Introduction to systems thinking

System. We hear and use the word all the time. “There’s no sense in trying to buck the system,” we might say. Or, “This job’s getting out of control, I’ve got to establish a system.” Whether you are aware of it or not, you are a member of many systems – a family, a community, a church, a company. You yourself are a complex biological system comprising many smaller systems. And every day, you probably interact with dozens of systems, such as automobiles, retail stores, the organization you work for, etc. But what exactly is a system? How would we know one if we saw one, and why is it important to understand systems? Most important, how can we manage our organizations more effectively by understanding systems?