System

A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole.[1] A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and is expressed in its functioning. Systems are the subjects of study of systems theory and other systems sciences.

Systems have several common properties and characteristics, including structure, function(s), behavior and interconnectivity.

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 History
* 3 Analysis
* 3.1 Economic system
* 3.2 Information and computer science
* 3.3 Engineering and physics
* 3.4 Sociology, cognitive science and management research
* 3.5 Pure logic
* 3.6 Strategic thinking
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 Bibliography
* 7 External links

## Etymology

The term system comes from the Latin word systēma, in turn from Greek σύστημα systēma: "whole concept made of several parts or members, system", literary "composition".[2][3]

## History

In the 19th century, the French physicist Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, who studied thermodynamics, pioneered the development of the concept of a system in the natural sciences. In 1824, he studied the system which he called the working substance (typically a body of water vapor) in steam engines, in regard 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 boiler, a cold reservoir (a stream of cold water), or a piston (on 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.

The biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy became one of the pioneers of the general systems theory. In 1945, he introduced models, principles, and laws that apply to generalized systems or their subclasses, irrespective of their particular kind, the nature of their component elements, and the relation or 'forces' between them.[4]

In the late 1940s and mid-50s, Norbert Wiener and Ross Ashby pioneered the use of mathematics to study systems of control and communication, calling it cybernetics.[5][6]

In the 1960s, Marshall McLuhan applied general systems theory in an approach that he called a field approach and figure/ground analysis, to the study of media theory.Cite error: Closing `</ref>` missing for `<ref>` tag The data tests are performed to verify the correctness of the individual subsystem configuration data (e.g. MA Length, Static Speed Profile, …) and they are related to a single subsystem in order to test its Specific Application (SA).[7]

## Analysis

There are many kinds of systems that can be analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. For example, in an analysis of urban systems dynamics, A . W. Steiss defined five intersecting systems, including the physical subsystem and behavioral system. For sociological models influenced by systems theory,[8] Kenneth D. Bailey defined systems in terms of conceptual, concrete, and abstract systems, either isolated, closed, or open.[9] Walter F. Buckley defined systems in sociology in terms of mechanical, organic, and process models.[10] Bela H. Banathy cautioned that for any inquiry into a system understanding its kind is crucial, and defined natural and designed, i. e. artificial, systems.[11] For example, natural systems include subatomic systems, living systems, the Solar System, galaxies, and the Universe, while artificial systems include man-made physical structures, hybrids of natural and artificial systems, and conceptual knowledge. The human elements of organization and functions are emphasized with their relevant abstract systems and representations.

Artificial systems inherently have a major defect: they must be premised on one or more fundamental assumptions upon which additional knowledge is built. This is in strict alignment with Gödel's incompleteness theorems. The Artificial system can be defined as a "consistent formalized system which contains elementary arithmetic".[12] These fundamental assumptions are not inherently deleterious, but they must by definition be assumed as true, and if they are actually false then the system is not as structurally integral as is assumed (i.e. it is evident that if the initial expression is false, then the artificial system is not a "consistent formalized system"). For example, in geometry this is very evident in the postulation of theorems and extrapolation of proofs from them.

George J. Klir maintained that no "classification is complete and perfect for all purposes", and defined systems as abstract, real, and conceptual physical systems, bounded and unbounded systems, discrete to continuous, pulse to hybrid systems, etc. The interactions between systems and their environments are categorized as relatively closed and open systems.[13] Important distinctions have also been made between hard systems—–technical in nature and amenable to methods such as systems engineering, operations research, and quantitative systems analysis—and soft systems that involve people and organizations, commonly associated with concepts developed by Peter Checkland and Brian Wilson through soft systems methodology (SSM) involving methods such as action research and emphasis of participatory designs.[14] Where hard systems might be identified as more scientific, the distinction between them is often elusive.

### Economic system

Main article: Finance:Economic system

An economic system is a 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.

The international sphere of interacting states is described and analyzed in systems terms by several international relations scholars, most notably in the neorealist school. This systems mode of international analysis has however been challenged by other schools of international relations thought, most notably the constructivist school, which argues that an over-large focus on systems and structures can obscure the role of individual agency in social interactions. Systems-based models of international relations also underlie the vision of the international sphere held by the liberal institutionalist school of thought, which places more emphasis on systems generated by rules and interaction governance, particularly economic governance.

### Information and computer science

In computer science and information science, an information system is a hardware system, software system, or combination, which has components as its structure and observable inter-process communications as its behavior.

There are systems of counting, as with Roman numerals, and various systems for filing papers, or catalogs, and various library systems, of which the Dewey Decimal Classification is an example. This still fits with the definition of components that are connected together (in this case, to facilitate the flow of information).

System can also refer to a framework, aka platform, be it software or hardware, designed to allow software programs to run. A flaw in a component or system can cause the component itself or an entire system to fail to perform its required function, e.g., an incorrect statement or data definition.[15]

### Engineering and physics

In engineering and physics, a physical system is the portion of the universe that is being studied (of which a thermodynamic system is one major example). Engineering also has the concept of a system referring to all of the parts and interactions between parts of a complex project. Systems engineering is the branch of engineering that studies how this type of system should be planned, designed, implemented, built, and maintained.[15]

### Sociology, cognitive science and management research

Social and cognitive sciences recognize systems in models of individual humans and in human societies. They include human brain functions and mental processes as well as normative ethics systems and social and cultural behavioral patterns.

In management science, operations research and organizational development, human organizations are viewed as management systems of interacting components such as subsystems or system aggregates, which are carriers of numerous complex business processes (organizational behaviors) and organizational structures. Organizational development theorist Peter Senge developed the notion of organizations as systems in his book The Fifth Discipline.[16]

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.[17]

### Pure logic

There is also such a thing as a logical system. An obvious example is the calculus developed simultaneously by Leibniz and Isaac Newton. Another example is George Boole's Boolean operators. Other examples relate specifically to philosophy, biology, or cognitive science. Maslow's hierarchy of needs applies psychology to biology by using pure logic. Numerous psychologists, including Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud developed systems that logically organize psychological domains, such as personalities, motivations, or intellect and desire.

### Strategic thinking

In 1988, military strategist John A. Warden III introduced the Five Ring System model in his book, The Air Campaign, contending that any complex system could be broken down into five concentric rings. Each ring—leadership, processes, infrastructure, population and action units—could be used to isolate key elements of any system that needed change. The model was used effectively by Air Force planners in the Iran–Iraq War.[18][19][20] In the late 1990s, Warden applied his model to business strategy.

## See also

* Complexity
* Complexity theory and organizations
* Formal system
* Glossary of systems theory
* Human body § Systems, systems in the human body
* Market (economics)
* Meta-system
* System of systems
* System of systems engineering
* Systems art

## References

1. ↑ "Definition of system". Springfield, MA, USA. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/system.
2. ↑ "σύστημα" , Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, on Perseus Digits Library.
3. ↑ Definitionen von "System" (1572–2002) by Roland Müller, (most in German).
4. ↑ 1945, Zu einer allgemeinen Systemlehre, Blätter für deutsche Philosophie, 3/4. (Extract in: Biologia Generalis, 19 (1949), 139–164.
5. ↑ 1948, Cybernetics: Or the Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Paris, France: Librairie Hermann & Cie, and Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
6. ↑ 1956\. An Introduction to Cybernetics , Chapman & Hall.
7. ↑ European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) - EN 50128. Brussels, Belgium: CENELEC. 2011. pp. Table A.11 – Data Préparation Techniques (8.4).
8. ↑ Steiss, 1967, pp. 8–18.
9. ↑ Bailey, 1994.
10. ↑ Buckley, 1967.
11. ↑ Banathy, 1997.
12. ↑ K.Gödel, 1931.
13. ↑ Klir, 1969, pp. 69–72.
14. ↑ Checkland, 1997; Flood, 1999.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "ISTQB Standard glossary of terms used in Software Testing". http://glossar.german-testing-board.info/.
16. ↑ Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Doubleday/Currency. ISBN 9780385260947. https://books.google.com/books?id=bVZqAAAAMAAJ.
17. ↑ "A New Story for a New Time". 13 January 2016. https://thesystemsthinker.com/a-new-story-for-a-new-time/.
18. ↑ Warden, John A. III (1988). The Air Campaign: Planning for Combat. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press. ISBN 978-1-58348-100-4.
19. ↑ Warden, John A. III (September 1995). "Chapter 4: Air theory for the 21st century". Battlefield of the Future: 21st Century Warfare Issues. United States Air Force. http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/battle/chp4.html. Retrieved December 26, 2008.
20. ↑ Warden, John A. III (1995). "Enemy as a System". Airpower Journal Spring (9): 40–55. http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj95/spr95_files/warden.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-25.

## Bibliography

* Alexander Backlund (2000). "The definition of system". In: Kybernetes Vol. 29 nr. 4, pp. 444–451.
* Kenneth D. Bailey (1994). Sociology and the New Systems Theory: Toward a Theoretical Synthesis. New York: State of New York Press.
* Bela H. Banathy (1997). , ISSS The Primer Project.
* Walter F. Buckley (1967).  Sociology and Modern Systems Theory, New Jersey: Englewood Cliffs.
* Peter Checkland (1997). Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
* Michel Crozier, Erhard Friedberg (1981). Actors and Systems, Chicago University Press.
* Robert L. Flood (1999). . London: Routledge.
* George J. Klir (1969). Approach to General Systems Theory, 1969.
* Rubanov, Vladimir (2022) (in ru). I see the meaning. The Semantic Topology Knowledge Base. Atlas of Conceptual Models of Universal Meanings.. Argo Books. ISBN 978-5-517-09043-0. https://www.litres.ru/book/vladimir-arsentevich/viizhu-smysl-tom-3-baza-znaniy-semanticheskaya-topolo-72478333/.
* Brian Wilson (1980). Systems: Concepts, methodologies and Applications, John Wiley.
* Brian Wilson (2001). Soft Systems Methodology—Conceptual model building and its contribution, J.H.Wiley.
* Beynon-Davies, P. (2009). Business Information + Systems. Palgrave, Basingstoke. ISBN 978-0-230-20368-6.

## External links

* Definitions of Systems and Models by Michael Pidwirny, 1999–2007.

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