Examples of a System and the Systems View
On this page 7 headings
Start here Your masala dosa arrives 20 minutes late, and you’re annoyed. But behind that one dosa are a delivery rider, petrol pumps, a restaurant, a supply chain, farmers, the monsoon and the government. Once you see the system, you get less angry.
Example 1: IIT Madras as a system
| Elements (inside) | Purpose | Other systems it connects with |
|---|---|---|
| Students, faculty, curriculum, classrooms, facilities, canteen, security, staff, transport, flora and fauna, guest lecturers | Higher education, research, helping young people find jobs, upgrading skills, inventing new technology | Government, parents, alumni, the city corporation (water, roads), transport around the campus |
Remove one element, and the system breaks:
- No students or no faculty → no IIT.
- No breakfast one day → students protest and miss classes.
- Cycle paths blocked → students can’t reach class.
Example 2: a cricket match as a system
| Elements | Purposes | Connections |
|---|---|---|
| Players, umpires, the stadium, fans, ticketing, rules, equipment, pitch, sponsors, groundsmen, facilities | To entertain; to show team spirit; to teach how to lose; to inspire young cricketers | Umpires depend on players and rules; the match depends on fans; fans depend on transport… |
Lecture example — when fans disappeared During the pandemic, many matches (and the IPL) were played without fans. Several teams said they didn’t perform as well. Prof. Shiva has seen home crowds turn a 2–1 loss into a 3–2 win. Fans are an element too. Remove them, and the system behaves differently.
Example 3: one dosa, many systems
You ← delivery rider (scooter → petrol → petrol pumps) ← restaurant (chef, cooks, stock) ← supply chain ← food production (rice, dal) ← farmer ← monsoon rain, fertiliser, government support and distribution.
If any one link is affected, your dosa is late. “So many things have to come together for one dosa to reach your house.”
The systems view
Everything is connected. All things in nature and in the human world exist in one interconnected web of resources, energy, information and relationships. No problem or solution exists in a silo.
So if you have a problem, several systems are causing it. To solve it, find which part of the system is really causing it.
Video 1: How wolves change rivers
Lecture example — wolves in Yellowstone When wolves were brought back to Yellowstone National Park (USA) in 1995, they hunted deer and kept them away from some valleys. Without deer over-grazing, trees and plants grew back. With more plants, riverbanks became stronger, so the rivers changed course. One small change, a few packs of wolves, changed the shape of the land.
Video 2: you are part of the system too
A short video shows everyday systems:
- The hot shower: hot water hits your hand, your nerves send a signal, your brain tells your hand to turn the tap. The tap connects to the tank, the tank to a lake, the lake to a river, and the river to the monsoon.
- The traffic jam: a driver is angry that traffic isn’t moving. Then he learns there’s an accident ahead. New information changes his behaviour, and his anger drops.
- The final shot: from above, one house holding a party is connected to the family, water, transport, security and government systems.
Lesson: “Sometimes we forget that we are part of the system too.”
In one line: Everything is connected, so look past the single event (a late dosa, a traffic jam) to the whole web of systems behind it. Exam words: systems view, interconnected web, no problem exists in a silo, wolves of Yellowstone, feedback, we are part of the system.