System (from
Latin systēma, in turn from
Greek σύστημα systēma) is a set of
entities, real or abstract, where each entity interacts with, or is related to, at least one other entity.
There are natural and man-made (designed) systems. Natural systems may not have an apparent objective. Man-made systems normally have purpose, objectives. They are “designed to work as a coherent entity”.
Any object which is not part of that system is part of the
system environment. Systems usually interact also with some objects in their environment, by means of some of their components.
So, what distinguishes a system entity from an entity in the system environment? A system — like a
set— is a way of thinking of the world; a mental model. We determine a set by choosing the relevant membership criteria. Likewise, we determine a system by mentally choosing the relevant interactions we want to consider, plus choosing the system boundary —– or, equivalently, choosing external entities. We choose the “system of interest”, for natural systems, and we define and design our system of interest, for designed systems.
A
subsystem is a set of elements, which is a system itself, and a
part of the whole
system.
Overview
The scientific research field which is engaged in the transdisciplinary study of universal system-based properties of the world is general
system theory,
systems science and recently
systemics. They investigate the abstract properties of the matter and
mind, their
organization, searching concepts and principles which are independent of the specific domain, independent of their substance, type, or spatial or temporal scales of existence.
The term
system has multiple meanings
[1]:
- A collection of organized things; as, a solar system.
- A way of organising or planning.
- A whole composed of relationships among the members.
Most systems share the same common characteristics. These common characteristics include the following:
[2]
- Systems have a structure that is defined by its parts and processes.
- Systems are generalizations of reality.
- Systems tend to function in the same way. This involves the inputs and outputs of material (energy and/or matter) that is then processed causing it to change in some way.
- The various parts of a system have functional as well as structural relationships between each other.
The characteristics of systems have been studied in
general systems theory.
History
The term
System has a long history which can be traced back to the
Greek language.
In the 19th century the first to develop the concept of a "system" in the
natural sciences was the French physicist
Sadi Carnot who studied
thermodynamics. In
1824 he studied what he called the
working substance (system), i.e. typically a body of water vapor, in
steam engines, in regards to the system's ability to do work when heat is applied to it. The working substance could be put in contact with either a heat reservoir (a boiler), a cold reservoir (a stream of cold water), or a piston (to which the working body could do work by pushing on it). In 1850, the German physicist
Rudolf Clausius generalized this picture to include the concept of the surroundings and began to use the term "working body" when referring to the system.
In the
1980s the term
complex adaptive system was coined at the interdisciplinary
Santa Fe Institute by
John H. Holland,
Murray Gell-Mann and others.
Types of systems
Evidently, there are many types of systems that can be analyzed both
quantitatively and
qualitatively. For example, with an analysis of urban systems dynamics, A.W. Steiss
[3] defines five intersecting systems, including the physical subsystem and behavioral system. For sociological models influenced by systems theory, where
Kenneth D. Bailey [4] defines systems in terms of
conceptual,
concrete and
abstract systems; either
isolated,
closed, or
open,
Walter F. Buckley [5] defines social systems in sociology in terms of
mechanical,
organic, and
process models.
Bela H. Banathy [6] cautions that with any inquiry into a system that understanding the type of system is crucial and defines Natural and Designed systems.
In offering these more global definitions, the author maintains that it is important not to confuse one for the other. The theorist explains that natural systems include sub-atomic systems,
living systems, the
solar system, the
galactic system and the Universe. Designed systems are our creations, our physical structures, hybrid systems which include natural and designed systems, and our conceptual knowledge. The human element of organization and activities are emphazized with their relevant abstract systems and representations. A key consideration in making distinctions among various types of systems is to determine how much freedom the system has to select purpose, goals, methods, tools, etc. and how widely is the freedom to select distributed (or concentrated) in the system.
George J. Klir [7] maintains that no "classification is complete and perfect for all purposes," and defines systems in terms of
abstract,
real, and
conceptual physical systems,
bounded and
unbounded systems,
discrete to
continuous, pulse to
hybrid systems, et cetera. The interaction between systems and their environments are categorized in terms of absolutely
closed systems, relatively closed, and
open systems. The case of an absolutely closed system is a rare, special case. Important distinctions have also been made between hard and soft systems.
[8] Hard systems are associated with areas such as
systems engineering, operations research and quantitative systems analysis. Soft systems are commonly associated with concepts developed by
Peter Checkland through
Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) involving methods such as
action research and emphasizing participatory designs. Where hard systems might be identified as more "scientific," the distinction between them is actually often hard to define.
Cultural system
A cultural system may be defined as the interaction of different elements of
culture. While a cultural system is quite different from a
social system, sometimes both systems together are referred to as the
sociocultural system. A major concern in the social sciences is the problem of order. One way that social order has been theorized is according to the degree of integration of cultural and social factors.
Economic system
An economic system is a mechanism (
social institution) which deals with the
production,
distribution and
consumption of
goods and
services in a particular
society. The economic system is composed of
people,
institutions and their relationships to resources, such as the
convention of
property. It addresses the problems of
economics, like the allocation and scarcity of resources.
Application of the system concept
Systems in information and computer science
In
computer science and
information science,
system could also be a
method or an
algorithm. Again, an example will illustrate: There are systems of counting, as with
Roman numerals, and various systems for filing papers, or catalogues, and various library systems, of which the
Dewey Decimal System is an example. This still fits with the definition of components which are connected together (in this case in order to facilitate the flow of information).
System can also be used referring to a framework, be it software or hardware, designed to allow software programs to run, see
platform.
Systems in engineering
In engineering, the concept of a
system is usually well defined. It is used in numerous different concrete contexts, and it is the subject of the basic engineering activities, such as: planning, design, implementation, building, and maintaining.
Systems engineering is also a generalized theoretical branch of the different engineering approaches and
paradigms.
Systems in social and cognitive sciences and management research
Social and cognitive sciences recognize systems in human person models and in human societies. They include human brain functions and human mental processes as well as normative ethics systems and social/cultural behavioral patterns.
In
management science,
operations research and
organizational development (OD), human organizations are viewed as
systems (conceptual systems) of interacting components such as subsystems or system aggregates, which are
carriers of numerous complex processes and organizational structures. Organizational development theorist
Peter Senge developed the notion of organizations as systems in his book
The Fifth Discipline.
Systems thinking is a
style of thinking/
reasoning and problem solving. It starts from the recognition of system properties in a given problem. It can be a leadership competency. Some people can
think globally while acting locally. Such people consider the potential consequences of their decisions on other parts of larger systems. This is also a basis of systemic
coaching in psychology.
Organizational theorists such as
Margaret Wheatley have also described the workings of organizational systems in new metaphoric contexts, such as
quantum physics,
chaos theory, and the
self-organization of systems.
In
socio-cognitive engineering the concept
system is generalized to so-called intelligence-based systems, enabling the analysis of heterogeneous human-organization-technology aggregates and recognition of their pathological properties such as organization,
vulnerability,
crisis and changes.
See also
Literature
- Alexander Backlund, The definition of system, in: Kybernetes, (2000) Vol. 29 nr. 4, pp. 444-451.
- Bela H. Banathy, "A Taste of Systemics", ISSS The Primer Project, 1997.
- Kenneth D. Bailey, Sociology and the New Systems Theory: Toward a Theoretical Synthesis, New York: State of New York Press, 1994.
- Walter F. Buckley, Sociology and Modern Systems Theory, New Jersey: Englewood Cliffs. 1967
- Peter Checkland, Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 1997.
- Flood, R.L. Rethinking the Fifth Discipline: Learning within the unknowable, London: Routledge, 1999.
- George J. Klir, Approach to General Systems Theory, 1969.
- Steiss, A.W. Urban Systems Dynamics, Toronto: Lexington Books, 1967.
References
1.
^ Wiktionary, term system.
2.
^ Michael Pidwirny,
Definitions of Systems and Models, 1999-2007.
3.
^ Steiss 1967, p.8-18.
4.
^ Bailey, 1994.
5.
^ Buckley, 1967.
6.
^ Banathy, 1997.
7.
^ Klir 1969, pp. 69-72
8.
^ Checkland 1999; Flood 1997.
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Sadi Carnot in the dress uniform of a student of the École polytechnique]] Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (June 1 1796 - August 24 1832) was a French physicist and military engineer who, in his 1824 Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire
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The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is a non-profit research institute dedicated to the study of complex systems in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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