Notes

In Systems Thinking and Thinking Systems, the writer defined various systems to highlight their similarities and differences explicitly. The systems are categorized as abstract or concrete; open or closed; and static or dynamic However, the article focuses on organizations (system) because it is of most interest to management scientists. The writer considered the relationship between systems and its subsystems and found out that all systems are either variety-increasing or variety-decreasing in reference to the behavior of their subsystems. The concept and idea about systems and their operation plays an important role in the contemporary society. The system’s approach focuses on systems taken holistically, and not the constituents taken separately. Holistic systems approach is concerned about the net performance of the systems even when change is experienced in one of the parts of the systems because there are some properties that can only be taken into account if the system is treated from a holistic point of view. The writer theorized that these properties these properties surface from the relationship between the constituents of the systems: how the constituents fit and interact.
According to the writer, systems are sets of interrelated elements. Therefore, a system is an entity composed of at least two components and relation the links each of the components or within each component. In other words, each of the system’s components is linked to every other component directly or indirectly. In fact, all subsets of the components are related. An abstract system is that which all the components are concepts. Examples include number systems philosophic systems and language systems. On the other hand concrete systems are those which at least two of their components are physical objects. The state of any system is the set of properties exhibited by that system at the time it is examined (Ackoff R. , 1971). In some scenarios, observers may only be interested in two states, for example, awake or asleep, or on and off. In other cases, observers may be interested in more than two states, for example, system’s weigh or velocity.
As noted in the article, a system’s environment is the set of components and their properties, where a change in any of the components produces a change in the system’s state. That is to say, a system’s environment entails variables that can affect its state. An open system is one that has an environment, whereas a closed system is one that does not have an environment. Under this article, the writer focused on closed systems because they do not have interactions with any component outside their environment. That is to say, the writer conceptualizes a closed system because it is self-contained. Under the observation that systems may or may not change, the writer highlighted that an event (environmental or system-based) is an alteration in one or more properties of either the system or its environment within a given period. For example, an event occurs in a computer system when a power fuse blows, and to the computer’s environment when accessed remotely. A system is termed as static or one-state if no events occur. For example, a chair can be conceptualized are a static concrete system made of screws, four legs among other parts. On the other hand, a multi-state or dynamic system is where events occur dynamically and a constant change in states is evident. An automobile is a dynamic system because it can move forwards and backwards and at varied speeds. In the same context, it is important to note that components and the environment of some static systems are dynamic. Such systems maintain their state in a dynamic environment. For example, a house with an air conditioner maintains a constant internal temperature relative to the changing environmental temperatures.
In conclusion, the writer defined organizations as purposeful systems containing at least two purposeful components with a common purpose. Central to this definition is that the components must have a binding goal or objective. Further, the components exercise free will. The pursuit of their common purpose is augmented by a functional division of labor within the organizational system. It follows that direction of action and the subsets of components may be highlighted based on various characteristics, including function (marketing production, finance, personnel and research). The components of an organizational system respond to each other’s behavior through communication and observation. Typically, one of the components has a controlling function. According to the writer, an organization differs from an organism in the sense that the former is a purposeful system, whereas the latter is not. The components of an organism may be goal-seeking, state-maintaining, multi-goal-seeking but not purposeful.