System

Every organism and organization is a system. Systems theory provides a structural framework that helps us think about how our organization interacts with the environment that it exists within.

What does the organization take in? What meaningful changes does it make to that input? What does it output? What are the boundaries that define the character?

Environment

The environment is the context in which a system operates. This could be a natural habitat, a city, an operating system, or an economy.

Boundaries

A boundary provides differentiation from the environment. Boundaries are what define the shape of a system. Clearly defined boundaries help [[agent]s within the system

Open

A system with completely open boundaries appears to only be part of the environment. This would make a system indistinguishable from a group of individuals with a lose relationship.

Closed

A closed system is one that does not interact with it's environment.

Adaptive

Most systems have an adaptive boundary. This is where a system is sufficiently closed to define it's character and open enough to have interactions with the environment (inputs and outputs)