A Cybernetic View to the New Trade Reform in Egypt (Case Study): The Economic Group of the Egyptian Cabinet

摘要

In the last ten years the Egyptian economy has undergone significant economic reforms in favor of macroeconomic stability and market liberalization, at the same time Egypt joined the WTO, and got engaged in some regional trade agreements. There fore Egypt became committed to liberalize trade as well, which required a sort of trade reform to meet the global challenges of the new world economic order. The Egyptian government assumed that one of the main prerequisites for such a refonn is to promote exports through capacity building, which required as a necessary cortditiona structural reform in the economic group of the Egyptian cabinet, focused on creating a new ministry (ministry of foreign trade), to replace the ministry of economy and foreign trade. In order to examine the impact of such structural change, this paper uses Stafford Beer's Viable System Model (VSM) to analyze the problem. This methodology believes that the viability of any system depends to a large extent on how it is organized i.e. its organizational structure. This is mapped onto the VSM and the weaknesses of the structure as it presently exists can be found. Valuable insights are thus gained and conclusions drawn.