Service Example - "Haircut"
Let’s consider the example of a hair salon. A hair salon belongs to the service sector. It does not produce system-products in the same way an automotive plant does. If you ask anyone what a hair salon does, they will answer that it cuts hair.
Thus, a hair salon provides a service—haircuts. It offers, “outwardly,” a standardized set of actions: a Canadian cut, a model cut, and so on. So, when we talk about a hair salon, it is appropriate to use terms like “service” and “servicing.”
But a hair salon is a system-enterprise, which means it has a system of interest that the hair salon, as a creation system, produces. This system of interest is the hairstyle. The supersystem for the hairstyle would be a well-groomed head or a lady ready for a night at the theater. In turn, you can identify surrounding systems—makeup, earrings, dress.
Not the entire hair salon participates in the haircut service, so it is more accurate to name the parts of the enterprise directly involved in this procedure. This includes the hairdresser with all their tools (technologies) such as scissors[1], clippers, combs, and so on. So, there is an internal process involving the hairdresser and scissors, and there is an external service delivered as a result of this internal process. A system constructor can discuss these separately, which is why there are different concepts—process, service, systems.
In turn, the scissors system is created specifically for a certain functional purpose. The creators of scissors must have a clear understanding of the intended or requested function from the client[2]. It’s one thing if the client is a hairdresser, and another if it’s a gardener. Although the principle of scissors is the same, the first requires hairdressing scissors, while the second needs pruning shears (garden scissors).
If this example is not clear enough to you, be sure to reflect on it using thinking through writing. Also, write down any questions you might want to ask in the “Systems Thinking” course support chat. If you do understand this example, try to come up with a similar one.
In turn, scissors also provide a service—cutting. ↩︎
The creators of scissors follow the principle: “the finger presses on the table, but the table does not press on the finger,” meaning scissors are an active object that cuts hair, i.e., provides a service. Hair is considered a passive object. The action of hair on scissors is disregarded in this context when considering the functional (role-based) behavior of scissors. However, the reverse perspective is also possible. It all depends on where you focus your attention. It is impossible to consider all interactions and mutual influences at once. For more on why systems thinking uses the principles of Aristotelian rather than Newtonian physics, see the section “Aristotelian Physics in Systems Thinking” in the textbook “Systems Thinking.” ↩︎