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Briefing paper on

The systems approach and systems thinking

Systems thinking draws on a body of theory and practice first developed toward the
end of the 19th century and into the first half of the 20th century. The past 50 years
have resulted in literature and a theoretical base which has established itself as
systems theory. Systems thinking is widely applied and entrenched in the natural
sciences, for example with regard to ecological systems, and in biology with the
understanding of the human body as a system. In sub-atomic physics, particles
exist /can be observed only in relation to something else; they cannot exist in
isolation. It has also been applied in relation to families, in family systems theory, with
individuals as the subsystems and the family as the system.

The application of systems thinking to the sphere of organisational development,

management theory and social science, has happened more recently; but now forms
the cornerstone of, for example, the theory and practice of learning organisations and
the Gestalt approach to organisational development.

A system is defined by the interrelationship of all its constituent parts, with each part
needing all of the others to function effectively. Here are some major principles of the
systems perspective:

A system is a number of relationships in action

A system is defined by its purpose, the function or role within the supra-
system within which it exists
All parts of the system are interrelated with all other parts, meaning that
change in any part or component will reverberate and affect all other parts;
internal feedback systems will cause ripples throughout the system until a
steady state is once more established
Systems function to maintain a steady state or balance (principle of
homeostasis), and eliminate the cause of imbalance; this steady state includes
a capacity for development and change as well as stability
All living systems are open systems: with permeable boundaries permitting
the exchange of information / energy / materials with the environment
In order to survive, a system must interact with both its immediate and total
environments (the supra-system and higher)
Any system exists in relation to other systems, i.e. as part of a supra-system
and with its own sub-systems; in this hierarchy a system is affected more by
change at the supra-system level than in one of its sub-systems
The interconnectedness of systems means that the concept of a single cause
or single result is not possible, rather that there are many possibilities and
processes of arriving at a result (principle of equifinality).
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If a larger system is operating at its optimum level, it follows that the

component system will not be operating optimally, and vice versa (principle of
sub-optimisation).1

The value of applying systems thinking to work with organisations, institutions,

groups, and teams, lies in offering a perspective beyond the specific issue or
problem, in order that aspects of this may be understood in terms of interrelations
with other levels of system. In many cases an intervention to address the issue or
problem may be successful if made at another level of system, and not at the level in
which it is most markedly manifesting. Organisational groupings often lose sight of
their relatedness to larger systems, and indeed their dependence on these systems;
an intervention which focuses on the boundary between systems and the exchange
of energy at that boundary may open up horizons and result in shifting perspectives
and negative mental models. Systems thinking enables us to see how a problem in
an organisation can manifest itself at many different levels (at the level of
management, teams in the workforce) reinforcing and regenerating itself; it offers the
choice as to at which level an intervention would be most powerful, instead of treating
issues in isolation.

Systems theory practitioners frequently make use of the term levels of system, as in
the outline above. Here are some examples of levels of system:
Individual (intrapersonal)
Interpersonal
Sub-group
Group
Larger group
Whole system.

Work (as a result of individual therapy, or OD intervention, for example) at each level
would involve examining the boundaries of each, and boundary activity, in relation to
the larger and smaller interconnected systems, as well as the defining and
determining characteristics of each which make it different and similar to the others. A
boundary of a system needs to be considered as a process rather than a structure,
and is paradoxically a limiting as well as permeable feature; it is essentially a site of
change.

Organisational development practitioners working with systems thinking have

attempted also to identify standard systems in an organisation, for example
Goal subsystem: goals or objectives making up the organisations mission
Human or social subsystem: the people in the organisation, how they work
together, their roles and relationships
Technical or technological subsystem: tools, machines, procedures, methods,
technical knowledge.
Task subsystem: the system of small units of tasks and and subtasks needed
to produce the end product.
Administrative subsystem: the communication system by means of which
information flows in the organisation
Strategic subsystem: the management aspect of the organisation.

1 These principles are taken from handouts given to participants in the Gestalt Institute of
Clevelands course in Organisation and Systems Development (International Program 1995-6).
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Structural subsystem: consists of units, departments, services and divisions

grouped according to tasks and workflow design
External interface subsystem: the environmental context in which the
organisation operates, from which it draws resources, and to whose demands
it responds.
Examples of the interconnectedness of the systems is as follows: the technical
subsystem is largely determined by the goal subsystem; the task subsystem is
dependent upon the technical subsystem; the integration between the technical and
social subsystems form a traditional focus for improving productivity, the strategic
subsystem overlaps with the human/social subsystem.2

Further reading:

Albrecht, K. 1983. Organization development: a total systems approach to positive

change in any business organization. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Bertalanffy, Ludwig von. 1968. General system theory: foundations, development,

applications. New York: G. Braziller. 295 p. ISBN 0807604526/0807604534. Also
London: Allen Lane/Penguin, 1971. 311 p. ISBN 0-7139-0192-6. Also
Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973. 311 p. ISBN 0140600043.

Capra, Fritjof. 1983. The turning point: science, society and the rising culture.
London: Fontana Flamingo. 516 p. ISBN 0006540171; also New York: Bantam
Books. 464 p. ISBN 0553345729.

Capra, Fritjof. 1996. The web of life: a new synthesis of mind and matter. London:
Harper Collins. 320 p. ISBN 0002554992; also London: Flamingo. 320 p.
ISBN0006547516.

French, W.L. and Bell, C. H. 1990. Organization development: behavioural sceince

interventions for organization improvement. 4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-
Hall.

Hallowes, David. 1997. Back to earth: OD, Systems and the environment. OD
debate: reflecting on organisations and development 4 (5): 8-11. Durban, South
Africa: Olive Subscription Service. ISSN 1025-1073.

Mindwalk. [a feature film based on The turning point by Fritjof Capra].1990. Directed by
Bernt Capra. Produced by Adrianna A: J. Cohen. Starring John Heard, Sam
Waterson and Liv Ullman.

2 This is taken from a summary of the work of Albrecht (1983) and French and Bell (1990) given in Philip G.
Hanson and Bernard Lupins Answers to questions most frequently asked about organization development,
pp.53-56 (Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage, 1995. ISBN 0-8039-5204-X).