system and system metaphor

8/10/2019 System and System Metaphor

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/system-and-system-metaphor 1/29

26/08/2014

1

system concept

IND309 - PEMODELAN SISTEMJURUSAN TEKNIK INDUSTRI

UNIVERSITAS KATOLIK PARAHYANGAN

SEMESTER GANJIL 2013/2014

catharina badra nawangpalupi

References:

Daellenbach, H.G. and McNickle, D.C.,,

through systems thinking, Palgrave McMillan,New York, chapter 3

Flood, R.L. And Jackson, 1991, M.C., Creative ,

Wiley & Son, Chichester, chapter 1 2

(unless otherwise stated)



26/08/2014

2

out-there and inside-us view of systems

• different people may define the same systemin different ways, deliberately choosing what toinclude and what to exclude.

• one of the prime sources of confusion to defineta system s s w at cou e terme t e out-

there view of systems in contrast to the inside-us view of systems.

out-there and inside-us view of systems

• The “out-there view” of systems is seen as thephysical and abstract things that make up thew o e assem y, e r re a ons ps, an w athe system does. It is seen as absolute; itexists or will exist sometimes out there; it is

viewed as independent of the observer.

• When a system includes a mental construct –personal to observer – it is called the “insideus view” of system.



26/08/2014

3

system boundary andrelevant environment

boundary selection is the most critical aspect.

• It determines :

– the nature of the system transformation process– the form of the outputs

– who will benefit from the desirable outputs and

– who will suffer undesirable consequences.



26/08/2014

4

system boundary andrelevant environment

• For example: the productivity of a system operationmay be enhanced to the detriment of anotheroperation viewed as outside the system.

Is this good and intended, or on the contrary badand unintended, and why?

• Hence, we must question, in a critical sense, ourboundary judgements :

justify the boundary choices in terms of theirconsequences

an example of a systemimagine a sawmill

• A sawmill cuts up logs into a variety of products — planks,, , , .

• An industrial engineer may see a sawmill as a system forconverting raw materials in the form of various types of logsinto a wide range of different finished products, including by-products, such as off-cuts and sawdust. The aim is to

determine a facility and equipment layout and processingrules that provide an efficient and safe operatingenvironment.

• e owners o e sawm may see as a sys em orproducing a financial return on their investment.

• A management scientist (MS) may see parts of it as a systemfor cutting logs into end products intended to satisfy a givencomposition of customer demands at the lowest possible cost.



26/08/2014

5

industrial engineer

The industrial engineer takes a highly detailed view of:

• the physical characteristics of each piece ofyequipment, such as its dimensions, its maintenanceand safety requirements, its potential location, itsprocessing rates, and

• the various ways in which different pieces ofequipment may interact with each other.

industrial engineer

The inputs and outputs of the system are bothphysical (logs, products) and abstract (operatingrules, operating statistics, such as outputcapacities, bottleneck locations, etc.).



26/08/2014

6

ownerThe owner’s perspective:– a profit -generating system (more aggregate view) .

– ,mission.

– the outputs of one become the inputs into others.

Their prime concern is the effective coordination ofsubsystems’ interactions and profit and cash flows for thefirm.

owner

Profit & cash flows (abstract) : the firm’s majoroutputs and performance measures, not thepro uc s pro uces.

Inputs are: financial (funds) and abstract (policieson pricing).



26/08/2014

7

management scientist

• An MS’ perspective:– the details on the physical product flow but at a lower

– best operating rules and processing capacities derivedin the engineering study become abstract inputs into itssystem definition.

– the financial implications for all activities which are

associated with the multi-stage process of convertinglogs into finished products.

management scientist

• The input : best operating rules & processingcapacities

• The output of the system: the overall costimplications



26/08/2014

8

systems as ‘black boxes’

no or only incomplete knowledge of the inner workings of a system, because:

• the system behaviour is affected by random aspect

• the relationships between components are

only partially understood.

System as a blackbox – only knowing the inputs and outputs

functional relationshipto show a transformation process

• If the aim is to predict the output of such a systemin res onse to various in uts, we ma not have toknow the details of its inner workings.All we need to discover is the form of the functionalrelationship between inputs and outputs.

• a black box and a single functional relationship

INPUT OUTPUT



26/08/2014

9

hierarchy of systems

system behaviour 1)

• system state– prime interest to the person studying it

The behaviour of a system is completely known ifwe know how the state of the system changes over

time.

– state variables

– state of the system



26/08/2014

10

system behaviour 2)

• variety of system behaviour– The huge variety of system behaviour is another dimension

that adds complexity to decision making.

• emergent properties– the joint interaction or behaviour of the components that

form the systemthe system exhibits behaviours or properties thatnone of its components individually may exhibit

different kinds of system 1)

• discrete systemsthe state of the s stem um s throu h asequence of discrete states (not fading)

• continuous systemsthe system changes continuously

• deterministic and stochastic systems–

in every detail– stochastic: some behaviour may be affected by

random or stochastic inputs



26/08/2014

11

different kinds of system 2)

• closed and open systems – c ose sys em as no n erac ons w any

environment ( a theoretical concept)

.:: Systems defined for decision-makingpurposes are always open systems, becausethe decisions or the decision making rules areinputs into the system ::.

the steady state of a probabilistic system: a long run behaviour

stochastic systems in the long run tend tostate of equilibrium state of equilibrium

called a ‘steady state’.

the state of equilibrium is independent of thestate the s stem starts out from.



26/08/2014

12

feedback loopsbased on casuality as a system’s behaviour

(Images of toilet – courtesy of:http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior:How_Things_Work/Flush_Toilet)

A water cistern system(A: cistern level, B: inflow valve, C: inflow control,

D: flushing lever, E: outflow level, F: outflow control)

• Negative and positive feedback loopspositive feedback increases the discrepancy betweenythe future state of the system and some referencestatewhile negative feedback decreases it.

e.g.: the feedback loop for cistern A is negativefeedback – the desired target level is maximum.

Feedback loops play a central role in the control ofmost systems.



26/08/2014

13

control of systems

• Control is achieved by imposing something on

some activities in the system and thereforethe behaviour of the system in desired ways.

•

a set of decisions, or decision rules, or simplyan initial state for the system.

conditions for control of systems

1. A target, objective, or goal for the system to reach.For a deterministic system: be a particular state of thesystem.For stochastic systems it may be a desirable steadystate.

2. A system capable of reaching the target or goal.

3. Some means of influencing system behaviour.These are the control inputs: decisions, decision rules,or initial states.



26/08/2014

14

three types of control 1)

• open loop controls

inputs imposed on the system based only onthe prediction of how the system behaviourresponds to them.

- a recipe or a set of rules


• closed loop or feedback controls

a feedback control mechanism reacts to changes in somecritical state variables or outputs.



26/08/2014

15


• feed-forward control:predicts (uncontrollable orredicts (uncontrollable orcontrollable) are likely to affect system behaviour.

It sends control signals that will maintain system

behaviour as closely as possible on the desired course,counteracting the effects of input disturbances.

Naturally, feed-forward and feedback controls are oftencombined into a single control strategy



26/08/2014

16

Systemic Metaphors• Systemic metaphors employed as filters for looking

at problem situation.

• There are five metaphors to consider, i.e:– Machine metaphor

– Organic metaphor

– Neurocybernetic metaphor

– Cultural metaphor– Political metaphor

• These metaphors capture the insight of almost allmanagement and organisation theory.



26/08/2014

17

Machine Metaphor(“closed system” view)

• Typified by theories of bureaucracy (Weber) andscientific management (Taylor).

• A machine is recognized as a technical apparatusthat has several (often standardizes each with a

definite function.• Much emphasis is placed on the efficiency of the

parts.

• The machine operates in a routine and repetitivefashion and performs predetermined sets ofac v es, see n e ra ona an e c en meansof reaching preset goals and objectives.



26/08/2014

18

recall the delivery firms

pick-up and delivery firms , like courier services,.

The locations of these pick-ups and drop-offs maydiffer daily or even hourly, with new locations

added to the list of locations to visit. The vehicleused may have a limited carrying capacity. Thelength of time drivers can be on the road in oneshift may be subject to legal restrictions.

When and Why Using Machine View

• When the task to be performed is straightforward .

• repetitive productionrepetitive production .

• When the “ human parts” fit into the design and areprepared to follow machine-like commands .

• In a stable environment.

Examples: the armed forces and large franchisessuch as fast food chains.



26/08/2014

20

• The idea: the organism or organization as an “opensystem”, i.e a system as a complex network of

, ,highly organized feedback loops, existing in anenvironment from which it draws input and towhich it dispenses output.

again.. the delivery firmsThe pick up and delivery firms add some factorsto consider:

– Certain of the customers may specify a given timeperiod or ‘time window’ during which the visit must

occur.– Traffic density on various city arterial roads may vary. –

locations during the day.– Different modes of transportation for delivering

different size and shapes of goods.



26/08/2014

21

When or why using organic view• When there is an open relationship with a changing

environment

• When there are needs to be satisfied in order topromote survival

• To promote responsiveness and change

• When the environment itself is complex, containing

a variety of competitors and so on.Examples: most industrial firms in today’s turbulentenvironment.

Organic view breaks down in practice

• It neglects to recognize that the organizations aresocially constructed phenomena which must be

within them• It emphasizes harmonious relations between the

parts, when in organizations they are often

conflictual and/or coercive.• It sees change as being generated externally, as

the system adapts to its environment, and doesnot provide for proactive development.



26/08/2014

22

Neurocybernetic Metaphor(“viable system” view)

• The metaphor emphasizes active learning andcon ro ra er an e pass ve a ap a y acharacterizes the “open system” view.

• The view looks to the brain as well tried and testedcontrol system that depends upon an ability tocommunicate and learn.

• Standard c bernetic model has a transformationprocess, an information system, a control unit andan activating unit (that brings about changes).

example

• intelligent transport system (logistics)

SmartTrans e-solution technologyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkejk71wjCM&feature=related

www.smarttrans.com.au



26/08/2014

23

When or why using neurocyberneticview

• It promotes self-enquiry and self-criticism and

based on learning

• When there is a high degree of uncertainty

• It encourages creativity

Examples: autonomous work groups, innovative, .

Neurocybernetic view breaks down inpractice

• It tends to forget that the purposes of the parts

the whole• Adopting recommendations based on this

metaphor would require most organizations toundergo significant changes that would threatenthose that are favoured by the status quo; so theyw e res s e .

• It neglects to recognize that organizations aresocially constructed phenomena.



26/08/2014

24

Culture Metaphor

• A culture refers to various sharedcharacteristics at all levels of– organizations: societal, corporate, group, etc.

– national : language, religion, history, and amutual sense of belonging.

– firm: reality, a socially constructed reality (ofvalues and beliefs ,

recall the mission statement construction

It seems that in today’s world no organization is viewed as responsible andsuccess-oriented without having a formal ‘mission statement’. Now mostor anizations rominentl exhibit a mission statement of what the are allabout. It is proudly shown as a framed document in the CEO’s office & onthe organization’s website.

Producing a meaningful mission statement is a rather difficult project. Ithas to be relevant for the purpose of the organization, set achievable goals

that can be measured and, most importantly, get the active cooperation ofits members.

The trouble is that even in an a priori like minded group of people there willbe conflicts and differences in preference about the aims they would likethe organization to pursue and their vision for its future, as well as howthey see their own role in that scheme.



26/08/2014

26

• It offers a new perspective on organizationalchange (i.e instead of focusing exclusively on

y u u , u u vwould also emphasize changing the perceptionsand values of employees).

• Examples: high technology Japanese firm,

competitive individualism in American companies.

Cultural view breaks down in practice

• It may lead to explicit ideological control that willgenerate feelings of manipulation, resentment, and

.• Culture is something that takes time to evolve and

cannot be swept into established groups overnight.• When political in-fighting characterizes

organizational life.• It does not tell managers how to structure complex

organization.



26/08/2014

27

Political Metaphor• The metaphor applied to problem situations looks

at relationships between individuals and groups asv v v u u w

• There are three contrasting view on the characterof any political situation, i.e: unitary, pluralist, andcoercive.

• The metaphor focuses on issues of interests,con c an power.



26/08/2014

28

When or why using political view• It highlights all organizational activity as interest

based and emphasizes the key role of power inu , u

power at the centre of all organizational analysis.

• It encourages recognition of the organizationalactor as political for both motivational and

structural reasons.

Political view breaks down in practice

• When explicit recognition of the politics of thesituation leads to further politicization and

enera es m s rus .

• It may over-emphasize the need to handle politicalissues at the expense of other factors which are

essential to organizational health.



26/08/2014

29

in a group of 3Consider the operation of a copy center (document center) around theuniversity. The center rents the kiosk/stall from the owner.

So, the copy center has customers, owner, staff and the owner of thebuildin g.

Identify a possible:

relevant world view of the observer

the system transformation process

its mission or objectives

its measures of performance , , , ,

and the explicit and implicit boundary judgements made,

from the point of view of the above stakeholders

WHAT METAPHOR DO YOU USE IN OBSERVING THIS SYSTEM?

system and system metaphor

Documents