Input-output (I/O)

In all businesses that produce a product or service there is an input-output process. This process includes all the resources needed to create the product or services that are then transformed into finished items that are sold in the marketplace. The process of taking the raw materials and other items necessary for production (inputs) and converting (transformation) them into finished goods and services (outputs) is an open, systematic approach to production. This process is often abbreviated as the I/O system. Inputs in the I/O system include raw materials, technical information, financial resources, and people. Within the transformation process there are numerous subsystems. In a manufacturing environment raw materials are converted into a product by a production subsystem that includes all the equipment necessary to make the product. The building and the manufacturing equipment are maintained by a maintenance subsystem. Management, responsible for coordinating and controlling work, is another subsystem. I/O systems are considered to be open systems if they are open to and respond to their outside environment. The environment is dynamic and, therefore, constantly changing. Open systems are constantly looking for changes in their environment (boundary spanning) and adapt to those impending changes. Forward-looking companies anticipated the growth of the Internet and electronic means of conducting business. They looked for changes in the legal and regulatory environment and were able to manage those changes through their adaptation subsystem. Closed systems rely on themselves and ignore their environment. These organizations are in an entropic state and will eventually collapse.