Abstract
Chapter 2 presented the general notion of a single-lever control system, illustrating the logical as well as technical structure of such a system. In addition, Chap. 3 proposed several important types of control systems which, though dissimilar in appearance, satisfy the definition and general logic of single-lever control systems. This chapter presents a broader view of control systems by introducing two important generalizations: (1) multi-lever control systems and (2) multi-objective control systems. Multi-lever control systems can have dependent or independent levers. Multi-objective control systems can be apparent or effective. Generalizing further, we will examine the notion of impulse systems, which play a fundamental role in life. With multi-lever systems it is fundamental to understand the concept of control strategy, that is, programming the activation of the various levers to achieve the objective. In multi-objective systems the choice of strategy is coupled with the definition of the control policy, which chooses the order of priorities regarding actions on the various objectives. Specifying the control strategies requires introducing the concept of cost–benefit analysis applied to the various levers. Specifying the control policies brings up the notion of scale of priorities regarding the various objectives.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
References
Ackoff, R. L., & Sasieni, M. V. (1968). Fundamentals of operations research. London, UK: Wiley.
Argyris, C., & Schön, D. (1974). Theory in practice. Increasing professional effectiveness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Blackwell, D., & Girshich, M. A. (1954). Theory of games and statistical decisions. London, UK: Wiley.
Champernowne, D. G. (1969). Uncertainty and estimations in economics. Edinburg, TX: Oliver e Boyd.
Chandler, A. D. Jr. (1962). Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American In-dustrial Enterprise, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Churchman, C. W., & Ackoff, R. L. (1954). An approximate measure of value. Operations Research, 2, 172–187.
Ezechiel, M. (1938). The cobweb theorem. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 52, 255–280.
Fishburn, P. C. (1964). Decision and value theory. London, UK: Wiley.
Fishburn, P. C. (1967). Methods of estimating additive utilities. Management Science, 13, 435–453.
Johnson, G., & Scholes, K. (2002). Exploring corporate strategy (6th ed.). London, UK: Prentice Hall.
Luce, R. D., & Raiffa, H. (1967). Games and decision. London, UK: Wiley.
Mella, P. (2012). Systems thinking. Intelligence in action. New York, NY: Springer.
Simon, H. A. (1962). The architecture of complexity. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 106(6), 467–482.
von Neuman, J., & Morgenstern, O. (1953). Theory of games and economic behavior (5th ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (1st ed., 1944).
Walras, L. (1874). Elements of Pure Economics: Or the theory of social wealth (translated in French in 1926 and then published in English). Homewood-Irwin, 1954.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mella, P. (2014). The Ring Completed: Multi-lever and Multi-objective Control Systems. In: The Magic Ring. Contemporary Systems Thinking. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05386-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05386-8_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-05385-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05386-8
eBook Packages: Mathematics and StatisticsMathematics and Statistics (R0)