Socio-technical System (STS) theory is a widely used concept in the area of human-technology integration. To understand the interactions and impact of externals on man and machine, an open system analysis is helpful in the chosen area of study. This paper attempts to study the operational efficiency of airlines in terms of the socio-technical approach. The indicative statistics and the previous studies conducted help the formation of a conceptual model with related theoretical constructs. The research implications substantiate the relevance and purpose of undertaking this study.
Socio-technical system is an established methodology that provides a structured approach to redesign of processes (Pasmore and Sherwood, 1978; Taylor and Felten, 1993; Fox, 1995; and Eijnatten, 1998). It holds that every process has both social and technical subsystems. The technical subsystem comprises of the structures, tools, procedures, and knowledge necessary to perform the work (Fox, 1995). The social subsystem includes attitudes and beliefs, contracts between employers and employees, reactions to work arrangements, and the relationships between individuals and among groups (Pasmore and Sherwood, 1978). The social subsystem emerges through the people working within a particular work setting (Eijnatten, 1998). The `joint optimization' of the technical and social subsystems constitutes the efficiency of the total work system. Joint optimization suggests that to effectively redesign a process, a balance must be struck between the technology and the people using the technology (Shani et al., 1992).
Organizations interact with their environments to survive. The open system perspective implies the need to examine transactions with the environment, adapt to environmental changes, and build flexibility into the organization to respond to both anticipated and unanticipated changes (Emery, 1959; Emery and Trist, 1965; Haberstroh, 1965; and Clark and Krone, 1972). In the context of socio-technical systems, the open system perspective implies that the social and technological subsystems must be designed not only for relational synthesis, but also to present and future environmental demands. |
