Running Head: SYSTEMS 1

Systems

Jamie A. Adesso

Empire State College

Author Note

This paper was prepared for Science and Technology in Western Culture taught by Professor

Raymond

SYSTEMS2

“If I have seen a little farther it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”

Sir Isaac Newton

“The system is that there is no system. That doesn't mean we don't have process.

Process makes you more efficient”

Steve Jobs

SYSTEMS3

The establishment of systems within organizations and society has shaped the world,

creating order and chaos at the same time. The systems with the most impact on people’s lives

have roots in technology and science, each with similarities and differences. Technological

systems are often said to be larger and more complex than those of science, but this implication

is argumentative and depends on the specific system to which one is referring. The main idea

some people try to argue is that scientific systems have many of the characteristics of

technological systems but are not as significant. The purpose of this analysis is to prove the

legitimacy of scientific practices and organizations as part of a large, complex system equally

significant to society and the individual as those offered by technology.

To establish science as a large, complex system like that of technology, one must first

examine the evolution of the systematical method of thinking. According to a paper by Roberto

Joseph, systems thinking advances by going through four stages, the first of which enables an

individual to find solutions by using systematic and scientific thought processes. This “hard”

stage precedes the second, or organismic stage, during which time “open systems interact with

[their] surrounding environment and a change in the environment creates a change in the system”

and vice versa (Joseph, n.d., p. 3).

In the soft stage, created to address the issues not resolved by the first two stages,

problem resolution deals with the complexities and chaos of societal systems. To correct or

prepare for the problems societal systems impose, the soft stage anticipates potential obstacles

and finds answers prior to an events’ occurrence. Finally, the critical stage seems to be the most

important because it raises awareness, complements methodology as well as theory, and has

involvement in human emancipation (Joseph, n.d., p. 4). Overall, this stage tries to ensure

systems provide a benefit to society as opposed to harm and that they exist for the good of

SYSTEMS4

humankind, not the individual. Together, these four stages comprise their own system, present in

one way or another within most other systems to which the characteristics of all four stages are

applicable.

Keeping in mind the four stages, primarily the critical systems thinking stage, one can

understand how this method of progression creates large, complex systems in both science and

technology. In expressing the idea that thoughts pertaining to systems evolve to improve the

quality of life, the age of systems gained support and thus, the technological and scientific

systems grew to be large and complicated. American innovators, sharing the common objective

to enhance life quality, had the opportunity to take their ideas and make them come to life. After

all, they were using “science and invention to nurture justice and toleration and free humans

from hunger, poverty, and pain. …the masters of the machine [would] nurture the best elements

of their civilization” (Hughes, 2005, p. 74). With the support of the people and the demand for

advancement, the systems era emerged.

Thus far, with regard to the process of system thinking and the goal of innovators, the

mention of science in systems is more dominant than that of technology, leading one to believe

science is just as important, if not more so, than technology. In other statements such as,

“America embodied scientific and technological values that would determine the future of all

civilized peoples. [and] …a world shaped by science and technology…” science and technology

are put on a level playing field as opposed to being competing forces (Hughes, 2005, p. 74). As a

result of these views, their acceptance, the human desire to progress and to live better, systems

became so large and complex by the end of World War II, many forgot why some system parts

existed (Hughes, 2005, p. 79). Despite this fact, systems are still of great significance to society

and its progression.

SYSTEMS5

Technological systems are quite important and to some, they take precedence over those

of science. No one can argue against the significance of technological systems as they provide

people with basic necessities, safety and many means of communication. The electrical system,

or the “neotechnic era of power grids” allowed for the creation of new workshops so people

could move away from the old, dirty, dark factories (Tenner, 1997, p. 20). Electricity, as an

example, created a system of suppliers, manufacturers, grids, control centers, consumers and

transmitters, a large scale system that benefits people every day and affects them when it fails.

During power outages, like the one in September of 2011 that affected Mexico to California,

schools and businesses had to close, cars could not drive and those that were forced to be on the

road were likely to witness or be part of a fender bender. Additionally, landlines, credit card

machines and computers were down, people had to postpone surgeries and flights and gas

stations were shut down (Anton, 2011). This is a perfect example of the importance of large

technological systems and the positive and negative effects of their complexity on society.

Additionally, other forms of technological systems also play an important role in society.

Military technology is another instance in which humans incorporate a massive and complicated,

but necessary system to provide them with safety and defense during times of war or in states of

emergency. The communications system is also one of importance, as it encompasses not only

telephones and postal mail but also the Internet, programs such as Skype, social media like

magazines, newspapers and television broadcasts. The technological system of communications

is very significant because it allows people to talk to or view friends and family all over the

world, have business meetings without paying for traveling costs and provides every one with

knowledge about local and global issues. Given these few examples, it is probably difficult, if

SYSTEMS6

not impossible, for people to argue against the fact technology is important and its systems

significant.

Aside from these technological systems, science is also very important and has many

systems of its own that people either utilize or benefit from every day whether they realize it or

not. Take for instance, a scientific lab. Although a lab does use technology to carry out system

processes, it also consists of its own scientific system. A lab is a prime example of how science

is a system because, in order for it “to operate effectively, it has to be supported by other

elements that are systematically connected” (Volti, 2010, p. 5). Labs need many scientific

components, as well as scientists and technicians, in order to function.

The people that work in a lab are all scientists and they study any number of things;

living, dead, non-living, animate or inanimate using the scientific thought process or the hard

stage of the systems thinking method. Labs study the facts, record data, measure and interpret

their results to determine why things are the way they are, the cause of a disease or death and

many other aspects pertaining to people, the environment and everyday life. Scientists look at

how their findings influence the environment and how they change the basic system of life,

which encompasses the second and fourth stage of the systematic thinking process, leading to the

creation of a large, complex system. Additionally, lab scientists do utilize their findings to

anticipate present or future benefits, downfalls and in determining how, or if, the results of their

tests can improve people’s lives.

To elaborate on the idea that scientific systems not only exist but that they are large and

complex, as well as significant, one can examine an organization like the American Scientific

Laboratories (ASL). This Southern Californian lab provides environmental testing services such

as checking soil and water for hazards and analyzes toxic waste to determine the impact it has on

SYSTEMS7

the environment and people (American Scientific Laboratories [ASL], 2010). In order to perform

these tests, the ASL has to not only be part of a system, but the company and its employees must

operate like one.

Before the ASL can test anything, it needs customers requesting their services. In order to

obtain clients, the ASL has a customer service department to answer inquiries, whether by phone

or email, about the services offered by the lab, as well as their rates. The customer service

department can also address any questions, concerns, accept payments and set up accounts (ASL,

2010). These tasks not only provide the foundation for the lab system, but also play a part in the

communication, delivery, societal and organizational systems.

Once ASL’s customer service department obtains clients, they can send their

toxicologists or geologists with certain specialties to collect samples. These scientists play a

small but important role in the laboratory system and in other systems. Geologists and

toxicologists need a four-year college degree in order to obtain a job in this field, making them

part of the educational system and they need licensing or certification from a state board, making

them part of society’s system. The samples they supply, their interpretation of the results and

how they address their findings, also makes geologists and toxicologists part of the ecosystem

because they disturb it and try to repair it.

After the scientists collect the specimens, they bring them to the receiving area at ASL.

At this time, the staff in receiving logs the samples and begins a chain of custody report. This is

how the lab tracks the specimens in the system and monitors system employees (ASL, 2010).

Every time an employee pulls the specimen to examine or test it, they must log their name, time

and date into the chain of custody form, which keeps the lab organized and running smoothly.

SYSTEMS8

This is also a means of compliance with the law if the sample tested is evidence, making the

receiving area and the lab, sub-components to the legal system.

When the receiving department at ASL completes the entry process of the specimen into

the system and begins the chain of custody form, they then send the specimen to one of five labs.

A specimen may go to the semi volatile, volatile, wet, metal or fixed gas lab to start but

depending on the tests and the sample, it can end up in going to more than one lab. The chemists

and lab managers study the specimens using analysis, expertise and by continuously complying

with all environmental programs (ASL, 2010). In doing so, ASL follows the hard, organismic,

soft and critical stages of scientific thinking systems and it further demonstrates how it is merely

a piece of a larger, more complex system. To study the environment is to be part of its system, as

well as that of society, the government, science, technology, organizations and various agencies.

In another sense, one can consider science a large, complex system because it exists on a

global level. Although “modern science was born in Europe, its home is the whole world”

(Whitehead, 1997, p. 3). If science can affect the world, it must not only be a massive system but

also, one of great importance. Additionally, if the popular belief about technology being “applied

science” is true, then it stands to reason that systems of science are more significant than those of

technology because it is science that provides the roots (Volti, 2010, p. 58). Still, the complex

system of science has an intertwining relationship with technology that causes shifts in the

dynamics and sometimes, technology is the front-runner. Regardless of this constant back and

forth battle, science and technology are as different as they are similar and neither can progress

without the other. Therefore, while “science is directed at the discovery of knowledge [and]

technology develops and employs knowledge in order to get something done,” both require the

use of complex, large systems to achieve their goals and each is significant in its own right

SYSTEMS9

(Volti, 2010). Both systems are in high demand among all societies and each seeks to achieve the

most important of the four stages of the thinking system, which is to provide people with a

higher quality of life.

SYSTEMS10

Reference

American Scientific Laboratories [ASL]. (2010). American Scientific Laboratories. Retrieved November 14, 2011, from American Scientific Laboratories: http://www.asllab.com/index.html

Anton, M. S. (2011). More than 4 million lose power in major blackout. Los Angeles Times .

Hughes, T. P. (2005). Human-Built World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Joseph, R. (n.d.). The Systemic Change Process: A Conceptual Framework. West Lafayette: Purdue University.

Tenner, E. (1997). Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences. Random House, Inc.

Volti, R. (2010). Society and Technological Change. New York: Worth Publishers.

Whitehead, A. N. (1997). The Origins of Modern Science. Simon and Schuster.