SYSTEMS THEORY: THE STRUCTURING, CLASSIFICATION, AND ANALYSIS OF SYSTEMS
This research covers the breadth of systems theory. The focus of this review of the breadth of system theory is on the structuring, classification, and analysis of systems.
The "broadest possible definition of a system is that it is 'anything' that is not chaos" (Boulding, 1985, p. 9). Conversely, a system could be defined as "any structure that exhibits order and pattern" (Boulding, 1985, p. 9). The common definition of a system is that a system is "an aggregate of elements considered together with the relationships holding among them" (Angyal, 1991, p. 20). In this sense, a system any be considered "as any entity, conceptual or physical, which consists of independent parts" (Ackoff, 1991, p. 332).
A business organization, as an example, is both a conceptual system, and a physical system. It is a physical system, because it is a physical entity. It is not a physical system, however, within the context of physics or chemistry. The business organization is also a conceptual system, in that the behavior of its parts may be measured and controlled. The behavior within such a system "consists of a set of interdependent acts which constitute an operation" (Ackoff, 1991, p. 332).
Structures have parts, and "an important aspect of the systematic structure of things is that the relationship among its parts is an important element in the structure and behavior of any system" (Boulding, 1985, p. 11). These relationships determine how a system functions, and the functioning of a system, in turn, determines the classification of a system.
The classification of systems involves a systems hierarchy (Laszlo, 1972, p. 11). The systems hierarchy contains two types of systems classification. The first type of systems classification sorts systems according to their function, while the second type of systems classification sorts systems according to their ...