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Implications of systems theory in socialogy
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The origin of the word system comes from the Ancient Greek "synistanai" meaning "to bring together or combine." (2002, Washington University Press). There are many similar definitions (Appendix A) but essentially a system is a collection of organised interrelated parts/elements that function as one single entity within a boundary to achieve a specific objective.
A group of friends is an example of a system. The objective of a system is the reason it exists for this argument we will assume its objective is "Social interaction for mutual benefit". The elements that make up this system of friends would be the individual people.
The Boundary of a system is where the system ends and the environment begins. Systems usually exist in an environment and the boundary is important because it defines what elements are parts of the system and what are parts of the environment. The importance of this is more apparent in information systems. Boundaries do not necessarily need to be tangible entities such as a wall or even a national boarder. For our group of friends the boundary would be a detailed list of people who are friends'. The boundary could not be something such as language because it does not accurately define who is in the group of friends and who is not.
A Human Being is a system it contains elements such as arms, legs, muscles etc. that function as a whole to achieve an objective, which is "self preservation". The boundary of this system is the skin or outer layer.
So far only tangible things have been discussed as systems but systems do not necessarily need to be entirely tangible take information systems such as the stock market. It contains elements such as buyers and sellers not always people sometimes the buyer or seller maybe a computer acting as an agent. In any case it still contains many elements tangible and intangible that work together to achieve a specific objective. In this case the objective it "To facilitate the transfer of stocks" that is the function of the stock market.
The System properties outlined have focused on the elements or parts and their objective and boundary. Studying the parts of the system cannot lead us to a greater understanding of a system as was thought before the mid 20th century
System thinking started mud 20th century and drives away from the previous academic vies of studying
the parts to understanding the abstract whole.
Forrester, J. W. (1995). The Beginning of System Dynamics. The McKinnsey Quaterly , 4 - 16.
...the social structures in a society, and the relationship it has with the functions of the society. In understanding the system theory, it is worth pointing out on important features defining the theory. According to Luhmann, functioning differentiation is the most complex form of differentiation. Thus, functioning differentiation refers to the working of differentiated elements in a social system. Functional differentiation asserts that in system theory, there is a dependence and interdependence of various elements of a society. Social systems refer to the structural elements that make up a society. In addition, subsystems are the individual societal structures and elements that make up a social system. According to the systems theory, sub systems are instrumental in initiating communication between elements of a social structure.
...adequate use when trying to explain complex ones (Salmon 1978: 179-180). Trigger notes that the fundamental flaw of the Systems theory was that it ‘was less useful in explaining change as it was in describing it (1989: 308).
The five systems are the Chronosystem, Macrosystem, Exosystem, Mesosystems, and the Microsystems. The Microsystem is the system closest to the person and the one in which they have direct contact. The Mesosystem is the interactions between the different parts of a person’s microsystem. The Exosystem is a setting that does not involve the person as an active participant, but still affects them. The Macrosystem is the cultural environment in which the person lives and all other systems that affect them. The Chronosystem is the dimension of time in relation to a person’s development and is my favorite system out of all of them because time is what’s affecting
Three waves of systems theory were developed (Healy, 2005). The first wave, being General systems theory. General systems theory is about focussing on a more effective social order for the client,...
“When technology is seen as a combination of devices, skills, and organizational structures, it becomes natural to think of it as a system.”
Systems thinking: helps build the framework for the individuals to gain knowledge and the tools to visualize the “big picture”
social system that must be met for the system to survive and the corresponding structures that
What does it mean to be human? Sure, one must have the usual physical features such as fingers, eyes, arms, hands, feet, etc., but what does it really mean? Must the human be able to speak? To take upon the actions of themselves? Whatever it means, it can be interpreted in any way from anyone. The physical attributes of any human can be compared to those of our evolutionary ancestors. However, it is possible to believe that there are many characteristics that make a human, but only six define the true, ideal human.
“ Organizations are collectivities oriented to the pursuit of relatively specific goals and exhibiting relatively highly formalized social structures” (page 29). The rational system is a group of individuals, bound together as an organization, designed to reach predetermined goals. The rational system models sees organizations as a mechanical model. A machine that has multiple parts that also works individually but also work together for the better good of the whole. All the individuals of the group can be replaced with a new one if it doesn’t meet the standards of
The systems theory came from the whole concept of biology. The theory endeavors to understand the group as a system of interacting elements. The theory suggest that just as the body needs all its part to function effectively so do people and institutions. As a result of the interconnectivity of the systems, what happens in any part of the system affects the entire systems, both in and out. Homan states that maintaining equilibrium or balance is one of the core concerns of any system; a system acts out when it feels out of balance, when a need is felt system experiences a kind of imbalance, which leads to acti...
According to John D. Carl, “systems are considered technologies; [and] new systems offer similar opportunities and changes that new objects might bring” (Carl, J.D., 2011, p.301). Re...
System units are commonly mistaken as the Central Processing unit (CPU). System units sometimes called “computer chassis”, “base units” or “Tower cases” however are simply the housing for the integral parts of a computer. System units usual house all components of a computer excluding the monitor, Keyboard and mouse. System Units are a very simple component of the computer because they do none of the actual computing. They are usually just a square or rectangular prism made of some type of plastic or metal that hold all of the vital parts of a computer in a secure manner. Other than that there is not much to be said about the system unit.
As the workers transition from focusing on their part of their job and begin to see how their part connects to the overall system, not only have the leaders taught the workers systems thinking, the leaders also have transformed their company into a learning organization (Chan, 2015; Lee & Green, 2015). This essay is to highlight how systems thinking, learning organization, and personal mastery function together within an organization. The first part of the paper provides an in-depth comparison of systems thinking and learning organization. The last part of the paper explores the importance of personal mastery to a team and an organization.
A system has been described a set of linked components and interacting together to fulfill a common purpose. Although not all parts of a system may be working well, they can be engineered to work as desired through various interventions. Systems thinking can be applied to create sustainable solutions. Building a common purpose is a social process done by people for people which start by building shared mental models probably through accelerated learning. Learning how people thinks is very important so that appropriate learning process can be developed to suit them (Covington, 1998, p.2). Traditional approaches to problem solving are no longer valid. As such, this has called for new approaches. People...