Quite frequently, executives demonstrate an aversion to the term “system”. Some associate the term with rigidity, schematism, and bureaucracy. The problem resolves itself when we distinguish between the meanings of “having systems” and “being a system”. Any experienced manager will readily accept that companies need systems to function – on the other hand he or she will make sure these systems do not become too bureaucratic More and more managers also understand that organizations comprise many sub-systems that interact with each other, which makes them a system, and that they also from higher-order systems with their environment and its sub-systems.