3 The naming of systems

This leads to an important distinction between two ways in which the term ‘system’ is used depending on traditions and practices that we touched on in Week 2:

3.1 Commonly recognised systems

Firstly there are commonly recognised systems that are convenient to think of as existing ‘out there’. Such systems are widely acknowledged either because they are deliberately created (a stock control system, a computer system, for example); or because they are fairly discrete, naturally occurring phenomena that have long since been delineated and analysed by scientists (the nervous system and the solar system for example); or just because they are popularly referred to as systems in a vague though useful way (the legal system and the economic system are examples).

In general, such systems are based on widely shared perceptions. While this popular naming of recognised systems may be convenient and useful where the situation is merely complicated or its purpose is largely uncontroversial it can often hide the fact that the situation is very complex and that different people have very different perspectives on its purpose or indeed only have a partial view of one aspect of the wider system.

3.2 Explanatory systems

Secondly, there are explanatory systems, such as in the phrase ‘it’s the system for making the trains run on time’. The scope and components of these systems are much less clear and possibly more problematic to agree upon.

Indeed, if a system of this sort exists anywhere, it is in the mind of the individual(s) who conceives it. It is simply a particular way of thinking about selected aspects of the world and their interrelationships which is useful in relation to the individual’s concerns.

Systems of this second sort embody particular points of view and are useful to the extent that they offer some insight into what is puzzling or troublesome and by describing or ascribing a purpose to their system of interest they potentially make dealing with the complexity more tractable.

3.3 Wider systems

The third general point is that systems are nested within other, wider systems. Saying that ‘this’ is the environment, ‘this’ is the system, and ‘these’ are the sub-systems, of which the system is constituted, reflects a choice of the level at which you will work. Russian dolls, which fit snugly one inside another, provide a useful analogy. No single one of them is ‘the doll’; each one fits inside a larger one. Instead of trying to identify ‘the system’ it is more helpful to think of a hierarchy of systems which fit inside each other from which you have to select the system-level at which you will work by exploring the most relevant ones.

The use of the Russian doll analogy is an example of a set of techniques that can be used to explore complex situations, others being the use of metaphors, diagrams, and models. We can build up our view of the ‘system’ being considered by wheeling in particular representations of various recognised systems and using them to highlight the presence or absence of particular interrelationships and patterns of behaviour within our explanatory ‘system of interest’. It is as if we display the raw complexity of the complex situation on an overhead projector slide and then superimpose different sorts of ‘systems of interest’ on it as overlays, to draw attention to different aspects of the way the ‘system of interest’ works and the way the ‘system of interest’ can be perceived by other people who are interested in it.

This is important because if thinking in terms of systems is to be of any use it must involve more than mentally grouping a number of components together and calling them a system. The whole point is that these components are interrelated, so it is important to be able to grasp the ways in which they characteristically combine and interact. An understanding of these interrelationships, of how certain components ‘hang together’, is likely to provide a basis for deciding what to include in the system in the first place.

3.4 Identifying systems of interest

Activity 1 will help you to begin identifying systems of interest.

If you have difficulty seeing what is required at any step, you can refer to my attempts to answer the questions in the ‘comment’ but you will get more from them if you follow the instructions through to the end before you refer to my answers.

Activity 1 Identifying systems of interest in a complex situation

Allow approximately 15 minutes for this activity.

Identify a complex situation or recognised system involving people which you find puzzling, awkward or unpredictable. Describe it briefly and then answer the following questions:

  1. Why does it present you with a problem?
Provide your answer...
  1. Whose purposes does this system serve?
Provide your answer...
  1. What is the system for? Write at least five answers to this question and any ideas or insights which it gives you.
It is a system for … Ideas and insights
1.
Provide your answer...
2.
Provide your answer...
3.
Provide your answer...
4.
Provide your answer...
5.
Provide your answer...
  1. Do the answers you have written give you any ideas about changing the behaviour of the system?
Provide your answer...