Exercises: Identifying the elements of a system

Explain in your own words what each element of a technical system is (organization, means, materials, energy, knowledge and know-how) and give an example of each one taken from your kitchen at home or from a workshop you know.

In a neighborhood tortilla shop two people work in shifts. Classify each item according to the element of the technical system it belongs to: the corn; the tortilla machine and the griddle; the LP gas; the nixtamal recipe taught by the grandmother; the way shifts and the cash box are shared; the maintenance course the manager took.

The diagram sums up the technical system of a community tortilla shop. Look at it and answer: which element of the technical system (organization, means, materials, energy, knowledge or know-how) does the box marked with «?» belong to? Give two concrete examples of that element in the tortilla shop. Then write one example of each of the other five elements based on the boxes in the diagram.

Doña Mary makes tortillas by hand and her son suggests buying a tortilla machine. Analyze how each element of the technical system (organization, means, materials, energy, knowledge and know-how) would change when moving from the artisanal system to the mechanized one, and point out what would be gained and what could be lost, for example in know-how or in taste.