jurisdiction, optimization, efficiency, design, and information. The perspective depicts the need to have a properly organized hierarchical structure, enforcing written procedures and rules through formal communication, to achieve desired goals (Weber, & Waeger, 2017). There are various characteristics involved in the rational perspective of the organizations, which include:
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Discipline and Time
The bureaucracies can only excel if everyone in the group flourishes in their distinct working areas. The target to achieve a common goal means that all parties directly influence the efficiency with which the objectives are achieved. Webber argued that the system requires awareness of time by all parties (Cumming, & Allen, 2017). Additionally, the system requires its participants to be disciplined enough to observe time and meet the required objectives. The rational design of organizations adopts the Calvinism era. The Calvinists believed that no one could foretell when they would go to heaven and were mandated to care for God’s creation. As a result, they had to embrace personal discipline and observe time, knowing that God will call them to heaven at any time (Nehemiah 2:1-9). This has transitioned into the modern world from the organizations’ rational perspective, adopting both discipline and time management towards achieving specific goals.
Technical Competences
The modern world continually adopts the rationalist perspectives, embracing technical knowledge and competencies towards achieving the goals. The desire to achieve organizational objectives in the fastest time possible means that they need assistance. This means that the adoption of technologies such as social networking sites, marketing tools, and the internet is quickly adopted in the organization’s rationalized perspectives, thus enhanced performances. This is exemplified in today’s businesses and Churches, which have adopted personal computers to improve their operational efficiency.
Impersonality
Personal skills and abilities to meet their specific goals are other integral components of the organization’s rational perspective. According to Casey, Griffin, Flatau Harrison, & Neal, (2017), the approach requires individuals to be highly productive and disciplined, focusing on the prompt achievement of individual objectives that translate to the organization’s primary goal. Therefore, the impersonality perspective assists in having a better focus on the significant goals in the facility.
Specialization of tasks
Expertise is a crucial necessity in rational organizations, improving the specialization of the teams. Experts are more professional, have increased proficiency, and can work best on one specific job. As a result, the whole team’s morale is relatively high since each individual is specialized and can achieve all desired goals in the facility.
Theoretical Viewpoints
One of the theories elaborating on this perspective is the administrative theory. According to Latorre, Ospina, Sánchez, & Collazos-Morales, (2020), the administrative theory is based on organizations’ formal structure such that responsibilities are handled in the top-down approach. The organizational theory argues that an organization should focus on specialization, hierarchical structures, specialization, and coordination to promptly achieve the objectives. Based on the administration theory, scientific management concepts are involved such that people should collaborate to have significant outcomes. However, the thesis argues that the use of formal aspects of an organization helps improve efficiency and maximize results in the facility.
Comparison to open and natural systems perspectives
The rational systems perspective only focuses on formal structures. Therefore, it differs from both natural and open systems such that its focus is constrained by one variable. Therefore, this means that it is bound to forego elements such as informal structures and environmental aspects, which are part of its demerits.
Personal Perspective
The rational systems approach is more practical in situations where more control over the activities carried out. Through the rational systems perspective, it is possible to meet the requirements more easily through better control over the facility’s professional standards.
Natural Perspective of the Organizations
The concept of the organization’s natural perspectives operates oppositely to that of the rational perspective. In the natural aspect, the informal elements of the organization are the primary factors that are considered. According to Ho, (2019), the natural systems perspectives explore the facility’s interpersonal structures, considering them more important than the formal structures. Its ideas advance on people’s interests, consensus, purposes, conflicts, and overall behaviors towards organizational goals. The characteristics invovled in the natural systems perspectives attribute the achievement of the organizational goals and objectives to the informal aspects, including actions and implementation practices as opposed to the decision-making formal procedures.
The natural systems’ perspectives argue that each individual has their distinct characteristics and social interests. These perspectives assist them in becoming more devoted to meeting organizational goals. Additionally, their diverse social characteristics and behaviors mean that they can provide alternative solutions to a single problem, improving their diversification. Some of the traits that drive the aspect of natural systems are inclusive of:
Behaviors
Individual behaviors towards their work duties are a vital consideration in the natural approach to organizations. Actions indicate a person’s ability to associate with others, operate efficiently, and adequately manage conflicts. Natural perspective systems opt to assess behavior to show if the participants have the necessary conduct to work in specific workplaces (1 Corinthians 14:40). This helps improve their ability to adopt individuals with similar conduct, thus enhancing the likelihood of better achievement of the organizational goals.
Skills and Competency
Skills and competency are a crucial element in the natural systems perspectives. According to Őnday, (2018), these elements depict individuals’ ability to objectively communicate and assist their subordinates, cooperate with others in the same departments, and provide creative ideas in the facility. The assessment of skills and competency ensures that informal aspects such as communication, trust, ethical practices, ability to perform jobs, and successful management of good rapport in the workplace are assured. Therefore, the workplace has less conflict and improved coordination among the teams for a more efficient strategy for achieving the organizational goals.
Interest and Devotion
It is imperative to consider the interest and devotion of the individuals in the natural systems perspectives. The approach focuses on how much interest the individuals have towards meeting the objectives of the system. This is integral since it allows the organization to determine the motivating factors perpetuating the participant to chose the structure. Additionally, the system focuses on examining how much devotion the individuals have towards the facility and its goals. By doing this, the techniques determine if the personnel are willing and ready to actively participate in activities that are outlined towards the achievement of specific objectives in an organization (Ao, & Li, 2019). Such consideration reduces risks of demotivation and poor work performance, thus ensuring high productivity towards achieving the goals.
Bernard’s Cooperative Systems theory
One of the theories elaborating on the natural systems perspective is Bernard’s theory of the Cooperative System. The theory suggests that organizations must rely on the participating employees’ willingness to contribute to achieving the set goals. This means that the participants’ cooperation and collective talents are necessary for the facility and will help have better outcomes in the facilities. The theory further outlines the importance of developing relationships and proper communication among the team members as part of an appropriate natural systems perspective’s critical components (Mark 6:39-41). The theory proposes that the identified characteristics are crucial towards achieving the organizational goals and will have a high significance in the natural systems perspectives.
Comparison to rational and open systems perspectives
Unlike the rational approach, the natural systems perspective is inclined to the informal structures. Therefore, it loses the advantage of exploring formal structures and exercising more control. In this case, more power is left to the individual’s behaviors and social actions. However, the natural systems approach does not match the open systems because it fails to observe the environmental factors.
Personal Perspective
For organizations based on the workforce’s behavioral output, the natural systems perspective is more appropriate in their operations. I feel that it should only be practiced when alone or in combination with another systems perspective.
Open Systems Perspective of the Organizations
The organization’s open systems perspective focused on the factors that lead the organization to move and is not constrained to these factors’ formal or informal aspects. According to Sater De Andrade, et al., (2020), the organizations’ open systems approach considers the environmental factors that can affect the company, such as resources within the facility. The system is more concerned by the environmental factors and does not explore how the informal or formal aspects can influence the organization . Some of the distinguishing characteristics that are investigated by the open systems perspective are inclusive of:
Political Factors
The open systems are prone to factors emanating from political instabilities and changes. Policy adjustments based on political changes can affect the operations of the open systems. Therefore, the system aims at remaining dynamic such that these factors do not lead to unbearable outcomes.
Social Factors
Social factors, just like in the natural systems perspective, are highly considered by the open systems. However, the social aspects are based on the external environment and relate to activities outside the workforce’s control. According to FRAMING (n.d), the social factors include the public’s perception towards the organization, changes in consumer taste, and other elements contributing to the organization’s social interaction. Its achievement of the organizational goals is based on how much the facility can satisfy the target consumers’ needs.
Economic Factors
One of the significant factors that are considered by the open systems approach is economic shifts. The operations of the business are expected to generate income and have high profits. Economic changes in the company’s outside environment can impair its high profits and achieve the organizational objectives (Scott, 1998). However, internal changes in the organization’s economy can limit its ability to meet the set goals since it has more financial risks. Such considerations assist the business to determine the best approach to attain equilibrium such that it meets its objectives promptly and more efficiently.
Theoretical Perspective
Boulding’s Systems theory stipulates that an open system is more of a cybernetic system, capable of self-regulating itself depending on the factors that affect its operations. According to KKKKKK, the open systems are more stable and can adapt to situations based on the factors and achieve the organizational objectives. The theory compares the open systems theory to a cybernetic system because it is affected by many factors but has the necessary intelligence to adapt to these aspects more effectively.
Comparison to rational and natural systems perspectives
The open systems are more inclined to environmental factors than both rational and natural systems perspectives. The open system is affected by environmental factors inside or outside the organization. Some of the formal and informal factors contribute to the internal environment’s outcomes, and thus both the natural and rational systems perspectives have a significant input towards the open system.
Personal Perspectives
I think that the open systems perspective combines a proper mix of relevant factors towards the achievement of the organization’s objectives. However, it does not consider issues such as decision-making in the organization; which can affect its outcomes.
References
Ao, Y., & Li, H. (2019, December). Internal Governance Dilemma and Rational Regression in Higher Vocational Colleges: Based on Perspective of System Theory. In 5th International Conference on Economics, Management, Law and Education (EMLE 2019) (pp. 1216-1220). Atlantis Press.
Casey, T., Griffin, M. A., Flatau Harrison, H., & Neal, A. (2017). Safety climate and culture: Integrating psychological and systems perspectives. Journal of occupational health psychology, 22(3), 341.
Cumming, G. S., & Allen, C. R. (2017). Protected areas as social‐ecological systems: perspectives from resilience and social‐ecological systems theory. Ecological applications, 27(6), 1709-1717.
FRAMING, A. O. T. RATIONAL BECOMING: AModel OF TEMPORAL FRAMING OF BOUNDED RATIONALITY IN ORGANIZATIONS.
Ho, M. T. (2019). How a rational organization responds to an increasingly mediatized world.
Latorre, J. F., Ospina, J. P., Sánchez, J. F., & Collazos-Morales, C. (2020, July). A Coalitional Approach for Resource Distribution in Self-organizing Open Systems. In International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications (pp. 463-473). Springer, Cham.
Őnday, Ő. (2018). The relationship between concepts of rational, natural and open systems: Managing organizations today. International Journal of Information, Business and Management, 10(1), 245-258.
Sater De Andrade, H., Resende Carvalho, S., Freitas de Oliveira, C., & Ravelli Cabrini, D. (2020). Effects of neoliberal rationality on Brazilian Public Health System recent policies and discourses. European Journal of Public Health, 30(Supplement_5), ckaa165-389.
Scott, W. R. (1998). Organizations: Rational, natural, and open systems. Prentice hall.
Weber, K., & Waeger, D. (2017). Organizations as polities: An open systems perspective. Academy of Management Annals, 11(2), 886-918.
