ABSTRACT
Socio-technical systems (STS) design includes the idea of organisations as task systems and sentient systems. This makes it necessary to understand systems of relationships based on feelings of loyalty, belonging and shared identity. Culture, too, is a key element in organisational life. This chapter describes organisations in terms of their environments, including the notion of the turbulent environment, which changes at an increasing rate and towards increasing complexity. Changes are more rapid and more uneven and hence are sources of both innovation and resistance. Socio-technical systems design is an analysis of the component parts of an enterprise, each part contributing to the performance of the enterprise and meeting the requirements of other parts.
