- The VSM Guide (Quick Start)
- A Viable System Approach to Tackle Complex Enterprise Situation for SISP
- An Introduction to the Viable Systems Model
- Viable system model
The viable system model (VSM) has been around for a long time. It was one of the first successful attempts to build an organizational model using the human body as a functional template. Interestingly, When the revolution in Chile occurred in the early ’70s, it was a VSM model that was successfully used to run the country until the right-wing coup. Its biggest advantages are:
- It is effective at supporting individual and work unit autonomy
- It supports communication between individuals and between subsystems that promote the good of the whole
- It can be used effectively for organizations of any size, though it is easier to implement in small organizations
- It can resolve a lot of the concerns that advocacy networks have when deciding to form a more structured advocacy organization
- It is independent of funding or other sources of organizational resources
A VSM has 5 interacting subsystems:
- System 1: The entire collection of interacting Operational units.
- System 2: The system responsible for stability/resolving conflict between Operational units.
- System 3: The systems responsible for optimization/generating synergy between Operational units.
- System 4: Plans for the Future and strategies. Adaptation to a changing environment.
- System 5: Policy.
VSM requires some real effort to grasp because it is entirely different from the way that organizations (including advocacy ones) are run. The underlying drive that makes VSM a “viable” alternative to what you are doing now is the co-equal participation of everyone and each of the Systems with one another.
It always seems easier to just dictate an outcome (or at least faster). But autocratic decision-making always results in strategic errors and unintended consequences. Even if you can’t entirely redesign your organization, you can use VSM to redesign your workgroup or team. Your work will improve if you do.
VSM can be applied at any level of organization.
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