Systems theory is defined as “the transdisciplinary study of the abstract organization of phenomena, independent of their substance, type, or spatial or temporal scale of existence. It investigates both the principles common to all complex entities, and the (usually mathematical) models which can be used to describe them.”(1) This means essentially that systems theory studies the interactions between parts in a whole, rather than defining the different parts of the whole. This is applicable to the concepts in Chapter 1, as it emphasizes the interactions between parts of the value chain of a business, rather on defining each individual part. This idea can be applied to business and computers as well as natural systems.
These ideals can be applied to systems that are not computer or business systems, for example the business value chain system can be compared to the working of the human body. To apply systems theory to biology, one looks how the different organs interact with each other to achieve the goal of keeping the body in balance rather than studying the structure and tissue of each individual organs.(2) Likewise, looking at the value chain of a company as a system shows how the individual parts work together to achieve a balance.
A real-world example of a system is a production control system. A production control system can be applied to the production link of the manufacturing value chain. A production control system keeps the continuous flow of manufacturing in equilibrium.(3) This type of system takes into consideration all of the different stages necessary in manufacturing and the way that they connect with each other. The purpose of applying a computerized control of this system is to be aware of the different components to assure that their interactions are flowing, as they should. This type of system uses feedback to show when the interactions between pieces of the system are not running properly.(4) From there, these systems can adjust any link that contributes to this problem to put the production back into equilibrium.
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