Hello, this is a summary for the third years course System Theory on the Radboud University. I included all lectures and subjects in it. It has (in my opinion) all of the important aspects of the course. Good luck studying!
Regulating systems: making sure that a system shows desired behavior despite
disturbances.
- System = a concrete unity consisting of elements and relations between those
elements showing particular behavior.
- Behavior can be activities & result of activities (effect)
- Effect = variables and values
- A variable can relate to the quantity or quality
System theory describes behavior of a system in terms of the sequence of values. This
sequence = behavior.
Elements -> human resources & technology
Relations -> Structure (how tasks are defined and related to each other)
Tasks relate human resources and technology to the behavior
Behavior is the sequence of values of a variable in the course of time
Desired behavior = The variable should be between the norm values
Undesired behavior = The variable is not between the norm values
Disturbance = the cause of undesired behavior
Regulating a system = making sure that a system shows desired behavior even though there
are disturbances.
-> device regulatory actions
-> perform regulatory actions
Recipe for regulation:
1. define the system (describe a concrete and abstract system)
2. determine desire behavior
3. determine disturbances
4. define and perform regulatory actions
Concrete / abstract system
Concrete system = concrete unity consisting of elements and relations showing particular
behavior.
Abstract system = a set of variables that you use to describe the effect of the behavior.
Complexity = defined in terms of variety ( number of elements of a set) (1,2,3, variety is 3)
The more complexity the harder it is to regulate the system
Regulatory actions deal with disturbances to create desired behavior
, You need complexity to deal with complexity means: You
need regulatory complexity (+) to deal with disturbance complexity (-).
Two types of system theory:
1. General ST = regulating all kinds of systems
2. Organizational ST = GST applied to organizations
- Understand organizations as a particular type of system
- Design organizations (infrastructure)
Organizations are social systems conducting experiments
Model of organization: 4 basic activities
1. Primary processes (products and services)
2. Operational regulation (when something goes wrong OR makes sure that PP can
continue)
3. Setting goals -> output of primary activities
4. Providing conditions -> designing infrastructure to efficiently and effectively support
these 3 activities ^.
Consisting of: (infrastructure of the organization)
- Human resources
- Technology
- Structure (the way tasks are defined and related)
Providing conditions is designing infrastructure in such a way that it efficiently and effectively
supports these activities (Design of the infrastructure)
Social systems conducting experiments:
Experiments: difficult problem -> try to think of solution (hypothesis) -> implement solution ->
monitor result
Set goals to help the organization survive
Social system: everything that happens in organizations is social interaction
Functional design principles: what an infrastructure should do for organizations to survive
Specific design principles: How infrastructure should be designed to realize this.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller esmeevanharen. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.96. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
