Editing Sociotechnical system (section)

==Overview==
Sociotechnical refers to the interrelatedness of ''social'' and ''technical'' aspects of an [[organization]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Socio-technical systems theory |url=https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-stc/doc/socio-technical-systems-theory |publisher=Leeds University Business School |access-date=26 March 2024}}</ref> Sociotechnical theory is founded on two main principles:
* One is that the [[Social interaction|interaction]] of social and technical factors creates the conditions for successful (or unsuccessful) organizational [[performance]].  This interaction consists partly of [[linear]] "cause and effect" relationships (the relationships that are normally "designed") and partly from "[[non-linear]]", [[Complexity|complex]], even unpredictable relationships (the good or bad relationships that are often unexpected).  Whether designed or not, both types of interaction occur when socio and technical elements are put to work.
* The corollary of this, and the second of the two main principles, is that optimization of each aspect alone (socio or technical) tends to increase not only the quantity of unpredictable, "un-designed" relationships, but those relationships that are injurious to the system's performance.

Therefore, sociotechnical theory is about ''joint optimization'',<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=Robert |last2=Foster |first2=Michael |title=Sociotechnical systems. |journal=American Psychologist |date=1971 |volume=26 |issue=5 |pages=467–474 |doi=10.1037/h0031539 }}</ref> that is, designing the social system and technical system in tandem so that they work smoothly together.  Sociotechnical theory, as distinct from sociotechnical systems, proposes a number of different ways of achieving joint optimization. They are usually based on designing different kinds of organization, ones in which the relationships between socio and technical elements lead to the emergence of productivity and wellbeing, rather than all too often case of new technology failing to meet the expectations of designers and users alike.

The scientific literature shows terms like ''sociotechnical'' all one word, or ''socio-technical'' with a hyphen, ''sociotechnical theory'', ''sociotechnical system'' and ''sociotechnical systems theory''. All of these terms appear ubiquitously but their actual meanings often remain unclear. The key term "sociotechnical" is something of a [[buzzword]] and its varied usage can be unpicked.  What can be said about it, though, is that it is most often used to simply, and quite correctly, describe any kind of organization that is composed of people and technology.

The key elements of the STS approach include combining the human elements and the technical systems together to enable new possibilities for work and pave the way for technological change (Trist, 1981).  The involvement of human elements in negotiations may cause a larger workload initially, but it is crucial that requirements can be determined and accommodated for prior to implementation as it is central to the systems success. Due to its mutual causality (Davis, 1977), the STS approach has become widely linked with autonomy, completeness and job satisfaction as both systems can work together to achieving a goal.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Winter |first1=Susan |last2=Berente |first2=Nicholas |last3=Howison |first3=James |last4=Butler |first4=Brian |title=Beyond the organizational 'container': Conceptualizing 21st century sociotechnical work |journal=Information and Organization |date=1 October 2014 |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=250–269 |doi=10.1016/j.infoandorg.2014.10.003 |s2cid=4567867 }}</ref>

Enid Mumford (1983) defines the socio-technical approach to recognize technology and people to ensure work systems are highly efficient and contain better characteristics which leads to higher job satisfaction for employees, resulting in a sense of fulfilment to improving quality of work and exceeding expectations. Mumford<ref>Mumford and Weir, 1979; Mumford, 1995</ref> concludes that the development of information systems is not a technical issue, but a business organization issue which is concerned with the process of change.<ref name="Mumford1983">{{cite book|last1=Leitch|first1=Shona|title=History of Computing. Learning from the Past|last2=Warren|first2=Matthew J.|year=2010|isbn=978-3-642-15198-9|series=IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology|volume=325|pages=189–197|chapter=ETHICS: The Past, Present and Future of Socio-Technical Systems Design|doi=10.1007/978-3-642-15199-6_19|s2cid=30087083 }}</ref>