General systems theory, originally proposed by Von Bertalanffy and then by others in biology, psychiatry, management, and engineering, is all related. Return to the Quality Library. Go to the top of the page. Be sure you are listing services or products, not the activities necessary to produce them. Manufacturing organizations produce a product.
Service organizations produce services.
Health care workers commonly produce information, procedures, reports and decisions, patient interventions, services, and a therapeutic environment among other outputs. This is a difficult exercise for service organizations. Being able to describe what we make is the beginning of being able to figure out how to improve. The answer to this question helps begin the knowledge building activity by focusing on what care, service,or products the hospital produces. Return to the Quality Library.