ABSTRACT
Contingency theory is seen as systemic. From an organizational as opposed to a psychological perspective, its roots reside in application rather than development of theory – its main tenets being drawn from observation. Thinking about organizations as systems must have strong theoretical foundations if this strand of organization theory is to be more than simply ‘best observed practice’, which may provide good practice but not best practice. Theory enables the development of general principles upon which rigorous and coherent best practice can be originated. This chapter briefly focuses on the theoretical development of systems thinking and provides the platform for the various approaches outlined in subsequent chapters.
