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Back to: Business Management

What is Systems Thinking?

Traditional thinking assumes that the parts of an organization are independent of the whole. Systems thinking recognizes that organizations are intricate systems of interconnected parts – each of which has an effect and relationship to others.

There are two types of system:

  • Closed system – Closed systems function independently of the external environment.
  • Open system – Open systems continuously exchange information, material, and resources with the environment.

System openness is generally understood to be a relative state. That is, it can change. This is particularly true within organizations.

There are also sub-systems within a system that have smaller purposes within a larger system. As such, there are various levels of systems operating independently.