A critical assessment of the modern sociotechnical approach within production and operations management

Abstract

The field of production and operations management nowadays includes various concepts, theories and approaches. The theoretical background of these concepts and theories however, can be found in many different disciplines and it is therefore not surprising that still no clear body of knowledge exists with respect to the area of production control. Remarkable enough, within the field of production and operations management few comparative studies about the various theoretical perspectives exist. It is for this reason why in this article we make a comparative assessment of sociotechnical theory within the area of production and operations management. An overview is given of the seeming and apparent affinities between the modern sociotechnical approach and the traditional operations management focus. From this, the question is answered in what way sociotechnical theory can contribute to a more integrated view on operations management.