Week 2
Lecture 2: A system’s perspective on challenges in
organizations
An organization is never in isolation.
Hospitals, research institutes, tech companies: they all create controlled
environments to do proper research and provide high quality diagnostics
& treatments.
However, experiments in controlled settings (lab tubes) can lead to
different results in ‘the real world’ Experiments are influenced by many
different external factors… Gender, socio-economic, demographic,
comorbidity. You can think of organizations in the same way…
External influences on organizations
Organizations do not operate in isolation. Organizations are affected by
many different external elements. In direct or indirect interaction with the
organization. Some are predictable, some not… Some can be influenced,
some not… Some hinder to innovate…
Demographics
Impacts of problems in labor market (great problems at the
moment)
Laws and regulations
o Have a function
o But often negatively impact the quality of service
o Overregulations in Health Care
, What is a societal system?
“A collection of recurring interactions, through which actors produce
practices, serving a specific goal, within a confined part of reality.”
A construct to fulfil a societal need: Food, Health, Housing, Medicine
The way in which all services are provided
From how they are financed to the workforce, facilities and supplies
available
A strong system will ensure that everyone is able to access high-
quality service (for instance health care)
Consists of a myriad of actors: government, providers, financiers,
consumers, industries, regulatory authorities etc.
A system does not consist of isolated parts Its the interaction and
relationships of parts that make up the system For instance: the
pharmaceutical system is nested in the health system and the health
system is nested in the national welfare system.
Dutch health care system
Characteristics of a system
Lecture 2: A system’s perspective on challenges in
organizations
An organization is never in isolation.
Hospitals, research institutes, tech companies: they all create controlled
environments to do proper research and provide high quality diagnostics
& treatments.
However, experiments in controlled settings (lab tubes) can lead to
different results in ‘the real world’ Experiments are influenced by many
different external factors… Gender, socio-economic, demographic,
comorbidity. You can think of organizations in the same way…
External influences on organizations
Organizations do not operate in isolation. Organizations are affected by
many different external elements. In direct or indirect interaction with the
organization. Some are predictable, some not… Some can be influenced,
some not… Some hinder to innovate…
Demographics
Impacts of problems in labor market (great problems at the
moment)
Laws and regulations
o Have a function
o But often negatively impact the quality of service
o Overregulations in Health Care
, What is a societal system?
“A collection of recurring interactions, through which actors produce
practices, serving a specific goal, within a confined part of reality.”
A construct to fulfil a societal need: Food, Health, Housing, Medicine
The way in which all services are provided
From how they are financed to the workforce, facilities and supplies
available
A strong system will ensure that everyone is able to access high-
quality service (for instance health care)
Consists of a myriad of actors: government, providers, financiers,
consumers, industries, regulatory authorities etc.
A system does not consist of isolated parts Its the interaction and
relationships of parts that make up the system For instance: the
pharmaceutical system is nested in the health system and the health
system is nested in the national welfare system.
Dutch health care system
Characteristics of a system
