Download as pdf
Download as pdf
You are on page 1of 41
ae, Note that 4 “good” question it not simply 2 query followed by a Weaton mark Ifthe querion doesnot ignite in You to the point of coming During iste—one deeply flt—it is not a good question; 1 the other hand, ifthe iglon burns you up. the question is simply Eestons. The arsry of fie jr 0 ignite and burn intensely without asthe, the process most not be deadly serous, or else we become iter rather han bittersweet. The nub is captured in the reported tathbed scene of Gertrude Stein a Alice B. Toklas leans forvard and ‘hspery “Tellus, Gertrude, what ithe anewer to ie all?™—and Ceroude sple, "What isthe queton?” Univesiy of California, Berkeley Preface ‘This book is meant to serve te student of stems in a verity of de ciples The subtance ofthe book represents an inquiry into where we stand in our Knowledge of systems 1 is anticipated that it will be of Ierest othe theoretcian who wants to develop trier the foundations ‘of systems science 5 well 35 to the prectiionr who needs Yo implement 2 feasible design in his organization, We tase that the book wil raise Suficient questions and methodological problems to encourage our tetdes to pursue their ingury beyond ehe mite of these pose. “The book was written to serve graduates and undergraduates as well as manager bisiness, industry, and goverment. Dealing withthe fees find problems ofthis book requtes conceptual and general thinking ab lity rather chan knowledge of quantitative methods or epecifie analytical techniques. As will be readily apparent tothe readers of the fit few chapters, the concept of “stems” does not reler to data procesing or information systems, which ate the subjects of other specialized treatin: ‘mplaisng computer programming, hardware and sofeware, syn Configuration, and the like. Rather it relers tothe set of stems of “organized complexity" and to one of ts subset organizations In hich man lives works, and plays, While the problems dicused ate ‘hose faced by all ypes of organizations, lange and smal, public or prt ‘ate socal andor politi, they are not these normaly rete in books ‘on management principle ongmntation theory, or decison analy. The ists are of a more general and pervasive nature, They underlie the philosophy of organizations and may even comsitute their raison te General Systems Theory andthe Stems Approsch grapple withthe issues of simplicity and complexity by which the relationships among ‘ystems and subsystems ate decided. The problems of optimisation and Suboptimization are central to explaining the feu effort of systems ‘esigners who reach for the sunt bon while etlng fora “second best" To visualize making decisions without telerece to an evaluation procedure that embodies quentfcaion and mearutement i wnthinkable, Since qualitative inferences about events anos be tanlted into sate ‘ments of policy. Decision makers are encouraged to evaluate more te tematiclly gol, altermaive sategies. and. program, as well st the probable comequences of their decons. Heute and algorithmic de. Ficon models almed at achieving that purpose are described, ‘Progiom Planning and Dudgting nd the concept o socal accounts tnd social indicators are metheds by which progres toward achieving social goals can be matured. Program planning and budgeting incor porate the Systems Approach in the design of programs forthe delivery t public goods and services. Social indiestore promi to complement ‘ronomie tndicntors to guile policy maker in choosing and ling Sess of nee Plonning ix sometimes derided asthe antithesis of freedom. How. ver, unles ve consider the necenity of planning we shall soon cease to be in'a potion to take advantage of our fretoms. Conta is ted 1 planning in the sense that once a system f implemented, its operations nut be conrlld in order that fe may conte to achieve the goals for which ft wat intended. Obviously, the best regulation is seléregula ‘on. However, we ate not yet in 9 postion to understand fly what seltregulation means inthe context af open systems "The reader i soon exutioned guna relying 100 heavily on the philosophy that advocites the wholesale transportation of methods of olution of “hard” stems to the realm of "sft" ystems. What is avo- Cte instead ate new methods of scence specially designed and adaped to the problems of “soft” stems. This will svalve a consideration of the factors allecting innovation and change. The oyplementtion of nee ‘stems also involves winning the approval of those alfected and eon ‘deration ofthe pols of conensts and the morality of systems "The Stems Approach owes > gret debt to General Systems Theory and to the Soda Scenes fom which it derives its theoretical foundation fnd it valicey, Whether Applied General Systems Theory achieves all ite goat wil depend in part on whether our readers can ise to the challenge of making thee young dicplin more alep at solving the ‘many problems that beset ws "Aveyntsis entails bringing together ideas and concepts of thove ‘vo hve made a sigifcane impact on current thinking in the Bld. T ‘would like to acknowledge the contibution ofa the ators who wil ee thei iden reflected fn these pages As 4 casory Took atthe extensive footnotes in each chapter wil ates the lit every lng. 1 would lke o thank them as well athe publishers who gave me their permision 0 ‘ote ae a pasage, or adapt dhir work for my purposc. ‘Among the many who have enenuraged me along the way, T must single ou €. W. Churchman, whee ideas provided me the mos inspira tion in tis endeavor, Former Dean V. V Miler and his scceary, Ms Jie Jones, provided moral suppor. “Finally, T would Tike to thank the many students who sullered through several versions of thee chapers. They ate the unsung heroes fof any ofthese projects, If any of them happens to read this book, may they feel rewarded fo have helped shape the Sal product Jom va enc Sserament, California CHAPTER 1 The Systems Approach: Introduction and Examples 1, Methodologies of Change Lien sacety organized around complex systems in which, and by which, ‘an ta being tome sence of order his vere, Liles organic round inetittions of ll srt ome are maa-made, others have developed, Ie seems, without concerted degn. Some iaitations, ke the family, are small and tractable; others ike politics or nda, are national in scope and ‘becoming more complex every day. Some iastations ate pavately owned and others belong tothe public domain, In every walk of Uy whatever our Job or our intent, we have 1 come to gripe with organizations and with ‘A curry look at these systems eeveals chat they shave oie Fentore— complesity. By all accounts complet the rel f the lips ape Insieacy of mans interaction in the systems. Taken separately, man is already a complex ent. Placed inthe context of sity, man ie threatened by dhe complerty of hi own organizations Old methods of eoping ith problems no longer suice, New thinking mut be brought to bear. A frontl ack must be mounted lo mlve our stems’ problems. We believe that an honest beginning has been made bythe inveducton and adoption of the ‘Sums Approach wich a a way of thioking, praccal pilewphy, and a methodology of change. Before we embark on or long journey we mut define what we mean by a system. Ar ual, several dfn come to mind aod are pebsbly ad ‘uate, Weaball ue the following deinion ‘yatta ase or et of ret ements “The dement of item can be nal, in which cae we ar dealing svi a concep systems A langage tam example of conceptual se “The coments ofa ten con be aj such as typeeier made feel pts A syns ements cn be je ich a bal te Faly Mien cam be made up of concep ober and secs an = mae ‘che pte comping hein cen, Pu 2 se 29 Tesreaton alvin tl soning ene Mare pens ms wl ‘ibcned wwe deep the mjc: For the ie blog es uct “pune Ut sytem ae made of oer systema wich we eal gm. Ia Tost ane can of eger or sporondinate systems hich compe Siero and which we il he mpm and the wie tm, One | {he problems in dealing th yt tn rom inability to ow Bow [Revo break down or "deconpors se int component tensor hw {tro compo” or “organise” ptm in large sens SYSTEMS IMPROVEMENT AnD SYSTEMS DES Many af ihe problems arising in system stm rom the inability of manager, planners anaes, adminiarator, and the Uke, «© differentiate beween ‘jens Topovenent and Syms Deg lmprovernent means the transform= ‘Non change which brings a sjte closer to standard or to normal ‘perating conan, The concept af improvement exis the connotation thatthe design ofthc ajtem rset, and that noms or its eration have been tatablied. The word ips erses with i 9 ethical implication that the changes pedicated are ther good of bad. One can “improve” the operation oa crime sydicate aswell asthe operation ofa shoal The ive ralsngushing between bent or harmfl transformations to society ‘indeed an iportan question, but one that wil be raised later inthe text. ‘Design alo inves tramformation and change, but Stems Design ters so much fom Systems Improvement that eis whole ex i wien 0 fmphasae the ferences in Intent, scope, methodslogy, morality, and farts between improvement and design. Desig isa creative proces hat {Tustin ve assumptions om which od forms have been bit tt demands @ SSmpletely new eudook and approach in order to produce innovative sax tins withthe nese capably of bringing some “eure fr chac."* Improvement in systems tft the proces of ensuring tha sate, or ‘suena, perform according to expectations. It mls thatthe desig ofthe ‘hems been set and exalted nv scones, improving the sytera refers o acing the aus of departure fom etlshed operating norms ‘or investigating how the sytem can be made to yield beter resales that come closer to meting the design obeeve Ar before, the desig ‘concept is not questioned. The main problems to be solved are 1. The system doesnot meet etait goa. 2. The tem doer not ye predicted rel, 8. The system does nos Operate a inal intended ‘Tosolve thee problems and improve the systems operation we usually follow a definite procedure which ean be illtated by examples We find ‘unusual when aca der not acelerate properly becatse we haves prety 00d iden of wha normal aceleration should, We search for reson {to account forthe difrence bens the atal andthe expected operation. ‘The car snot meeting Is deign specications or gal it doesnot eld the raced el and ti oe operating ae eign intended by the mame facture. Ina way, the same reasoning appli when we find that child loses appt at mealtimes, We immediatly search for an explanation foe this unansipated bee, Improving the operation of he sstem, wheter eae or cil, involves Aetermining the reasons for unexpected deviation, Te implies the prior ‘existence of plan specication, a andra or a nr of how the tem ‘Hoa operat agaist which the actual lunetoning can be compared ‘Usually when presented wich a problem of improving stems we Sint fs he rol step that involves dating the nope four nvetignion, We describe carefilly the nature ofthe spn and ie ts compe brs or the car thi procedure consti ying o locale the poe ‘aus of twouble, Could the deceleration be caused by fouled carburetor ‘ora lover-octaneguaine? Here the two publ abate that could be investigated are the mechanical subysem (he carburetor and neilary ‘pment andthe fel subzytem (Che gsaline, components and addi ives). Forth child, the lack af appetite might enaively be atrbuted to ‘oo posible cause: snacking between mele (de cil’ digestive sytem, 81 component subsystem) ora pole vrs (the els ielatry eye 2 smother syste) ‘Once we have defined the system and found it component subayateins we proceed by anasto search for elements that might provide pole Annvers to our question, Stating from the known fies we proceed by dation to draw certain tentative caelsions For the ear we may rue ot the earburetor, beauee alter further iavesgaion into that particular subayiem we id thatthe ‘engine has ben recently "tuned up.” Ths we arrow ou serch othe ie substan and investigate what Kind of gu walt purchaed. The nvestign- ion of the child's lack of appetite wl lead us to ask further questions about his eating habits to test the validity ofthe hypothesis that hack of hunger is de wo snacking betwen melt. If we etaah thatthe child ate nothing since beak, the snacking hypotbesis i ected. The nest let might Involve taking his temperature, fom which we might deduce dat, in fet, tis ne is are sevius. ‘Syst Improvement, at 2 methodology of change, i characterized 1. The problem is defined and she system and component subsystems ae identified, 2. The actual sate, condition, o behavior af th tems are determined by obervation, {The actual and expected condition of the systems are compared in teder to deteriae the extent of deviation. 4 The reasons fr ths devon are hypothesized within the confines ‘ofthe component subsystems. 5. Concion ae drawn from the known facts by & procs of deduce tion and the large problem i broken down into sbprolemse by proces of reduction ‘We note tht the above aps invabve a parti ce procedure which owes its eign tothe application of the Seientife Method to everday froblems and which we eall the Analycl Method or the Analytical ‘Approach. These stepae grounded ina long maton of entcinvertigae {n,n parla this pertain tothe psa ences, Tes important to fmphasze atthe inpeovement of systems hen viewed in this contest proreds by ict; that we go inward Kom the yet oie element, nd reason tha the ton of ayers problems Hes within is boundaries. Syste Improvement deal sticly with operating. problems and regards malfancdons ar eased by difieultiern sracire tat exist between Systems and subyjtens. Problems of futon and of pure which question {he objesive fone sytem in relation io thw foters areldom coiered [Av a methodology of change, Stems Improvement ofers very Limited hoes. I fsters the approach by which “nearby” soladons for complex ‘pte problems are adopted. "Nearby soltions mean that innovative land eestiv approaches are carded in avr of lutions where only sal ‘change or increments ftom presenly eld postion are encouraged or Permied, in oder t avoid “ocking the bose.” ‘Widely used in is various forms, Systems Improvement nevertheless tas many shortcomings, This indctoent gaint Syteme,Lmprovenent should not be lightly dsmised as though ie didnot concer ws personally. [Atone pointer another we al tend to we thi approach in solving problems Te natral to adopt the methods of Syrent Improvtmeat, ven ur ‘ecinial education ad our seentine Background In an age that emphases the achicvements of science, im particular the physi sciences, we have learned to regard the Scene Method and the Analycal Approach st inflibe, We now realize thatthe policy of earching fr improvements in systems, aconoeived by the approach of Systems Improvement has intent ‘stonrcommas oF svsrims iMenoveMent ‘The uecaument of systems problems by improving the opertion of exiting systems is hound to fail Systems Improvement ca work only inthe inte ‘context of sal sat with negligible interdependence wi other stems 2 condition that doe not occur very aften. The reaone forthe flue of ‘he philosophy of ystems Improvement can be waced to some ofthe flow ing. Looking for Causes of Matonetions ‘When a system matfuneton oecur, sete it natural tendency 0 look foe ‘cauet within the sytem—hat yo blame the malnction on the departre ‘of one of the sakystens from its normal behavioe. The methodology of Systems Improvement relies on the Anlyteal Approach which predicate, ‘narrowing down che cause forthe malfancton within the confines of the syptem. When dealing with a chil lack fepptite we dpe theeounes ofthe nes by atebuting i o causes ain the system, sch a too mich fod ingested earlier oa virus Tes only when the chills appetite doesnot eeover i hort order at we begin to suspect cause one hs environment that is eer systems ae bro into the pita. “The rationale of Systems Improvement tends to justify systems as ends Jn themselves without considering that a system exist only to satay the quirements of larger systems in which lf inladed A cae in point 1S provided by a syste of education in which administrators are solely ‘oncerned with reolvng internal operating problems, The Sytems In provement syndrome replaces longterm goal with immediate onc and fbecures the very reason for the sens existence. The justification for a ‘sytem of edueaton should be wo sy the demands of the community at laage and to provide job or is graduate. When the ater leave the sytem and cannot find jobs cis the stem of education that i partly at ful. ‘The eaure for ths malin cannot be atibuted ony to rate owed Within dhe sytem, such as delet of sractre or operation. The fineton ‘ust Fe diagnosed and corrected by planning the output ofthe education ‘stem in relauon the demande of other tema wih which i itera, he System Bock to Hormel Systeme Iemprovement rele on the identification of deviations berwen the fctual operation af a sytem and What is usally termed “noma” oF “sundard.” Aller thee deviations ave been pinpointed their cate ‘dented in order to corect malfunctions, The approach t curing many ‘ten problem flows this linea attack. An example provided bythe ‘olen maligned welfare mystem. A Broadbeach study of the situation reveals ‘hat trying to ole the internal problems of the system a it now ests does not provide lang effects At best, our efforts reduce the wellre rolls temporarily and, inthe proce, aft the income of many needy fans nd individu, Tatng ston cannot rer rm an improvement in the operation of preenly exiting syvems, It require a complete redesign ‘What encoded ie not another iventgation to determine how many were recipients ar “cheating” (Dat i nding out the deviations between act ‘operations and the etablbed rus or noc) inposemant of eprint ‘ia Laing inproimnt, We mst rodegn the system that provides belp 10 the dindvantaged. Present sjstems malfunctions are compounded. by ‘jolted paral changes effected on the stems and cher component What ie needed ie a complete overbul ofthe whole syatem—a new systems dein. Incest and Obsolete Assumptions and Goals 1 i not arfetched to find onpanizations in which the formulation of ‘eumptions and goals hi not been made explicit To fer stems i= ‘rovement in tht contex i seule. When standards do not ext, decion faker lack diveton and eannot determine the effecdvener of her polis. "Many of our sytem improvements are undertaken forthe wrong, rewons and lead to wluions which are worse than the seaton they were Intended to cre, Many examples f stems improvement beg fom faulty ‘Stunpdons and goss. One example isthe atempt to solve the probes Of highway congsion by building more lanes to increase capaci No ‘Sy is immune to this syndrome. When botenecks occur a wate count ‘rdeed and a decison made to enlarge the street or highray wo that more are and more trafic can create tis obvious that the ation of lanes ‘ystems nmproverent in the bet ne ofthe word, However, the iprove™ ‘nent wl beshorelived Because on wrong assumptions and goal Fora wile, more lanes relieve congestion. However, the new lanes wil oon bbe congested with mote cars, which in turn calle for more cncrele—a ‘cour ciel which will ony end ale we have paved curves ovr many {ines The rationale of th ype of improvement is grounded in song ‘nl asumplion tac are ica to change. The need for bling highway i bared on the asumption that here are not enough of them and that travelers want to ge to thei dernaion a ata posible and in a sight Tine: Thee amunpions may no longer be valid at 9 time when the inter ate system of highways ar rginaly coneived i almost complete, and nen we realize that more and wider highways do not necessary lead to Thore room onthe road. In addin, chizem have exprewed the dere for preseving seni beauty and are wing to pay more fora route chat does ‘ot api To persist “improving” the highway system isto dsregard the fee thatthe original premio on which de sytem was dasgned have Change. Improving an obolte design concept mst lead t le than the ‘ptimum sytem, Intend of trying to improve the highway stem we shoul loo fr sternativs at dhe scale of the larger sstee—that ya he seal ofthe whole transportation system. ‘Another manifestation ofthe problem of holding the incrret sumption and pursing the wrong goals Gan be ced wo diferent concept of planning And ofthe plane's ole. In one view, planing for social need it proces thac takes curent tends for granted and merely exrapolatr them to = So Ce Hees] aie | = — ‘Sr erm ‘be definitive, Many new science ike bioengineering straddle the separating Hines outlined here. Our scheme is nly designed st an aid in dering the scope of stems thinking in the spectrum of hnowledige- Placing General Stems Theory above the Specialized Scences dos not neces sarily mean that the former is more important than the later. ‘hele ‘lative poston i only represenative ofthe aaare of the rle they playin ‘the spectrum and ofthe difrences among the tes of stems which they tceat Thee difrences are elaborated below at we proceed to explain the properties and domain of eyes, ‘THE DOMAIN AND PROPERTIES OF SYSTEMS Systems properties depend on thei dain. The domain of tems i the fed over which they extend. Tecan be eased! sto whether System ae living or noliving. 2: Systems are abszact or concrete, 5: Systems are open of elon. £, Sytemsexhibie a high o low degre of entropy or disorder. Systems doplay organized simplicity, unorganized complexity, or orgeized complet. 6, Systems can be aribed & purpore 7, Feedback eis, © Syatemt are ordered in hierarchic, 9. Sytama are organized, ‘The properties and ssumptonsunderying a sptem's damain determine the scenic approach and methodology that must be employed oe dy. ving ad Notving Systeme Systems ean be clase depending on wheter they are fig or salivig Living sems are thse endowed with biological feneion auch ae bith ‘each ac reproduction. Sometimes terms sch bith and death ae sed to desde Uke process of nonlving fysemm, although wo lie in the iloges see a found a plant and anal eels necasily iid. ‘Avetract an Concrete Systems According wo Ackof, “an alta stam it one ll of whose elements ate ‘concepts. Avr gem sone a lest woof whose clements ae objects "= ‘We would like toad the qulieation tht, in a concrete stem, clementscan be objects andjor subjects. This docs not remove generally, fom Ackos definitions All abstract yatems are nnlving stems, whereas concrete systems can be living or nonlving, Physics deal with dhe structure of matter awe govern the properties of patie and bodies which ean usualy Be touched and be seen. There Coins point in deaig with the very small where te atomic physicist can nly observe partes indineiy, by tracing ther trajectories on a bubble Chamber semen at they bend around an elecuomaghetic ld. In tht “Stuston, concreteness Becomes questonable and we border onthe sbsact. "The piel sciences cannot be distinguished for oer scenes by ‘siming that they deal excuaively with concrete stems. Coneretnest ‘rtends to stems and downs inthe phyieal scenes as well a thse Pertuning tothe Me, behavioral, and sta ciencee Thus concreteness fot an eclve property of pial domain ‘Scent tu invlves abatractions of conereteysteme. Abstract systems are edt pif systems ares the whole spectrum eaciences. Fr example, ‘ve formolate mathematical models in physics as well asin anthropology, ‘lonomic and 90 on. The wee of matherascal model in General Systems “Theory and its appeal to generality explain is postion in the wxonomy of sciences which pana the eae specu, “The concepts of open aco systems introduce a very important dik ferentiation stnong them. The wade will no doubt eal that the concept of “environment” wa introduced ia Chapter 1 to describe all hove systems Sthich the analjt Weider are outside of his immediate purview. A cd TJntem ia som that har ne environment—dhat i, 0 out sates Stich inpinge on tor for which no oude stems are tobe considered. ‘hn ope system one tae hasan environment that iyi poweses other Syrc with which i relate, exchange and communicates. As wil be toted ater this ehaptes, the disinton between open and ceed stems ‘fundamental to an understanding ofthe baie tenes of General Ses “Theory. Any consideration of open stems as closed sytems, whereby the Cavitonment is purposely ovelooked, caver grave rks which must be ‘thoroughly undersond. ‘Al Living wsteme are open sytems. Nonliving stems ae lord sy tems although the adlion ofa feedback featare provides them with eran limited properties of living systems which are related to dei equ ‘Cee systems move toa wea sate of equiibram which is slely pendent on the nisl condition of the sysem. IF nial conditions change, {he ia ste state will change. According to the second law ofthermo- ‘dynamics, dhe eyater will move nthe dzeton of maximum oy, term to be eapained below In open systens the ame nal oat ay be reached fiom diferent inigal condisons due to interaction wth the environment ‘This property given the name of eal. Nonivng systems with sppeo- ‘rate edback wil end toward equllriom ster which do not depend solely onthe ntl conditions ut rather on the constrains imposed onthe ‘rem, Movement toward thi fal sate gives the nonliing stem some femblance of goubacking Behavior which & sritly reserved to lv ‘rem Therefore by vinte ofthe feedback meckantm, nonving systems lppeae to exhibit equifmalty” and “acquive some of the properties of living systems by vee of beng open." Entropy it @ measure of diorderborsowed from thermodynamics where iit {elated othe pababilty ofthe oncurrence of particular molecular arrange tment in a gas: When taatepned to cybernetics and wo General Systems "Theory, entropy refers to the amount a variety a system, where varity an be interpreted aa the amount of uncertainty prevailing in » choice Situation with many distinguishable alemativs. Eniropy, uncertainty, and dorder are related concepts as illustrated fin Figue. "22, We we the tern delim or dactiy to refer to the signieant value hich these variables acquire at he wo extremes of thee spective spectra. A system diplaye high low enteopy (arity, un Criningy, corde). To reduce the entropy ofa system i 10 reduce the ‘Snount of uncertalny that prevail. Uncertainty reduced a information fet erey son = pone = , 4 ined. Information, in the Information Theory sense, hat 8 speci reaning which i ed tothe nimber of alternative inthe syste. A simple xample wil clay the point. If ene is feed with choice among eight Sleretive simple callin wil show thatthe entropy or te uncer tainty tht exe three hit, Four choices among the eight aleratve ill reduce the uocertainyy to two bit. Another two choices will naerw the Uncertainty to two alternatives and the enopy tone bit, With galy two Aterives remaining, ene foal choice removes the uncertsngy and the entropy is reduced 1a ex. The amount of information provided ithe epee ofthe entopy that hasbeen reduced, Thee bits of iflrnation are Feqired to eliminate the uncertainty of eight alternatives. Wiener and ‘Shannon’ were istrumental in etablshing the equivalence of entopy {(enceainy) with amount of information, n he Information Thee sen ‘These concep hold a central spot in General Stems Theory similar otha hed by the concepts of free snd energy in claical phys? “These concepts canbe used to characterize living and nonlving sate, INonliving eaters (usually considered clued) tend io move toward cond Sos of higher zorder and entropy Living (and therefore open) systems are characterised ar reiting the tend ward disorder and as moving award level of higher order. General Sytems Theory explain thee tendencies by refering to (1) the procesing of information that cases a corresponding reduedon in postive entropy, and (2) the drawing of energy fom the ‘ovironment (an inreae of negaiveentrpy) which counteracts the decaying tendencies of revenble naar proces (an increase in potveeneopy).* Organized ond Unorgenzed Complesity Ling stems are systems of onnized complesty, whereas nonlving syste doplay the properties of either organiaed simplicity or wnerganized comply. “According to Rapoport and Horvath, who have made these dsinetions clear, syatana of erganied vnpliiy stem fom the etal adn of com: ‘ponents whose operation rete fom "timers chain of event each 8 Setrminate consequence ofthe preceding one. sytem without clonal Toops in te causal chain"? Complexity in this ype af system originates ‘mail fom the magnitude o teractions which must be considered son tthe numberof component ir more than the. In contrast to organized simplicity, we renguize systems that exit chaotic or rence comply. The behavior of ga fr instance, ithe ‘ent ofthe chance interaction of an infinite number of olecles the final outcome f which can be explained by the laws of tattiel mechanic and of probably The properties of ystems of unorgenaed compleiy are ‘defined in term of the parametes of probability distributions taken over tn insite number of event, Living yams diplay «type of behavior which can nt be expe ‘ther in tems of dynamic nw eating fom the summation ofthe reper tis of the parts or by the probable outcome ofan finite number of inter sions as would be found, respectively a systems of organized impliciy fnd of unorganized complet. Living sytems wmally dsplay a dleent ‘i of compleiy called erganied comply, which characterized by the cxinence of the following properties 1, In cone with systems of unorganized complesity where an infinite hnumber ef component pare are sdmiible, there are only fe ‘umber of components the stem. 2, When the ttn eBroken down int component pat the fit in reached when the total whole” or irreducible units 2 The total rem has properes of own, over and beyond shose

You might also like