The purpose of a system is what it does
The purpose of a system is what it does (POSIWID) is a heuristic in systems thinking coined by the British management consultant Stafford Beer,[1] who stated that there is "no point in claiming that the purpose of a system is to do what it constantly fails to do".[2] It is widely used by systems theorists, and is generally invoked to counter the notion that the purpose of a system can be read from the intentions of those who design, operate or promote it. When a system's side effects or unintended consequences reveal that its behaviour is poorly understood, then the POSIWID perspective can balance political understandings of system behaviour with a more straightforwardly descriptive view.
Origins
[edit | edit source]Beer coined POSIWID in his books and used it many times in public addresses.[3] Speaking to the University of Valladolid in October 2001, he said:[1]
According to the cybernetician, the purpose of a system is what it does. This is a basic dictum. It stands for bald fact, which makes a better starting point in seeking understanding than the familiar attributions of good intention, prejudices about expectations, moral judgement, or sheer ignorance of circumstances.
Uses
[edit | edit source]From a cybernetic perspective, complex systems are not controllable by simple notions of management, and interventions in a system can best be understood by looking at how they affect observed system behaviour. The term is used in many other fields as well, including biology[4] and management.[5] Whereas a cybernetician may apply the principle to the results inexorably produced by the mechanical dynamics of an activity system, a management scientist may apply it to the results produced by the self-interest of actors who play roles in a business or other institution.
See also
[edit | edit source]- Duck test ("if it looks like a duck...")
- Emergence
- Form follows function
- Functionalism–intentionalism debate
- Hostile architecture
- Machine learning
- Noble lie
- Prefigurative politics
- Teleology
- The proof of the pudding is in the eating (at Wiktionary)
- Systemantics
References
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