In mechanical systems the parts are highly constrained. In social systems, the connections are loosely coupled. Also important is the flow of materials, energy, and information across system boundaries separating the system from its environment. Simpler systems transmit primarily energy, while higher order systems transmit information. Individual and subgroups form and leave coalitions.
Boundaries are amorphous, permeable, and ever changing.
But the system must exchage resources with the environment to survive. For example, viewing organizations as cybernetic systems we can see the importance of policy setting and control centers that develop the regulation programs that guide organizational decision making. This allows the organization to adapt to environmental changes. Cybernetic systems result in behavior that is goal-directed, not merely goal oriented. Open systems also engage in two main sets of system processes.