up until now we've been talking
primarily about the internal working of
systems but in this section we will
start to present models for
understanding systems within the context
of the broader environment that they
operate
in the first thing we need to discuss is
what is called the systems boundary the
system's boundary demarcates a limit to
the system's internal components and
processes internal to its boundary the
system has some degree of Integrity
meaning the parts are working together
and this Integrity gives the system a
degree of autonomy but that is all quite
abstract so let's take some
examples if we take a tree for example
every part of the tree has been designed
in some way to function as a part of the
entire system the bark the leaves and
trunk all serve some function with
respect to the whole and thus they are
integrated and through this integration
they are able to function independently
from other systems in their environment
thus the leaves in a tree are dependent
upon the tree's trunk and all other
elements to that tree but they are
independent from the leaves and Trunks
of other trees that is to say the tree
as an entirety has a degree of
autonomy A System's boundary is then
demarcated by where the next of
relations that enable it to function as
an integrated and autonomous whole reach
their limit Beyond this the system loses
its autonomy and has to interact with
other systems and its
environment the boundary to a nation
state is another example of this the
nation's border is only a boundary if
within this boundary public functions
are integrated within the national
system as an entirety and by the nation
functioning as a whole it can be
autonomous from other
nations if one region of this nation has
a different culture from that of its
parent Nation instead sharing its
Heritage with a neighboring country this
will reduce the internal Integrity of
the nation its autonomy to act as an
entirety and reduce the degree of
definition to its
boundary these examples should hopefully
help to illustrate that boundaries may
have a physical Dimension but can't
always be defined in physical terms if
we want to be able to achieve sufficient
generality to talk about all types of
systems which we should remember is the
aim of systems theory then we need to
understand boundaries within this
slightly more abstract language of
integrity and
autonomy within the language of systems
theory systems are said to be open or
closed open systems interface and
interact with their environment by
receiving receiving inputs and
delivering outputs external to their
boundary these boundaries are permeable
meaning that they may permit the
exchange of materials Energy Information
or
ideas conversely closed systems are more
prone to resist incorporating new inputs
in this resistance at their boundary
makes them more strongly defined by the
static properties of the boundary by not
adopting inputs a Clos system ceasing to
properly serve a function within its
environment may become deemed
unnecessary to its parent environment
and risks
atrophy an isolated system is more
restrictive than a closed system as it
does not interact with its surroundings
in any way the universe as an entirety
might be an example of an isolated
system but it is debatable as to whether
such a construct could exist in
reality so let's take a few quick
examples of open and closed systems to
try and cement the idea a hospital is an
example of an open system continuously
taking in new patients and discharging
others receiving medical equipment and
removing old hiring new Personnel whilst
retiring others this rate of input and
output to open systems make them dynamic
they are constantly changing and have to
respond to the changes within their
envir
environment an example of a closed
system might be a boat on the sea it is
specifically designed not to take in
water from the oceanic environment it is
part of another example might be a group
of teenage friends in a public park
engrossed within the internal cultural
dynamics of their peer group they are
capable of receiving only a very limited
input of Impressions from their broader
environment finally we get to the
systems environment all systems have a
boundary and operate within an
environment this environment represents
the sum total of other systems and input
output resources that the system
interacts with during its operation thus
the environment consists of the sum
total of resources and systems that lie
outside of the boundary of the system of
interest and interact with it providing
its inputs and consumes its
outputs from this we should note that A
System's environment is primarily
relative to its functioning so a
biological system that requires the
input and output of Natural Resources
operates within the natural environment
a business or enterprise system that
requires the input of economic resources
operates within a given Market
environment and the political system of
a Nation operates within the
international political
environment we will wrap up here and
continue our discussion in the next
section where we will be talking about
the relations between elements and
systems