Thursday 9 October 2008

Analysing a System: Running a Bath

Let's apply the Systems Approach Model to something most of us do (OK, we'll include taking a shower and all other variations too, don't want to leave anyone out here).

You approach your bathroom (or other area of bathing) and you're thinking 'how does the Systems Approach apply to this (hopefully) quite frequent activity?' Taking the 5 element model we break our bathing system down like this:

Environment: Bathroom

Inputs: water; additives; body; bathing equipment eg towel

Processes and Activities: Filling bath; adding additives; putting body in bath; bathing

Output and Outcomes: Output is a clean, maybe fragranced body; Outcomes may include pleasant overall feeling; social confidence; lack of soreness that would otherwise exist after working in a hot setting etc

Feedback Mechanisms: How do I feel? Information comes back to you on how your mood is. How do I smell? If you've had a bath and you're still a bit whiffy then you could decide something's wrong with your bathing system. What do other people think about me? Do I look clean? The purpose of Feedback Mechanisms is to enable control over systems (more on this in other posts).

The feedback information feeds into the system and is used to strengthen the effectiveness of the next lifecycle of the self-renewing system.

This is the system approach at work (there you are, you were doing it all the time and hadn't even realised it) and when you make small variations in any of the 5 elements you either improve or reduce the effectiveness of the system as a whole. What's that? You've forgotten to buy shampoo this week? Disaster!

Oilatum Bath Formula

Scholl Deluxe Aromatherapy Footspa DR6698UK - Blue & White

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