OPEN SYSTEM

THEORY
PREPERED BY

MARIVIC MISOLA, RN
THE INFLUENCE OF THEORIES ON
THE DEVELOPMENT OF OPEN
SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE
THE APPLICATION OF SYSTEMS
ANALYSIS TO THE STUDY OF
ORGANIZATIONS EXPERIENCED A
REBIRTH IN THE 1950S UNDER THE
NAME OPEN SYSTEMS THEORY.
THIS REBIRTH WAS DUE IN PART
TO THE INFLUENCE OF LUDWIG
VON BERTALANFFY'S GENERAL
SYSTEMS THEORY.
A BIOLOGIST BY PROFESSION,
VON BERTALANFFY URGED THE
STUDY OF LIVING THINGS AS
ORGANIC WHOLES IN THE 1920S,
INTRODUCED THE THEORY OF
THE ORGANISM AS AN OPEN
SYSTEM IN 1940
VON BERTALANFFY INSISTED THAT ORGANIC
WHOLES, INCLUDING ORGANIZATIONS, MUST
BE UNDERSTOOD AS OPEN SYSTEMS.

OPEN SYSTEMS, IN CONTRAST TO CLOSED

SYSTEMS, EXCHANGE MATERIALS, ENERGY,
AND INFORMATION WITH THEIR
ENVIRONMENTS SO THAT THEY CAN RENEW
THEMSELVES AND CONTINUE TO GROW. IN
HIS WORDS:
"THE CHARACTERISTIC STATE OF THE
LIVING ORGANISM IS THAT OF AN
OPEN SYSTEM. WE CALL A SYSTEM
CLOSED IF NO MATERIALS ENTER OR
LEAVE IT. IT IS OPEN IF THERE IS
INFLOW AND OUTFLOW AND
THEREFORE CHANGE OF THE
COMPONENT MATERIALS.
ONE OF THE DEFINING FEATURES OF
OPEN SYSTEMS IS THAT THEY ARE
CHARACTERIZED BY NEGATIVE
ENTROPY.
OPEN SYSTEMS ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO
THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUIFINALITY.
THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUIFINALITY
INTRODUCES AN IMPORTANT THEME
IN ORGANIZATION THEORY: FREEDOM
OF CHOICE.
TWO ORGANIZATIONS MAY SHARE THE SAME
GOALS BUT REACH THEM THROUGH
DIFFERENT MEANS. NOT ONLY ARE
OUTCOMES NOT PREDETERMINED, BUT
THERE IS NO ONE BEST WAY OF ACHIEVING
SUCCESS. .
An open system is a system that regularly
exchanges feedback with its external
environment. Open systems are systems,
of course, so inputs, processes, outputs,
goals, assessment and evaluation, and
learning are all important. Aspects that
are critically important to open systems
include the boundaries, external
environment and equifinality.
Healthy open systems continuously
exchange feedback with their
environments, analyze that feedback,
adjust internal systems as needed to
achieve the systems goals, and then
transmit necessary information back out
to the environment.
 Boundaries
All systems have boundaries, although the
boundaries can be difficult to identify because
systems can be very dynamic. Open systems have
porous boundaries through which useful feedback
can readily be exchanged and understood.
Closed systems, unlike open systems, have hard
boundaries through which little information is
exchanged. Organizations that have closed
boundaries often are unhealthy. Examples
include bureaucracies, monopolies and
stagnating systems.
 External Environment
The external environment includes a wide
variety of needs and influences that can
affect the organization, but which the
organization cannot directly control.
Influences can be political, economic,
ecological, societal and technological in
nature.
 Outcomes are critically important to the success
of an organization. Outcomes are in regard to the
changes, or benefits, that customers accomplish as a
result of using a particular product or service.
Outcomes are usually specified in terms of changed:
1. Knowledge (usually short-term outcomes).
2. Behaviors, notably those that comprise useful
skills (often intermediate outcomes).
3. Attitudes, values and conditions, such as
increased security, stability or pride (usually
longterm
GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY NOT ONLY
PROVIDED THE LANGUAGE AND
CONCEPTS USED BY OPEN SYSTEMS
THEORISTS IN STUDYING
ORGANIZATIONS, IT ALSO INFLUENCED
THE DIRECTION THEIR RESEARCH
WOULD TAKE AND THE CONCLUSIONS
THEY WOULD DRAW
 UNIVERSITIES
FOR EXAMPLE, RECEIVE INPUTS IN THE
FORM OF MATERIALS, INFORMATION,
STAFF, AND STUDENTS, UTILIZE VARIOUS
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES TO
EDUCATE STUDENTS, AND PRODUCE
OUTPUTS IN THE FORM OF GRADUATES.
THEY ALSO OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM
GRADUATES, PARENTS, AND EMPLOYERS
ABOUT HOW WELL THEY ARE DOING AND
FROM THE ENVIRONMENT ABOUT
IMPENDING EXTERNAL CHANGES. THIS
FEEDBACK BECOMES AN INPUT FOR
DETERMINING WHETHER CORRECTIVE
ACTION IS REQUIRED TO PRESERVE THE
CHARACTER AND FUNCTIONING OF THE
UNIVERSITY.
KATZ AND KHAN OPEN SYSTEM MODEL.