Using the Viable System Model to Describe the role of Computer- Based Systems in Organizations

Computer-based information systems such as transaction processing systems, management information systems and decisions support systems have been widely used in many organizations for many years now. More recently, the use of other systems such as executive information systems and OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) systems is also being advocated. All these computer-based systems are supported by data base management systems, data warehouses, multi-dimensional databases and other artifacts whose role is to facilitate the storage and retrieval of large amounts of records. However, it is not always clear how all these different pieces of technology work together, what are their specific roles or how they are combined to contribute to a more efficient organization. Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model (VSM) is a conceptual framework that can be used to diagnose or to design effective organizations. In this paper it is used to provide an explanation for the role of different computer-based information systems in an organization.