Table of contents:
- How are open systems
- Import of energy.
- Transformation.
- Output or output
- Negative entropy
- Informational inputs, negative feedback and coding process
- State of constancy and homeostasis
- Differentiation
- Integration and coordination
- Equifinality
Open systems theory is a system that has external interactions. These interactions can take the form of information, energy or matter of transfer to the interior or to the exterior of said system, which depends on the discipline in which the concept is defined. An open system contrasts with the concept of an isolated system, which does not exchange matter or information with its environment. An open system is also known as a constant volume system or a floating system.
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Import of energy.
Open systems import some form of energy from the external environment. Social organizations must capture new energy supplies from other institutions, people, or the material environment.
Transformation.
Open systems transform the energy available to them. The organization either creates a new product or processes materials or trains people or provides a service. Activities that involve some kind of reorganization of the input.
Output or output
Open systems export some product to their environment. The continuity of product output from the system is dependent on the responsiveness of that environment
The product exported to the environment provides the energy source for the repetition of the cycle of activities. Cycles are easier to observe in systems with physical limits such as the human body. There is a closing point in the chain of events for the cycle to repeat itself, which does not mean the necessary similarity of events. The cycles can be combined to form a huge structure.
Negative entropy
The input-transformation-output cycle is a negative entropy cycle, which is essential for the survival of the open system. Social organisms, unlike biological ones, can counteract the entropic process almost indefinitely, although there are many of them that disappear.
Informational inputs, negative feedback and coding process
The inputs are not only energetic but are also informative and provide the structure with signals about the environment and its own functioning in relation to the environment. The simplest type of informational input is negative feedback. The coding process has to do with the selective of the system in its reception of inputs, a process that simplifies everything that comes from outside into basic categories that make sense for a given system. The nature of the functions that the system executes is what determines its encoding mechanisms and they perpetuate this type of operation.
State of constancy and homeostasis
Surviving open systems are characterized by a state of constancy that does not mean true stillness or equilibrium, but rather the energy exchange ratio and the relationships between the parts remain the same. At complex levels, systems act against entropy through growth and expansion, the state of constancy tries to be preserved through growth itself. Homeostatic adjustment processes do not always aim to return to the previous state but, in certain circumstances, can establish a new baseline on which subsequent fluctuations take place.
Differentiation
Open systems move in the direction of differentiation and elaboration. Fuzzy global patterns are replaced by specialized functions.
Integration and coordination
As differentiation progresses, it is neutralized by processes that bring the system together for a unified function. Unification in social systems that can be achieved, according to Georgopoulos (1975) in 2 ways:
- coordination, which involves the addition of various resources to ensure the functional articulation of tasks and roles
- integration means achieving unification through shared norms and values.
Equifinality
Characteristic principle of all open systems. A system can reach the same final state from different initial conditions and by different paths.
As open systems move toward regulatory mechanisms to control their own operations, the amount of equity may be reduced.
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