CONCLUSIONS
5.2 IMPROVEMENTS
‘Technical Education’, and is offered at two levels, namely, middle level at which the purpose is to prepare technicians and middle management. The level of award is the National Diploma or equivalent qualifications. TVE at the higher level e.g. degree or HND level is intended to produce engineers, technologists and equivalent higher level management personnel.
3.2 WHY SYSTEMS APPROACH:
An important question to answer is why we use systems approach to analyze TVE organizations. It should be emphasized that every management system, be it government or educational organization, is composed of a number of interdependent parts that function together for the purpose of achieving defined or set goals. Every management system has organizational inputs, process (throughput) and outputs. As was discussed in Unit 2; these parts include relevant resources, production process and output (Certo, 1994; Luthans, 1986; Huse, 1980).
From the above explanation, the system approach is an attempt to provide managers of TVE, like those of other educational organizations, a way of looking at itself as a complete whole.
In practical terms, you may wish to perceive TVE organization as a chain with linking pins. Thus, any part of the chain where the link is broken, affects the organization as a whole.
Theoretical Basis of Systems
As indicated by Ekpenyong (1997: 276) two groups of social thinkers referred to as functionalists and system theorists are recorded as having influenced the way we understand what a system is.
The functionalists led by Boulding (1956), differentiate between biological and social systems. They argue that social organizations seek to satisfy their survival and adaptation needs through a pattern of interdependence between their parts.
The general system theorists, among whom the best known is Von Bertalanffy (1950), emphasize the similarities which occur in different types of relationships, whether it is a machine or organization.
The open systems theorists’ most important idea is that which suggests that the relation between systems is best expressed in terms of inputs, throughput (operation) and output.
In an attempt to bring together the two theoretical perspectives of systems, the term social system is generally used to describe the organizations. A further dimension to the definition of a social system is provided by Kast and Rosenberg (1979):
An organized, unitary whole composed of two or more independent parts, components or subsystems and delineated by identifiable boundaries from its environmental supra-system.
A supra-system is the macro or largest aspect of a system and consists of a series of interrelated and interdependent systems.
Example of a Supra System: Taken generally, all secondary schools in Nigeria may be described as a supra-system. However, all the secondary level educational institutions in Nigeria can be identified as senior and junior secondary schools, or technical schools.
Each of these has departments, sections, units, etc.
3.3 KATZ AND KHAN’S APPROACH
As a student of business education or organization behaviour, you may be called upon to analyze an organization such as TVE. To do so, you will need to know that other approaches also exist for analyzing organizations as systems. This is apart from using the
One such approach was developed by Katz and Khan (1978). However, you need to understand the principles, which govern their approach to system analysis. The principles are that:
i) An organization is an energetic input-output system that is usually open in its interaction with the environment.
ii) All open systems are characterized by the following:
a) an input of energy from the environment;
b) a throughput or transformation of the imported energy into some product form;
c) an output through which the product is exported back into the environment;
d) are-energizing of the system from sources in the environment;
e) Negative entropy which helps the system to survive by importing more energy, from the environment that is expended.
3.4 KATZANDKHAN’S SYSTEMS MODEL
In line with their systems’ principles, Katz and Khan (1978) have developed a model, which consists of five different interrelated subsystems, which exist within a larger environment or supra system. These include the following:
- product or technical subsystems;
- supportive subsystems;
- maintenance subsystems;
- adaptive subsystems;
- managerial subsystems. The model is shown in the FigureM3/2.1
(Fig. M3/2.1: KATZAND KHAN MODEL OF A SYSTEM (Generic Subsystems of a larger system)
Inputs Output
Source: Courtesy, Katz and Khan
3.5 PRODUCTION OR TECHNICAL SUBSYSTEMS
The production subsystems involve the operation transformations, which are the major functions of the systems such as manufacturing, education and health. TVE, which is a subsystem within the educational systems, has responsibility of receiving inputs such as teachers, expertise, instructional materials such as books and other resources for the purpose of transforming (e.g. teaching) in order to produce the graduates from the system.
3.6 SUPPORTIVE SUBSYSTEMS
Supportive subsystems construct their transactions with the environment by either obtaining the inputs or disposing the outputs of the system. In VTE such supportive subsystems include the parents/guardians’ funding or other agencies, which are responsible for providing the infrastructure and other resources necessary for transformational activities of the systems. Supportive subsystems also include employers of labour or other agencies that normally take part in the utilization of the products of the system.
3.7 MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS
While not directly concerned with transformational activities, maintenance subsystems provide the support for getting the work done. Maintenance subsystems in TVE would normally include proprietors of the system, for instance, government and governmental agencies, ministries and boards that are responsible for examination, entry and certification of the products of the system. Examples include JAMB, WAEC, NECO and NABTEB.
3.8 ADAPTIVE SUBSYSTEMS
Like other organizations, educational institutions seek to survive in their changing environments by seeking ways to adapt to these environments. In TVE, such adaptive subsystems would include boards and committees such as disciplinary committees, the Parents/Teachers Associations and related adaptive subsystems which are intended to ensure that the conducts of students and staff conform to what is prescribed by the organization.
3.9 MANAGERIAL SUBSYSTEMS
All the organized and official activities meant to control, coordinate and direct the system is governed by the managerial subsystems. Managerial subsystems of formal organizations in VTE would include all the mechanisms meant to maintain the organizational structure and regulate the functions of the system. The regulating mechanisms may include policies on student admission, channels of communication and personnel matters such as staff salaries and conditions. In the polytechnics for instance, the academic boards are essential part of the managerial subsystems.
3.10 ADVANTAGES OF THE MODEL
Some of the advantages of the Katz and Khan Model are that it is easy to identify the roles of each of the five subsystems and how their roles interact and influence those of the other subsystems and affect the system as awhole.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Try to list the five subsystems and assess how useful they could be if you were to adopt them to analyze your local technical college.
4.0 CONCLUSION
The conclusion to be drawn from this unit is that unlike the classical and behavioural science approaches, the systems approach provides a unique means of assessing the effectiveness of organizational activities through the feedback that can be got from the input, transformation and the out put stages.
5.0 SUMMARY
In order to achieve the objective of the unit, we started by defining TVE comprehensively and then more restrictively. In systems context, TVE systems seek to satisfy their survival and adaptation needs, through the process of interdependence. The general systems theorists state that the relationship between systems is best expressed interms of input, through put and output.
Katz and Khan (1978) state that based on the characteristics of systems an organization can be said to have five interrelated subsystems, namely, product or technical subsystems, supportive subsystems, maintenance subsystems, adaptive subsystems and managerial subsystems. TVE systems can, therefore, be analyzed using the five-subsystem model.
6.0 TUTOR MARKEDASSIGNMENT
1. Show how the training of students could be explained by means of inputs, process and output systems.
2. Explain how the open systems approach may be used to show the relationship between a technical school system and the supra-system.
7.0 REFERENCES
Certo, S.C. (1986) Principles of modern management: Functions and systems. Chicago:
Brown Pub.
Ekpenyong, L. E. (1997) Towards a Systems Approach to the Integration of the Nigerian Junior Secondary Business Studies. Journal of Vocational Education and Training: 49(2), 267-781.
Kast, F. and Rosenweigh, J. (1979) Organizationand Management: A Management Systems and contingency Approach (3rd ed.) McGraw-Hill.
Jones, A. R. & George, J. M. (2016). Contemporary Management (5th ed.). New York:
McGraw Hill.
MODULE 2
UNIT 4: THE ORGANIZING FUNCTIONS