A second focus of the open-systems approach defines an organization in terms of
interrelated subsystems. Systems are like Chinese boxes in that they always contain wholes
within wholes. Thus, organizations contain individuals (who are systems on their own
account) who belong to groups or departments that belong to larger organizational divisions.
And so on. If we define the whole organization as a system, then the other levels can be
understood as subsystems, just as molecules, cells, and organs can be seen as subsystems of a
living organism, even though they are complex open systems on their own account.