Using Viable System Model as a Framework to Measure the Viability of Organisations Structures A Case Study of the Viability of the Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport

摘要

Formally, the Egyptian higher education sector is completely funded by the government. In view of the increasing number of applicants for university degree, an urgent need is felt for addition universities that can absorb such applicants. Hence, a privatisation programmed aiming at establishing new private universities has been considered by the Egyptian government. Establishment of such new universities, however, raises an important question regarding the conditions that must prevail in order for these universities to survive.rnThe branch of Cybernetics which is to evaluated here is known as Management Cybernetics or the "The Viable System Methodology." Stafford Beer developed this methodology in the early 1970's, In his philosophy, the organisational structure of a system must be correct, or else the system will not be viable, i.e. it will perish. To address such a question, a case study, in which Stafford Beer's Viable System Model (VSM) will be applied to the Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport, which is an existing private university. To reach that end, the organizational structure of the Arab Academy is assumed to consist of several levels of recursions each of which must be a viable system in its own right. Mapping such organisational structure on Examples of this are the recent dominance of India in the software market and the former. Soviet Republics that have a tradition of educating their workforce.rnAn Overview of the Higher Education Sector in Egypt.rnAccording to Becker (1990), higher education institutions have two main functions. The first one is to educate people. The second is to generate knowledge. Therefore, higher education management is evolving to meet government, employer, and students needs.rnA country like Egypt has a pioneering role in the Middle East. University and high education development policies aim to cope with current advances in science and technology and increase the coverage of all education. In this connection, university and higher education were remarkably developed; about 49 new faculties were opened over the past six years since 1994. Colleges at private universities rose in 1999 to 27 with varying fieldsrnrnto the viable system model, valuable insights can be gained regarding weaknesses of the structure, as it exists together with the conditions that must prevail in order for the Academy to survive.