L

Learning
i Objectives
Obj ti
After learning this topic
topic, you should be able to explain:
1. How to define systems and see what is so special
about
b
them
h
and
d what
h differentiated
diff
i d them
h
from
f
a
mere collection of parts.
2. How system behaviour can be described and
introduces the important concepts of emergent
properties systems.
y
3. The various classifications of systems.
4. The control of systems to achieve certain desired
goals.
goals

SYSTEMS CONCEPTS

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Pervasiveness of Systems (1/2)

Systems Concepts

Pervasiveness of Systems (2/2)

The term system

y
was hardly
y used.
This is rather surprising, since we are constantly
surrounded by systems, belong to various systems, and
create new systems.
The planet Earth we live on is a part of the solar system.
system
Our whole life is spent, shaped, controlled by social
systems like the family,
systems,
family the neighbourhood,
neighbourhood the school,
school
our work place, and various interest groups we join,
participate in,
in and droup out of
of.
Some of us exploit political systems or are frustrated by
them.
them
Life without a telephone system would be difficult to
i
imagine.
i e
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Systems Concepts

In high
g school or university
y we learn about number
systems.
Modern management practices would collapse without
information systems.
We expect our rights to be protected by the legal
system.
When our digestive system strikes,
strikes we suffer.
suffer
Indeed, the most important part of us, which
differentiates us from other animals
animals, is our brain,
brain part of
our central nervous system.
System is an organized assembly of interrelated things
3

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Defining Systems (2/3)

Defining Systems (1/3)

Inside us View of Systems

Inside-us
If we see that different people may define the same
system
system in different ways,
ways deliberately choosing what to
include and what to exclude.
The choice of what to include or exclude will largerly
depend on what the person viewing something as a
system intends to do with this definition,
definition i.e.,
i e the
purpose of a particular system.
The system is now not seen as existing independently of
the observer anymore; it is not out there; it has become
a mental construct,
construct personal to the observer this is
the inside-us view of systems.

Out-There View of Systems

One of the p
prime sources of confusion when callingg an
organized assembly of things a system is what could be
termed the out-there view of systems
y
in contrast to the
inside-us view of systems.
If the system is seen as the physical and abstract things
that made up the whole assembly, their relationships,
and what the system
y
does this is the out-there view off
systems.
It is seen as absolute; it exists out there; it is viewed as
independent of the observer (Objective view)
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Defining Systems (3/3)

Systems as a Human Conceptualization
The inside-us view of systems is important. System are
recognized as human conceptualization.
conceptualization They do not exist per se.
se
It is only the human observer that may view something as a
system
y
The point that system are recognized as human conceptualization
y driven home by
y the fact that majority
j y of systems
y
we,, as
is clearly
analysts, conceive are not our personal view of some real
assembly of things out there in the real world.
They are mental conceptualizations of things that do not exist
yet, things we plan to realize, or views of major planned changes
to an existing
i i operation,
i
still
ill to be
b implemented.
i l
d

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Subjectivity of Systems Description (1/2)

The way an individual views a situation is affected by factors
hi hl personall to that
highly
h individual.
i di id l
World view of observer
These personal factors are such things as the upbringing,
p
cultural and social background, education, practical
experience, and values or beliefs of individual.
ffe off p
previous
e
knowledge
e ge
Effect
What we perceive or observe may be strongly influenced by
what we already know.
Systems definitions are subjective
It is important for you to recognize that other people,
people
looking at the same thing as a system, may not share your
definition.
definition
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10

Subjectivity
b
of Systems Description (2/2)
( / )
Thi
This is
i an important,
i
t t one definition
d fi iti cannott be
b labelled
l b ll d
right or valid and another one wrong or invalid.
As long
l
as each
h is
i logically
l i ll consistent,
i
each
h one is
i valid
lid
for the person making it.
This is an important aspect of systems thinking that
may be difficult for the novice to accept.
However, systems thinking is not a matter of black-and
white, but of shades of grey.

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12

Systems Descriptions (1/2)

F
Formal
lD
Definition
fi iti off Th
The C
Conceptt S
System
t
The crucial
Th
i l ingredients
i
di t off a system
t
are
Its components,
The relationships between the component organized
The behaviour or the activities or the transformation
process of the system,
Its environment,
The inputs from the environment,
The outputs to the environment,
environment and
The special interest of the observer the purpose of
studying
t d i a system
t
various
i
measures off performance
f

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13

Systems Descriptions (2/2)

Systems Concepts

A
Arbitrariness
bit i
off system
t
d
description
i ti
There is a significant degree of arbritrariness in how a
system is
i defined,
d fi d where
h
its
i boundary
b
d
is
i placed,
l d and
d the
h
level of detail or resolution used.

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14

S t
Systems
as Bl
Black
kB
Boxes (1/2)
The complexity of real life may be such that we have no
or only incomplete knowledge of the inner workings of
y
, even if we are able to identify
y the physical
p y
a system,
components.
Often the major reason for this lack of knowledge is
that the systems behavior is affected by random aspects
For the lay observer it looks like one of those black
control boxes, with lots of wires into and out of the
box, but no way of knowing what happens inside.
All we need
d to di
discover is
i the
h form
f
off the
h functional
f
i
l
relationship between inputs and outputs.

Identify all of the elements for each of the following

systems:
1. A traffic system
2 A motor vehicle
2.
3. A sawmill
4 The
4.
Th sawmill
ill as a profit
fit maximizing
i i i system
t
5. The sawmill operation as a cost minimizing system

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Level of resolution in system description

The purpose of studying a system strongly influences the
level of detail or the degree of resolution used for
representing the various components, the systems
inputs and outputs.
outputs

15

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16

Hierarchy of Systems (1/2)

Systems as Black
l k Boxes (2/2)
( / )

The p
purpose
p
of viewingg somethingg as a system
y
strongly
g y affects
what aspects should be included as part of the system and what
aspects are more appropriate placed into the environment, in
other words, where to choose the boundary of the system.

In other situations the transformation process is known

exactly.
However, rather than represent it in full detail, it may
be perfectly adequate to view the inner working as a
black box and simply express the various activities of
the transformation process by a single functional
relationship.
l i hi
For example, the subsystem for the conversion of logs
into finished products in the sawmill profit maximizing
system.

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For example: the two systems for the sawmill, i.e., a profit
making
ki system
t
and
d the
th costt minimization
i i i ti system.
t
The value of stocks of the logs available and maintained are a
component for the profit maximizing system,
system but become an
input for the cost minimization system.
The cost minimization system
y
is completely
p
y contained in the
profit making system.

This nesting of systems within systems within systems is

referred to as a hierarchy of systems.

17

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The containing system becomes the environment of the

contained system.
The containing system exercises some control over the
contained system.
The controlling system may set the objectives of the contained
system, monitor how well it achieves these objectives, and
have control over some of the crucial resources needed by
contained system for performing its mission.
mission
The controlling system is ten referred as the wider system of
interest while the contained system becomes the narrow
interest,
system of interest.
For example
example, if the sawmill cost minimizing system is the
narrow system of interest, then the sawmill profit maximizing
y
is its wider system
y
of interest.
system
Systems Concepts

18

System Behaviour (1/5)

Hierarchy of Systems (2/2)

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19

The behaviour of a system

y
is completely
p
y known if we
know how the state of the system changes over time.
The state of the system is the set of values assumed by
all state variables as of a given point in time.
When we start observing the system the initial values
of these state variables are inputs.
They change their value in either of two ways:
1. The change in a state variable is the results of an input
provided by the person who has means of affecting the
behaviour of the system.
2 The change in a state variable of a component is a
2.
consequence of the activity of the component itself or of
p with other components.
p
the relationship

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20

System Behaviour (2/5)

System Behaviour (3/5)

Variety of System Behaviour
In real life systems studies we are rarely interested in the
minute details of the system behaviour.
Our concern is rather with the aggregate or average behaviour
of the system.
These summary state variables are especially introduced to
monitor the performance of the system as a whole or of
various subsystems of it.
For example: in the road network the traffic engineer is hardly
interested in the movement of every vehicle, but rather with
15 minute or half-hour averages of the capacity uses or the
traffic
ffi delays
d l
along
l
certain
i road
d segments and
d road
d
intersections over the course of a given day, such as a typical
S t d
Saturday.

For example:
F
l the
th road
d network
t
k as a traffic
t ffi system.
t
The state variable for each road segment and road
connection
i is
i whether
h h it
i is
i open or closed.
l d
The state of variables for a car consists of its location,
its direction of travel, and its speed of travel.
At any
y point
p
in time each state variable has a given
g
numerical value (speed and geographical coordinates
for two of the car state variables) or categorical value
(open or closed for the road segment state variable).

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21

System Behaviour (4/5)

Systems Concepts

Systems Concepts

22

System Behaviour (5/5)

The system exhibits behaviours or properties that none

if its components individually may exhibit.
Such behaviours or properties are new or different from
the behaviours or properties of the individual
components.
They only emerge from the joint interaction or
behaviour of the components that form the system.
system
Such properties are called Emergent Properties
This
Thi iis often
f
summarized
i d by
b the
h whole
h l is
i greater than
h
the sum of its part.
Systems are often created or formed in order to produce
desired emergent properties.
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23

For example:
p the various subsystems
y
that make up
pa
sawmill, each one viewed by itself, are not capable of
producing a profit.
Only if their individual activities are properly
coordinated does the p
potential for producing
p
g a profit
p
emerge.
Again
g
thiss iss a p
planned
e eemergent
e ge p
property.
ope y.
Unfortunately, all to often emergent properties are not
desirable or even planned,
planned such as in these examples:
the Aswan High Dam, the deterioration of urban
transport, or the effects of the traditional method of
assessing machine efficiencies.
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24

24

Different Kinds of Systems (1/5)

Different Kinds of Systems (2/5)

In practice, rather than observe a continuous system in a
continuous manner, its state is observed and recorded only
at regular discrete points in time, say, every n minutes.
The closer consecutive recordings are in time, the more
accurately the systems actual behaviour is approximated.

Discrete Systems
The state of the system jumps through a sequence of
discrete states ((binary
y or integer
g value))
For example: the telephone betting system, a predator
system,
y
, the loom repair
p system.
y
Continuous Systems
The state of system changes continuously.
continuously
Since the state variables are continuous variables, the
number of possible states is infinitely large
large, even if each
variable may be restricted to a small range of values.
For example: many industrial processes,
processes particularly,
particularly in
chemical and petro-chemical plant.
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Deterministic Systems
If the behaviour of a system
y
is p
predicable in every
y detail
the system.
For example: the trajectory of every planet, animated neon
advertising signs that go through a regular pattern, a
sequence
q
of traffic lights
g
alongg one-way
y street is set at a
fixed pattern during certain hours of the day.

25

Different Kinds of Systems (3/5)

Systems Concepts

Systems Concepts

26

Different Kinds of Systems (4/5)

Stochastic Systems
If the
h behaviour
b h i
off a system is
i not completely
l l predicable.
di bl
Some behaviour may be affected by random or stochastic
inputs.
For example: the point of time when a machine breakdown
occur.
Closed Systems
System does not receive anything from its environment,
nor does it give out anything to its environment.
It has no inputs and outputs.
A closed system
y
has no interactions with any
y environment.
In real life there exist no truly closed systems.
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27

The concept of a closed system is a theoretical or laboratory

concept.
It is used to observe systems under experimental conditions,
eliminating as far as possible any interactions with its
environment.
Its only input is the initial state of the system.
Hence, it must be deterministic.

Open Systems
Systems
y
defined for decision makingg p
purposes
p
are always
y
open systems, since by definition the decisions or the
decision making rules are inputs into the system.
Stochastic systems are also open systems, since the factors
that introduce the randomness in the behaviour are the result
of outside forces or events
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28

Different Kinds of Systems (5/5)

Control of Systems (1/10)

The Steady State of a Probabilistic System

The stochastic system may exhibit some remarkable
and
d surprising
s
isi characteristics
ch cte istics in
i its behaviour.
beh io
It may reach the same final states of the systems.
The final state may in fact be an equilibrium or a
steady state that is independent of the state the system
started out from.
It is a long run average behaviour, such as the
cumulative average number of lines busy in a telephone
exchange or the cumulative average number of
machines down in a pool of identical machines.

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29

Three conditions are needed for exercising control over

system behaviour:
1. A target objective, or goal for the system to reach.
2. A system capable of reaching the target or goal.
3 Some means for influencing the system behaviour.
3.
behaviour
These are the control inputs (decisions, decision rules,
)
or initial states).
There are three types of controls:
1. Open loop controls
2 Closed loop controls
2.
3. Feed forward controls
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Systems Concepts

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30

Control of Systems (3/10)

C
Control
l off Systems
S
(2/10)

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Our reason for viewing something as a system is

usually in view of controlling its behaviour.
Control inputs are exercised by imposing something
on the system
y
in the form of inputs
p a set of decisions,,
or decision rules, or simply an initial state for the
system that will affect some activities in the system
and therefore the behaviour of the system in desired
ways.

31

31

Open Loop Controls

Inputs imposed on the system based only on the prediction
of how
o
ow the
t e syste
system be
behaviour
av ou responds
espo ds to them.
t e .
For example: in the sawmill cost minimizing system, the
p will be in the form of a schedule of very
y
control inputs
detailed cutting patterns to apply for each log to be
processed.
Closed Loop Controls
Under this type
yp of control, information about the system
y
behaviour, possibly in response to previous control inputs,
is feed back to the controller for evaluation.
This may lead the controller to adjust the control signals.

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32

Control of Systems (4/10)

C t l off Systems
Control
S t
(5/10)

For example:
p how most people
p p control the temperature
p
of the shower water.
In system terms, the controller supplies some initial
control inputs to the feedback control mechanism.
Uncontrolled
system
inputs

Self
Regulation
system
reaction

System
Outputs

System
transformation
process

System
Outputs

System
transformation
process

System
p
inputs

New
state of
system

Feedback loop

Control
inputs;
decision
rules

Control
mechanism

New
state of
system

Self Regulation
Self regulation returns
a natural system to its
equilibrium.
The rule ggoverningg
self-regulation are
internal, a result of
natural evolution.

Closed loop control or

Feedback control loop
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33

Control of Systems (6/10)

Systems Concepts

Systems Concepts

34

C t l off Systems
Control
S t
(7/10)

Negative and Positive Feedback Loops

A positive feedback increases the discrepancy between the
future state of the system and some reference state, such as an
equilibrium state or some desired target state the system
state tends to deviate more and more, from its reference state.
Positive feedback tends to lead to instability.
A number of theoretical examples, particularly from
mathematics
h
i and
d economics,
i exhibit
hibi positive
i i feedback.
f db k
A negative feedback decreases the discrepancy between the
f
future
state and
d the
h reference
f
state.
In fact, self regulation in biological and ecological systems is
as a rule
l based
b d on negative
ti feedback.
f db k
This returns such systems to their natural state of equilibrium.
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35

Feed-Forward Control
A feedback control mechanism reacts to changes in
some critical state variables or outputs.

Rather than react to events after they

y have happened,
pp
,a
feed-forward control mechanism predicts how changes
in uncontrollable inputs are likely to affect system
behaviour and they sends control signals that will
maintain system behaviour as closely as possible on the
desired course, thereby counteracting the effects of
input disturbances.

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36

Control of Systems (8/10)

C t l off Systems
Control
S t
(9/10)

For example: most successful firm attempt to forecast

future economic and demand trends in order to take
advantage of growth opportunities or avoid potential
disaster due to an economic downturn.
Naturally,
Naturally feed-forward
feed forward and feedback controls are often
combined into a single control synergy.
Response
R
Lags
L
in
i Systems
S t
The time delay between the moment when the control
signals
i
l are applied
li d and
d their
h i effects
ff
have
h
taken
k full
f ll effect
ff
is called lag.

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Systems Concepts

For example: an increase in the production level may

take considerable time before it results in increased
deliveries from the factory
factory, and even considerably more
until it finally leads to an increase in sales from the retail
outlets.
outlets
Such a lag is a transport lag.
Most
M t feedback
f db k loops
l
are also
l subject
bj t to
t a transport
t
t lag.
l
By the time the information on the state of the system
h been
has
b
processed
d by
b the
h controll mechanism
h i that
h
information may already be out-of-date, hence the need
f feed-forward
for
f df
d controls.
t l

37

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38

Exercises:

C t l off Systems
Control
S t
(10/10)
A second kind of lagg of ggreat importance
p
is the exponential
p
lag.
The effect of the control signals is immediate, but gradual
in terms of its size.
Stochastic system tend to approach their steady state
asymptotically.
This is an example of an exponential lag response.
response
The response of a system to control signals may exhibit
both a transport lag as well as an exponential lag.
lag
Response lags also occur as a consequence of noncontrollable
t ll bl inputs,
i
t such
h as the
th traffic
t ffi flow
fl
response lags
l
as
the input of vehicles into the network increases or decreases
d i certain
during
ce t i times
ti es of the d
day.

Consider the operations

p
at a bank as a system.
y
Identify its inputs including control inputs, its major
components,
p
, the systems
y
transformation process,
p
, its
outputs, its mission or objectives and its measure of
p
performance.
Give an example of a hierarchy of bank system.
List some of the state variables used to define the state of
bank system.
Give example of emergent properties in a bank system.
system
Give example for each type of system (discrete, cont
Identify the type of control/regulation mechanism present
in a bank system.
Identify the types of lags found in a bank system.

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39

Systems Concepts

40

Reference
y Daellenbach, H.G., 1994, Systems and Decision
Making: A Management Science Approach, John
Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chapter 3.

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41