• Explain how the relationship between the inputs, throughputs, and outputs in your colleague's example would need to change to improve functioning.

According to Netting et al. (2023), organizations operate based on the open-systems model, which highlights the exchange between a system and its external environment through inputs, throughputs, and outputs. In the case of a state correctional facility, inputs are the resources it receives from its environment, including funding, staff, inmates, training programs, and supplies. These inputs are processed internally through throughputs, including rehabilitation services, inmate classification and housing, security protocols, medical and mental health services, staff coordination, and policy implementation. The system's outputs are the results that return to the external environment: rehabilitated individuals, changes in recidivism rates, indicators of public safety, and measures of successful reintegration and employment outcomes.

A disruption in the input stage, such as a loss of funding, can significantly impair the correctional facility's operations. Without adequate financial resources, staffing levels may decrease, leading to overworked employees, burnout, and compromised safety conditions within the facility. Funding shortages also limit upkeep of physical infrastructure, reduce access to rehabilitation and education programs, and proper staff training. These strained conditions affect the throughput stage, resulting in ineffective processes and poor service delivery. Consequently, the outputs are weakened: individuals may leave the facility without adequate preparation to reintegrate into society, recidivism rates may climb, and public safety may deteriorate. This breakdown reflects the interconnected nature of open systems, showing how disruptions in one part of the system can trickle down through the entire organizational structure and negatively impact both internal functioning and external outcomes.