Decoding the Japanese Lean Production System According to a Viable Systems Perspective

Abstract

Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be selfarchived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your work, please use the accepted author's version for posting to your own website or your institution's repository. You may further deposit the accepted author's version on a funder's repository at a funder's request, provided it is not made publicly available until 12 months after publication.

Complexity Theory for a New Managerial Paradigm: A Research Framework

“…The VSM conceives of the brain as an open system in constant interaction with the environment. When it receives an external stimulus, it can activate a decision-making process and convert perceptions into actions (Dominici & Palumbo, 2013). Its mission is to control (Wiener, 1948(Wiener, , 1965 and synchronize all the organism's functions and to be adaptive and proactive in the contextual environment.…”

“…Such organizations are also part of the context (Luhmann, 1995;Meyer & Rowan, 1977;Rice, 2013), and so it is crucial for them to be able to recognize and evaluate how their contexts of action are influenced by environmental changes. If we consider organizations as viable systems aiming to survive in the context (Beer, 1972;Dominici & Palumbo, 2013;Espejo & Reyes, 2011;Golinelli, 2010), we can conclude that they need to maintain their integrity (autopoiesis) and see consonance (Golinelli, 2010) through partnerships with the relevant suprasystems (other organizations), in their context of existence and action. Smaller systems contribute to the development of the larger systems within which they compete for resources.…”

“…Smaller systems contribute to the development of the larger systems within which they compete for resources. If the system survives, it may be regarded as viable (Beer, 1972;Dominici & Palumbo, 2013, Golinelli, 2010, and if it survives in the long term, it may be regarded as sustainable (Teisman, 2005).…”

“…According to the theories of composite systems, players in the market are subject to separate legislation and social rules; on the basis of which, they establish contractual relations and develop cooperation (Auyang, 2003) that is in consonance and resonance with the context (Dominici & Palumbo, 2013;Golinelli, 2010). Market formation therefore derives from the abovementioned relations with ecological and social systems that have a significant impact on the organizations (Luhmann, 1995;Stacey, Griffin, & Shaw, 2000).…”

The Relevance of Systemic Approaches in Business Sciences

“…The concept of alleged stability of the business context, has proved to be a fake illusion by the evidence of continuous rapid changes in society, organisations and markets (Dominici & Palumbo, 2013). This, does not mean totally rejecting all the breakthroughs that the reductionist approach has brought to business science, but it does mean going ahead and being conscious that the analytic method alone is not sufficient for obtaining a deeper insight on complex trends.…”