Tails and Dogs: Who’s Wagging? The Inversion of “Technical Conversion Processes” and “IT Technical Systems” in Designing Organizations

Abstract

In an era of economic turmoil and ongoing uncertainty, we need all the help we can get to develop workable plans for creating, strengthening, and sustaining effective organizations. To solve the challenges created by this “turbulent field” (Trist 1981) in which we find ourselves, we must identify and sort the complexities and interdependencies that increase the uncertainty and focus more clearly on the root causes of the challenges presented. As we seek out areas in which we can repair damage done and/or improve our efforts and outcomes, we must start with a clear understanding of the systems that underlie our organizations.