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.
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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
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05386-8_4
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