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{{a| | {{a|systems|}}{{quote|''If you had a population that were miserable and restless because they had nowhere bearable to live, the preferred solution seemed not to be spending money on improving their conditions, but on hiring more police in case things turned ugly.'' | ||
{{author|Alan Moore}}, {{br|Jerusalem}}}}[[Systems theory]] eschews the reductionist, deterministic, “[[normal science|scientific]]” disposition and views the world in terms of inter-operating systems. That is to say, it treats the ordinary interactions of life as [[complex]] and not merely [[complicated]] problems to solve; as interactions of and between systems. System interactions are necessarily complex in that they are not finite, they are [[non-linear]], and the rules of engagement nor information about the system are neither complete, coherent nor static. | |||
Systems are comprised of stocks, flows, and feedback loops. Good primer is {{author|Donella H. Meadows}}’ {{br|Thinking in Systems}}. | |||
===Complexity Theory=== | |||
Organisational systems can be [[Simple system|simple]], [[Complicated system|complicated]] or [[Complex systems|complex]]. Best you know which one yours is. Differentiate between the ''type of system'' and ''how to manage that system''. So: | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
! {{header left}} System !! {{header left}} System characteristics !! {{header left}} How to manage !! {{header left}} Example | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
| '''[[Simple system]]'''|| Static process. Requires a series of steps. No interaction. Little if/then logic. Fixable (and best handled) by [[algorithm]]. || ''Unskilled'' application of algorithm. Suitable for [[Chatbot|machine]] production. || Bake a cake. | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
| '''[[Complicated system]]'''|| Bounded interactive process: Involves interaction with an autonomous/uncontrollable agent but boundaries are fixed, and rules of engagement are static fully specified, known to all participants. All relevant information is available to all participants. || ''Skilled'' application of algorithm. Suitable for autonomous operation by [[subject matter expert]]. || [[Chess]] or [[Go]]. | |||
|- style="vertical-align: top;" | |||
| '''[[Complex system]]'''|| Unbounded, interactive process. Involves interaction with automonous agents without boundaries, without pre-agreed rules, and where information is limited and asymmetric. Rules, boundaries and each participant’s objectives are dynamic and change interactively. Impossible to predict. || Requires expertise, experience, autonomy, imaginative adaptability, [[heuristics]], and the ability to make, adjust and reject provisional conclusions as information changes. || Financial market. Manufacturing process. Air traffic control system. | |||
|} | |||
===[[Simple system]]s=== | ===[[Simple system]]s=== | ||
{{simple capsule}} | {{simple capsule}} | ||
====Examples==== | ====Examples==== | ||
*A cake recipe | Common [[simple system]]s and what happens when they go wrong: | ||
*(theoretically) | *A cake recipe: cake doesn’t rise. | ||
*(theoretically) A negotiation [[playbook]], with comprehensive escalation procedures (it’s really a disguised [[complicated system]]) | |||
===[[Complicated system]]s=== | ===[[Complicated system]]s=== | ||
{{complicated capsule}} | {{complicated capsule}} | ||
====Examples==== | ====Examples==== | ||
*Music performance | Common [[complicated system]]s and what happens when they go wrong: | ||
*Chess, Go, Poker, Bridge | *Music performance: flying rotten cabbages; no encore. | ||
*Chess, Go, Poker, Bridge: other guy wins. | |||
===[[Complex system]]s=== | ===[[Complex system]]s=== | ||
{{complex capsule}} | {{complex capsule}} | ||
====Examples==== | ====Examples==== | ||
Common [[complex system]]s and what happens when they go wrong: | |||
*Nuclear power plant: Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Fukushima | *'''Nuclear power plant''': Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Fukushima | ||
*The environment (and any naturally selecting ecosystem, really): Covid-19; global warming | *'''The environment''' (and any naturally selecting ecosystem, really): Covid-19; global warming | ||
*Air traffic control system: Name your air crash but two classics are Air New Zealand’s Mount Erebus disaster and ValuJet 592 [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1998/03/the-lessons-of-valujet-592/306534/ This is a ''fantastic'' article about the latter]. | *'''Air traffic control system''': Name your air crash but two classics are Air New Zealand’s Mount Erebus disaster and ValuJet 592 [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1998/03/the-lessons-of-valujet-592/306534/ This is a ''fantastic'' article about the latter]. | ||
*Financial markets: Take your pick: [[LTCM]], [[Enron]], [[Global Financial Crisis]] | *'''Financial markets''': Take your pick: [[LTCM]], [[Enron]], [[Global Financial Crisis]] | ||
*The world wide web | *The world wide web: | ||
{{sa}} | {{sa}} | ||
*[[Complexity]] | *[[Complexity]] | ||
{{ref}} | {{ref}} | ||