ABSTRACT
System is defined in [MeWe03] as a regularly interacting group of items (or set of elements) forming a unified whole.1
In the narrower sense, a system describes complex phenomena in the real world, such as the solar system or the periodic table of the chemical elements. But also abstract phenomena can be described as systems, such as
In the following, a company is understood as a sociotechnical system. The elements themselves – that is, the people, production machines, materials, and so on – and their relationships both within the system and with the surrounding systems (environment) are complex in nature. Parts of a company, for example production, can also be viewed as systems.
