CYBERNETIC MODEL|OF THE RAILWAY ENTERPRISE

Abstract

The cybernetic model of a railway enterprise was constructed from managerial responses to a survey questionnaire. A representative sample of managers, covering all functional areas and hierarchical levels, were asked to indicate the person(s) responsible for each of a set of activities in their area. Any manager who accepted responsibility for a certain activity was further requested to describe the characteristics of associated information flows. The model, a version of Beer's model, was constructed on the basis of the recorded information. Accountability for each activity was allocated accordingly to a five-scale criterion with values between two extremes: the almost unanimous agreement and the lack of a manager responsible. The model was enriched with the findings on the information flow network.