What do we actually mean by ‘sociotechnical’? On values, boundaries and the problems of language

Abstract

The term ‘sociotechnical’ was first coined in the context of industrial democracy. In comparing two projects on shipping in Esso to help define the concept, the essential categories were found to be where systems boundaries were set, and what factors were considered to be relevant ‘human’ characteristics. This is often discussed in terms of values.During the nineteen-sixties and seventies sociotechnical theory related to the shop-floor work system, and contingency theory to the organisation as a whole, the two levels being distinct. With the coming of information technology, this distinction became blurred; the term 'socio-structural' is proposed to describe the whole system.IT sometimes is the operating technology, it sometimes supports the operating technology, or it may sometimes be mistaken for the operating technology. This is discussed with reference to recent air accidents.