ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that systems are the non-verbal behaviour of the organisation. Systems provide a framework within which flows of activity, including the work activity of people, take place. If the system is organisation wide, its complexity will be higher, depending upon the size of the organisation. The owner of the system is someone with the authorised discretion to implement or significantly change a system. The designer is the person whose work is to manage the work of system design to the point at which a proposal for the complete system can be presented to the owner for authorisation or for more work. Many systems do not have clear measures of success. A new system may bring about cost savings and improvements, but some people may be gaining from the current inefficiency. There are no absolute rules for deciding where a system should begin or end.
