Systems Theory for Media Industries

In communication, there are a bunch of theories. These theories help to explain why and

how phenomenon happens especially in any communication situation. Theories are developed

from observation and are validated by repeated experiments which are designed to test the

hypotheses related to theory. The result is often the elaboration of generalizations about causes

and relationship (Hunt, 1991).

Business communication being a part of communication circle is also not limited to

having theories on its own. Management, specifically, has its own set of theories explaining

how organizations or industries functions in a phenomenon which were used by the different

business institutions in achieving their objectives and goals. Because managing has a vital role

in every human routine, managerial theory has become essential for managers in managing

complex organizations. It is true that, not all managers follow a certain theory, in fact it is not a

requirement but managers who are trailing certain or even mixed theories of management

probably have a high chance of achieving individual and organizational goals effectively and

efficiently.

As the generation passes, there has been a high regards to group effort since

organizations become large and as these organizations become large, complex problems arise.

That’s where management comes in it is all about problem solving which occurs all the time in

the organization. It doesn’t mean that if you’re the manager, you will be the only one to solve all

the problems. It is an organization so it is a group of people working together, and as part of the

organization each one should have roles to play.

Let’s take the media industry as our subject in this paper. We can’t deny the fact that

this industry is a one large business organization compose of a huge group of people. A lone

department couldn’t run the whole company, there are hordes of department functioning

different tasks. An organization is composed of different departments or people, each

contributing to the success of the organization’s goal and objectives. This is could then be

considered as a system which is made up of diverse parts that work together. This will now
direct that Systems Theory could be one of the most common and probably effective theory to

be followed by the media industry.

Systems Theory

Systems theory was developed by Hegel in the 9th century. It is a theory to explain

historical development as a dynamic process. This was used by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy for the

study “General Systems Theory”. According to this theory, a system consists four things;

Objects- the parts, elements, or variables within the system, physical or both, Attributes-

qualities of the system and its objects, Relationship- the objects have internal relationship

among them, Existence- the system must exist in an environment. Moreover, systems should

also signify wholeness and interdependence, correlations, perceiving causes, chain of influence,

hierarchy, suprasystems and subsystems, self-regulation and control, goal-oriented, interchange

with the environment, inputs/outputs, balance or homeostasis, change and adaptability or

morphogenesis and equi-finality.

As stated earlier, media industry (system) or even other businesses do not function with

only one individual, department, working group, business unit, facilities it has to have

different departments (object) working with dissimilar functions (attributes). But these

functions do not solely achieve success independently; it needs to be interdependent as

departments affect workers which will then affect the entire system or media industry. This

theory would really help the manager to coordinate projects/programs to work as a joint whole

for the goal of a certain media network. For example, the creation of a program in ABS-CBN, it

would not just directly be shoot, it would first undergoes through brainstorming of the creative

department and the bosses, when, approved budget will be prepared by the account

department, production department will then start to shoot, after which will be passed to the

editing department, some press conference will be done by the public relations department and

finally the airing of the program. The point of this is that, media industry will not function if

one department will be removed from the system. Also, this theory would be to look at the

organizations from a broader perspective that is to recognize the different parts of the

organization and the relationship among them. It also allows the higher ups to understand and
know their employees’ importance in the whole organization and if they cater the needs of

these employees there is a greater chance of harmonious working relationship thus achieving

organizational success.

When it comes to organizational strategy, Strategic Management Theory is one of the

most widely used in media management studies. This theory focuses on how other media firms

outperform others. It addresses the issues on strategy of media market concentration (Albarran,

2002; Compaine & Gomery, 2000), adapting to changing market conditions (Greco, 1999; Picard,

2004)and exploring strategic options for companies operating in various markets and regulatory

board (Gershon, 2000; Hoskins, Finn, &McFadyen, 1994).

Today, there are already modern theories that have been formed and most of these are

not only used individually but mixed. Also, because of the changing way of life, sometimes, a

single theory would not fully aid the communication situation. But one thing is for sure,

theories do not exist for readings, it exist for application if you hope to see your organization

accomplish the intended goal.

Sources and Citations:

Albarran, A. B. (2002). Management of electronic media (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth.

Compaine, B. M., & Gomery, D. (2000). Who owns the media? Competition and
concentration in the mass media industry. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Gershon, R. A. (2000). The transnational media corporation: Environmental scanning

and strategy formulation. Journal of Media Economics, 13(2), 81–101.

Greco, A. (1999). The impact of horizontal mergers and acquisitions on corporate

concentration in the U.S. book publishing industry, 1989–1994. Journal of
Media Economics, 12(3), 165–180.

Hoskins, C., Finn, A., & McFadyen, S. (1994). Marketing management and competitive
strategy in the cultural industries. Canadian Journal of Communication,
19(3/4), 269–296.

Picard, R. (2004). Environmental and market changes driving strategic planning in

media firms. In R. G. Picard (Ed.), Strategic responses to media market changes
(pp. 35–46). JIBS Research Reports No. 2004–2, Jönköping International
Business School.

http://www.panarchy.org/vonbertalanffy/systems.1968.html

http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/AAPAM/UNPAN025765.pdf

http://managementhelp.org/management/theories.htm

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/relationship-between-systems-theory-employee-relations-

22465.html

http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20Clusters/Communication%20Process

es/System_Theory/