Antonio Wilson
Unit 2 Assignment
MT140: Introduction to Management
Kaplan University

In this paper and assignment the four contemporary approaches to management will be explained. And the definition of open systems and the outline of internal, competitive, and macro environments of an organization. The contemporary approaches to management are sociotechnical system theory, quantitative management, organizational behavior, and systems theory. Sociotechnical system theory is a theory of management that believes technology merely constrains human action instead of rigidly determining behavioral outcomes. This can build good human relations into the technology workflow. Quantitative management relies on solely technology. The quantitative management approach involves the use of math modeling to find the right solutions to problems. Applied to workplace challenges, going from making decisions during product development to fix employee conflicts. Organizational behavior is like sociotechnical system theory when the focus is on people rather than technology. Organizational behavior is the study and knowledge of how people act in organizations. The goal is to build better relationships by achieving human objectives, organizational objectives, and social objectives. Similar the system theory does not look at individuals but the flow of business as a whole. It focuses on subdivisions within the organization and how it ties in with the big picture, the business. An open system is a system that interacts with its environment by exchanging energy, materials, information with an aim of system renewal and growth. A feature of an open system is negative entropy where the open system continues to import energy, information and resources to function while becoming more heterogeneous and complex. Internal organizational structure is often contingent upon the sizes of companies or the type of products that are sold. Internal organizational structure enhances communication between employees and motivates employees to work harder. Competitive advantage is what enables a business organization to thrive. It is the objective of strategy it is the combination of elements in the business model which enables a business to better satisfy the needs in the environment earning economic rents in the process. Macro environment, external environment is the uncontrollable factors, forces, situations, and events outside the organization that affects its performance and strategies. Yes, the approaches are relevant in the three environments because these models are still going strong businesses use them to this day all the time. In this paper and assignment the four contemporary approaches to management were explained. And the definition of open systems and the outline of internal, competitive, and macro environments of an organization.

References http://www.scribd.com/doc/40943830/Modern-Approaches-to-Management http://www.managementstudyguide.com/environmental-scanning.htm