FREE ESSAY ON RATIONAL, NATURAL AND OPEN SYSTEMS

RATIONAL, NATURAL AND OPEN SYSTEMS

Organizations are at the heart of every nation. They are the means in which we are able to
make a difference in our society and accomplish collective goals. Organizations are
committed to stretch the vision creating new ground floor opportunities and are
responsible for shaping the mind and also motivating, and bringing people together to
accomplish collective goals. To truly understand the magnitude that organizations play in
our lives, it is very important to study the perspectives on organizations. Three
perspectives on organization that are described by Richard Scott are the rational system,
the natural system, and the open systems perspectives.
In a rational system perspective the most important characteristic of an organization is
to accomplish specific solid goals, to follow the written rules and formal roles that
help discover the optimum goal. Blau and Scott discuss this idea that "the distinctive
characteristic of organizations is that they have been formally established for the
explicit purpose of achieving certain goals." (Scott 25) For example, I am the Chairwoman
of a women's organization here on campus, which our mission statement states that the
optimum goal is to empower women. This indicates that our mental, physical and emotional
energies and resources are focused entirely to provide a support system that enables
women to come together and feel empowered. United Women is a collectively oriented
organization that empowers women under a "formalized social structure." (Scott 26)
Scott also focused on the natural system perspective on organizations. According to
Scott, natural systems are "collectives whose participants are pursuing multiple
interests, both disparate and common, but recognize the value of perpetuating the
organization as an important resource." (Scott 26) Scott argues that the behavior of
participants is not guided by the formal roles and written rules that have been stated by
the organization. Instead, their own interests guide the participants' behavior, although
they do consider the organization important to fulfill their needs and interests. The
non-profit organization, United Women, is not a sorority. There are no dues involved to
be a member. The constitution of the organization states, "to be considered an Active
Member of United Women, one must complete five hours of community service and five hours
of fundraising a quarter." Even if you are not considered an "Active Member" you are
always welcome to the weekly meeting. We strongly agree with our open door policy because
we feel that those few members will participate because they want to participate not
because they have to. 
The third perspective of an organization is the open system which Scott describes as a
"system of interdependent activities linking shifting coalitions of participants; the
systems are embedded in dependent on continuing exchanges with the constituted buy the
environment in which they operate." (Scott 28) An open system perspective is said by
Scott to be dependent on bargains and exchanges and is representative of a given
structure. Scott argues that the environment has an effect on the organization; there is
a connection between the participant and the environment that surrounds them. The
environment that the Executive Board Members of United Women provide for the General Body
Members shapes most of their actions. If the Executive Board is excited and are willing
to participate in a community service event that is taking place on a Saturday morning at
7:00a.m., the larger the sign up list will be. During our general body meetings, the
Executive Board Members will give their reports stating what events are coming up. It has
come to my attention that if the Executive Board Member is enthusiastic about their
report, the General Body Members show interest and seem highly motivated to participate.
On the other hand, if the Executive Board Member is drab about their report, not much
attention is paid to that event. 
The rational, natural, and open system perspectives are three diverse views of
organizations that emphasize the different given sides of organizations. The rational
system describes the organization to be focused on formal rules, and set goals. The
natural system perspective views organizations as a social system that participants are
pursuing to accomplish their multiple goals. The third perspective, open system, views
organizations as coalitions of participants with various interests that are influenced by
the environments. These three views of perspectives on organizations help us analyze and
understand the nature of organization