Information Systems
College of Business Administration
University of Missouri - St. Louis
What do we need to Know about Systems


Characteristics of Systems
  • A system's parts must all be present for the system to carry out its purpose optimally.
  • A system's parts must be arranged in a specific way for the system to carry out its purpose.
  • Systems have specific purposes within larger systems.
  • Systems maintain their stability through fluctuations and adjustments.
  • Systems have feedback.
  • The structure of systems is defined by the interrelationships of the parts (subsystems), not the parts themselves.

    To define a system you look at
  • Events
  •         What happens

  • Patterns: trends or changes in events over time
  •         What happens over time
            Measure or track events
            Learn how to anticipate the events

  • Structure: what is causing the patterns
  •         Why did the events happen
            Look at the causality
            Creative problem solving
            How to shape the events in the future


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    Page Owner: Professor Sauter (Vicki.Sauter@umsl.edu)

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