Organizations operate as open systems. They try to maintain effective relations with the environment and use the information they obtain in the course of their performance to strengthen their market and organizational position. “Open systems theory is a modern systems-based change management theory designed to create healthy, innovative and resilient organizations and communities in today’s fast changing and unpredictable environments” (Open Systems Theory, n.d.).
For many organizations in the software development industry, being an open system has become a matter of competitiveness and effectiveness. Microsoft is one of the many software companies that maintain an image of an open system for the purpose of achieving greater strategic results. Unfortunately, Microsoft is often torn between multiple open system priorities, and it is time for the company to find a new balance of customer involvement and employee engagement in the development of innovative software products.
Microsoft as an Open System
It is extremely important for modern organizations to be flexible and adaptable to environmental change. The systems theory represents a valuable perspective on organizational change and competitive evolution of companies (Amagoh, 2008). Yet, analyzing the way organizations operate and adopt open systems consciousness is impossible without understanding what constitutes an open systems approach. Basically, an organization operates as an open system, when it can easily maintain permeable boundaries with the environment, consider and use the feedback obtained from the environment, develop a culture of shared values, foster interdependency of its crucial organizational elements, and rest on the assumption that customers must be the company’s strategic partners (Amagoh, 2008).
The open systems approach at Microsoft grows from its vision, mission, and key growth strategies. Leadership plays one of the fundamental roles in promoting the company’s openness in its relationships with the environment. Microsoft monitors the environment for the most talented workers and makes everything possible to hire the most prospective talents from all society groups (Microsoft, 2014a). Employee engagement represents an essential component of the open systems philosophy at Microsoft.
According to this philosophy, employees function as a link between the company and the environment and bring their knowledge, talent and skills from the outside to contribute to organizational improvement (Microsoft, 2014a). Interdependence further operates on the basis of the existing employee networks and employee resource groups, which are closely linked to the company’s strategic goals and are based on the principles of social networking (Microsoft, 2014a). Microsoft is particularly successful in its striving to bring together the diverse talents of its varied workforce and build innovative products to satisfy customers’ most advanced needs.
The fact that customers act as partners in the development of new creative products reinforces Microsoft’s commitment to open systems theories and frameworks. According to Microsoft (2014b), being customer-oriented is the focus of its business and organizational activities. The company is profoundly influenced by the feedback obtained from its Customer and Partner Experience Program, which represents one of the strongest links between Microsoft and its strategic environment (Microsoft, 2014b).
The Customer Experience Improvement Program is used by customers to provide their feedback about the use of Microsoft products and services (Microsoft, 2014b). Unfortunately, despite the continued business success of Microsoft, it cannot always manage and resolve the emerging conflicts between the various elements of its organizational system.
Problems with the Open Systems Approach
As Amagoh (2008) writes, the systems theory does not offer any guidance as to the way companies should prioritize the organizational constituents that are in conflict. For Microsoft, these are the customer involvement and employee engagement components. On the one hand, Microsoft claims to be a customer-oriented organization, and customers can use a variety of mechanisms to share their product and service experiences with Microsoft. On the other hand, Microsoft fosters employee engagement as a means to utilize workers’ creative and talent potentials.
Yet, it is still unclear how these two aspects of open systems performance can be balanced and reconciled. It seems that Microsoft can develop a more effective organizational system by re-channeling employee creativity and talent in ways that satisfy customers’ needs and meet their expectations. Therefore, Microsoft should develop new policies and systems to ensure that customers and employees constantly interact. Being an open system is not simply about being open to the environment. The organization must be ready to keep in touch with the environment, in which it operates. Consequently, Microsoft should develop new standards of communication between employees and customers, turning them into a cohesive force and a source of the company’s sustained competitive advantage.
Conclusion
Microsoft remains one of the brightest examples of systems approach to organizational development and growth. It is open to the environment and uses the feedback provided by stakeholders, including customers. The latter act as full partners in the development of innovative products at Microsoft. Unfortunately, the open systems theory does not always provide opportunities to resolve the emerging conflicts among various elements of the system. Today, Microsoft should develop new policies and solutions to ensure that customers and employees become a cohesive innovative force.
References
Amagoh, F. (2008). Perspectives on organizational change: Systems and complexity theories. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 13(3), 1-14.
Microsoft. (2014a). Key growth strategies. Web.
Microsoft. (2014b). Microsoft customer and partner experience. Web.
Open Systems Theory. (n.d.). Open systems theory. Web.