Viability as a basis for performance measurement

Abstract

PurposeThe paper sets out to apply the concepts of cybernetics and the control of probabilistic systems to the issue of performance measurement within organizations.Design/methodology/approachConventional approaches to Performance Measurement have been based on a mechanistic “target‐plan‐variance” model that was introduced into mainstream management practice in the 1950s. It has been subject to criticism from within both the academic and practitioners community over the last 50 years but has proved remarkably resistant to change. Systems ideas, particularly those emanating in the field of cybernetics, have not been successfully applied in this field because, it is argued, the concepts have been misunderstood and falsely blamed for the perceived failings of conventional practice.FindingsThe paper identifies the shortcomings in “tradition” approaches to performance measurement in organizations and demonstrates how the application of cybernetics concepts can address these shortcomings.Originality/valueContrary to received wisdom in parts of the academic community, cybernetics potentially provides the intellectual building‐blocks for a new paradigm, based on a fundamental appreciation of what is required to manage the interdependencies between an organization and its environment and between its constituent parts. It holds the promise of developing a set of practice that is not only more efficient and effective as a control philosophy, but also more sensitive to the human need for self‐determination in the workplace.

Integrating VSM and Network Analysis for Tourism Strategies – Case: Mexico and the Chinese Outbound Market

“…Likewise previous applications of Viable System Model to Companies (Hoverstadt et al 2007;Espejo 1979;Al-Mutairi et al 2005;Chan 2011); Political Systems (Beer 1981); Insurance Sector (De Raadt 1987); Financial Sector (Trueba et al 2012); Innovation (Devine 2005;Amar et al 2006); Intranets (Nyström 2006); Project Management (Britton and Parker 1993;Morales et al 2012;Murad and Cavana 2012); Supply Chain (Chronéer and Mirijamdotter 2009;Badillo et al 2011); Health Sector (Monreal 2004;Midgley 2006); Energy Sector (Shaw et al 2004;Terra et al 2016); Education Sector (Ramírez et al 2009;Rojas and Tuesta 2011); Social Organizations (Espinosa and Walker 2013); Technology (Puche et al 2017); Service Science (Barile and Polese 2010); Sustainability (Schwaninger 2015); Hotels (Gmür et al 2010) and Communications (Espejo 2004); all intended to recommend improvement solutions in their respective fields.…”

Enterprise Viability Model: Extending Enterprise Architecture Frameworks for Modeling and Analyzing Viability under Turbulence

“…The VSM addresses internal and external regulation of an organization and has been applied to different systems in organizations, such as production system restructuring (Stich et al 2009), analysis of management control frameworks (O'Grady et al, 2010), performance management systems (Hoverstadt, Kendrick, and Morlidge, 2007), strategic management (Clemens, 2009;Gregory, 2007), and the design of enterprise architecture management processes Schweda, 2009, 2010). Hoverstadt (2011) proposed the use of the VSM as an enterprise architecture for modeling the information generated by the different functions of the enterprise.…”

Rethinking organizational performance management: a complexity theory perspective

“…Similarly, Burgess and Wake (2013) use the VSM in a diagnostic mode to surface issues that threaten the organization's viability. Other researchers (e.g., Hoverstadt et al, 2007;Gregory, 2007) examine the VSM's logic of cybernetic control to distil "general systems principles for measurement" (Gregory, 2007(Gregory, , p. 1506) that could be used to manage performance within organizations.…”

“…Early research in organizational performance management focused on the insights from organizational cybernetics, particularly the application of Stafford Beer's (1981) viable system model (VSM) (Bititci et al. , 1997; Hoverstadt et al. , 2007; Gregory, 2007; O'Grady et al.…”