{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,2]],"date-time":"2025-08-02T17:50:33Z","timestamp":1754157033734,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":9,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"3\/4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2011,5,3]],"date-time":"2011-05-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1304380800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2011,5,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>The purpose of this paper is to show how the viable system model (VSM) and de Sitter's design theory can complement each other in the context of the diagnosis and design of viable organizations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>Key concepts from Beer's model and de Sitter's design theory are introduced and analyzed in order to show how they relate.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>The VSM provides insight into the related systems necessary and sufficient for viability. As such, it specifies criteria supporting the diagnosis and design of organizational infrastructures, i.e. of organizational structures, HR systems, and technology. However, it does not explicitly conceptualize and provide a detailed heuristic for the design of organizational structures. De Sitter's theory fills in this gap.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>The paper illustrates how, based on a rudimentary model of organizational viability, de Sitter's design theory positively addresses the question of how to diagnose and design organizational structures that add to the viability of organizations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/03684921111133665","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2011,7,25]],"date-time":"2011-07-25T10:03:23Z","timestamp":1311588203000},"page":"425-438","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Cybernetically sound organizational structures II"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"40","author":[{"given":"Jan","family":"Achterbergh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Dirk","family":"Vriens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022020420181323300_b1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Achterbergh, J. and Vriens, D. (2010), Organizations: Social Systems Conducting Experiments, 2nd Revised ed., Springer, Heidelberg.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-14316-8_1"},{"key":"key2022020420181323300_b2","unstructured":"Ashby, R. (1958), An Introduction to Cybernetics, 3rd ed., Chapman & Hall, London."},{"key":"key2022020420181323300_b3","unstructured":"Ashby, R. (1960), Design for a Brain, 2nd ed., Chapman & Hall, London."},{"key":"key2022020420181323300_b4","unstructured":"Beer, S. (1995), The Heart of Enterprise, Wiley, Chichester."},{"key":"key2022020420181323300_b5","unstructured":"Beer, S. (1996), Diagnosing the System for Organizations, Wiley, Chichester."},{"key":"key2022020420181323300_b8","unstructured":"de Sitter, U. (1994), Synergetisch Produceren. Human Resources Mobilization in de Productie: een Inleiding in de Structuurbouw, van Gorcum, Assen."},{"key":"key2022020420181323300_b9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"de Sitter, U., Den Hertog, F. and Dankbaar, B. (1997), \u201cFrom complex organizations with simple jobs to simple organizations with complex jobs\u201d, Human Relations, Vol. 50 No. 5, pp. 497\u2010534.","DOI":"10.1177\/001872679705000503"},{"key":"key2022020420181323300_b6","unstructured":"Espejo, R., Schumann, W., Schwaninger, M. and Bilello, U. (1996), Organizational Transformation and Learning: A Cybernetic Approach to Management, Wiley, Chichester."},{"key":"key2022020420181323300_b7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Luhmann, N. (1991), Soziologische Aufkl\u00e4rung 1, Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-322-97005-3"}],"container-title":["Kybernetes"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/03684921111133665\/full\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/03684921111133665\/full\/html","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]],"date-time":"2025-07-24T23:27:12Z","timestamp":1753399632000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emerald.com\/k\/article\/40\/3-4\/425-438\/268722"}},"subtitle":["Relating de Sitter's design theory to Beer's viable system model"],"editor":[{"given":"Raul","family":"Espejo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2011,5,3]]},"references-count":9,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3\/4","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2011,5,3]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1108\/03684921111133665"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/03684921111133665","relation":{},"ISSN":["0368-492X"],"issn-type":[{"type":"print","value":"0368-492X"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2011,5,3]]}}}