The System Approach: Organizational Development

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Abstract
The cooperative human organization requires skills of human relations, leadership, cooperation, communication, motivation, and control. It would seem to be the most important invention of man. Our study is concerned with how people behave in groups. The organization is viewed as a kind of synthetic organism in which individuals become components or subsystems of a different entity. Such synthetic organisms may be treated as objects of scientific investigation under laboratory conditions. The processes of development and growth follow a biological analogy. Synthetic environments are considered. Descriptions are given of two major programs of investigation into top managerial techniques and theory—Project SOBIG, a business game, and a simulated Air Defense Direction Center. The paper is devoted to description and search rather than hypothesis testing and research.

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