PRODUCTIVITY as a systemic concept
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2666 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
As noted by R.O. MASON, the common concept of productivity is, from a systemic viewpoint quite questionable. It may refer to some material outputs of the system, or to some services the system offers to other systems, or in some cases to its own overall efficiency or even its survival capacity.
According to MASON: “Systemic productivity questions the design of the system itself: Is it living up to its maximum feasible potential? Is it doing what it ought to do to develop its resources and to pursue opportunities? In a disturbed, reactive environment these are the salient questions” (1979, p.17).
MASON moreover distinguishes between:
- “Systemic output productivity (as) the ratio: Actual output divided by the maximal output that could be produced by the best alternative, feasible, designable and importable system of the same class”, and…
- “Systemic input productivity (as) the ratio: Minimal input resources that are required to produce a given level of output by the best alternative, feasible, designable and importable system of the same functional class divided by the actual input resource consumed to produce that level of output” (p.27).
MASON concludes: “Systemic productivity is an indicator of the long-run survival and viability of the system” (p.28).
The systemic concept of productivity is thus very close to thermodynamic efficiency of the productive system and should not be reduced to the idea of maximum possible productivity.