The purpose of a system is what it does. There is after all, no point in claiming that the purpose of a system is to do what it constantly fails to do.

According to the science of cybernetics, which deals with the topic of control in every kind of system (mechanical, electronic, biological, human, economic, and so on), there is a natural law that governs the capacity of a control system to work. It says that the control must be capable of generating as much "variety" as the situation to be controlled.

The strategies that managers employ are at least as important as the facilities at their disposal.

It is the concept of likelihood that a real understanding of probability resides, and we must learn how to measure it.

A stochastic process is about the results of convolving probabilities-which is just what management is about, as well.

Policy-making, decision-taking, and control: These are the three functions of management that have intellectual content.

Certain management policies-stretching of credit resources, for example-may lead to great progress in good conditions; but, like the Grand Prix car in comparison with the Land Rover, they may not be robust enough to survive when the going gets tough.