Systems approach

For some, systems thinking is the cognitive process of studying and understanding systems of every kind. For others, the focus is on social organizations in particular.

A system may be defined in general as a set of interrelated or interacting elements. This definition accommodates both passive structures (e.g. a necklace, or the Dewey Decimal System) and active structures. However, most system theorists focus on activity systems in which structures/components interact in behaviors/processes.

In biology, a living organism is seen as a set of organs, muscles etc. that interact in processes to sustain the organism. Each cell is seen as a collection of organelles that interact in processes to sustain both the cell and the wider organism. In business, the organization is seen as a set of people and machines that interact in processes to achieve business goals.

The term general system theory was coined by Ludwig von Bertalanffy in the middle of the 20th century. General systems theory is about broadly applicable concepts and principles, as opposed to concepts and principles applicable to one domain of knowledge. Bertalanffy's ideas were picked up by others, including Ross Ashby and Anatol Rapoport, working in the fields of mathematics, psychology, biology, game theory and social network analysis.

An early focus of general system theory was on homeostatic or self-regulating systems that maintain themselves in a consistent or viable state through input/output feedback loops.

Sociological systems thinking started much earlier, in the 19th century. It may be now seen as the specialism of general system theory focused on social and business systems. Such systems are often described in terms of inputs, transformations and outputs, and feedback loops that operate (in the light of goals, stakeholders, and external influences) to make an organization healthy or unhealthy.

Systems thinking has roots in a diverse range of sources from Jan Smuts' holism in the 1920s, to the general systems theory that was advanced by Ludwig von Bertalanffy in the 1940s and cybernetics advanced by Ross Ashby in the 1950s. The field was further developed by Jay Forrester and members of the Society for Organizational Learning at MIT, which culminated in the popular book The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge, which defined systems thinking as the capstone for true organizational learning.Derek Cabrera's self-published book Systems Thinking Made Simple claimed that systems thinking itself is the emergent property of complex adaptive system behavior that results from four simple rules of thought.

...
Wikipedia