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Keep shoppingHow to Think in Terms of Systems
20 students
How to Think in Terms of Systems
Viewing the World from an Economic Perspective
Created byTom Lorenz
Last updated 4/2026
English
What you'll learn
- What are the basic elements that make up ourselves and the world around us?
- What is a system and how can this word be defined?
- How can systems be evaluated?
- What benefits do organisms receive as the result of working within a group system?
- How are complex organizations structured and how can they best be managed?
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Course content
8 sections • 26 lectures • 3h 59m total length
Requirements
- General understanding of how businesses and other organizations are structured and function.
Description
During this course the students will not only learn what systems are but also why they are an important part of our everyday lives. This course will work to help students to answer the following questions.
What are the six basic building blocks that make up our world?
How does change takes place not only in the environment around us but also within us?
What role do the Laws of Thermodynamics play in how our world works?
How can the word system be defined?
What is the difference between an open versus a closed system?
What does a system look like in terms of a diagram?
How can the performance of a system be evaluated in terms of its efficiency, effectiveness and economy?
What is marginal utility and why is it important regarding operating a system?
What is a system sequence and how do they relate to the concept of a learning curve?
What are the concepts of synergy and symbiosis and why are they important with respect to getting work done?
What is a traditional organizational chart and how might it be improved?
What is the concept of “point of exchange” and how might it be used for quality control, and root cause analysis within a manufacturing process?
What is a reasonable description of the word complexity?
How can increasing complexity make it more difficult to manage a system?
Can the whole world be viewed as being one large system?
Who this course is for:
- Any adult that wants to strengthen his/her own world view and their understanding of how the world works within economic terms.