is said to be a commercial crisis when a great number of merchants and traders, at once, either have, or apprehend that they shall have, a difficulty in meeting their engagements. (1848 MILL Pol. Econ. III. Xii) The layer of snow had been in a state of strain, which our crossing brought to a crisis. (1860 TYNDALL Glac. i. xxvii 202) The ordinary statesman is also apt to fail in extraordinary crises. (1875 JOWETT Plato (ed. 2) III.174) The Imperial Dictionary of the English Language – 1902 CRISIS; “Any serious state of things, or the point of time when an affair has reached its height, and must soon terminate or suffer a material change; a turning-point.” “The change of a disease which indicates its event; that change which indicates recovery or death. It is sometimes also used to designate the symptoms accompanying the crisis.” Examples: “This hour’s the very crisis of your fate.”(Dryden). “Nor is it unlikely that the very occasions on such defects are shown, may be the most important of all–the very times of crisis for the fate of the country.” (Brougham)
2. of System Relationships imply communication between units, or transactions and exchanges. It is possible to regard the parts of a static construction as forming a system: an art composition is a set relationship, a chair or a table can be regarded as parts in a relationship, a mobile has some additional features because stress at one point affects others. There is in these cases communication by physical contact. These systems could be termed basic systems, and it is by first examining these, and then other systems of greater and greater complexity, that an analyst is assured that important features of the complex system with which he is concerned are not overlooked. Complex System. A system more complex than a basic system is one in which relationships and transactions between units enable repetitive movement. The movement is one that is relevant to predetermined purposes; examples are a printing press, or a stationary pump. This is an operational system. Functional institutions are of this type. They are constructed for specific purposes, and their use for other purposes is usually limited. For example, the international communications institutions have special operational purposes, as do health, agricultural and others. A great deal of public administration is based upon operational systems of this kind. Their activities are routine, no matter how important they might be, and continue with little external control. They might cease to operate and be dismantled once the purposes for which they were constructed are fulfilled or are no longer being pursued. Though designed for a purpose they can operate without purpose; they can remain in operation after their relevant purpose has been fulfilled, or when the purpose has been eliminated, as is the case with much ceremonial customs. Behavioral Systems. Behavioral systems have a range of capabilities in addition to those of basic and operational systems. The characteristic feature of behavioral systems is that they have abilities to respond to their environment. They may be inanimate; an automated aircraft in flight is a behavioral system capable of self-response to the requirements of the environment in relation to a predetermined goal. Animal and vegetable systems respond to their environment. A flower bed is a behavioral system when each bloom has a pollination relationship with others, and