The phenomena do not act in isolation, certain relationships are established between them to give coherence to the dissimilar processes that take place in the Universe, in which man participates consciously or unconsciously.
The study of these relationships gave rise to the formulation of a theory based on systems, a category that according to Solano, (2008) ”… is an organized and complex whole; a combination of things or parts that form a unitary complex whole. It is a set of objects united by some form of interaction or interdependence, seeking the fulfillment of a specific objective ”.
The general theory of systems, according to Solano (2008), starts from the following premises:
1. Systems have a life within a larger system.
2. Systems are open, because they are a consequence of the previous one. Each system that is examined, except for the smallest or largest, receives and downloads something to the other systems, usually the contiguous ones. Open systems are characterized by a process of infinite exchange with their environment, which are the other systems. When the exchange ceases, the system disintegrates, since it has lost its sources of energy.
3. The functions of a system depend on its structure: for biological and mechanical systems this statement is intuitive. Muscle tissues, for example, contract because they are made up of a cellular structure that allows contractions.
Knowledge about the general theory of systems is important for those who have the function of directing any type of activity, because it in itself constitutes a tool that can contribute to correct decision-making, as has been expressed in the previous premises.
This article aims to analyze how the general theory of systems manifests itself in radio work, and although there is no intention to exhaust the subject, the research could contribute to knowing a little more about the subject and serve as a basis for further studies.
In Cuba, the constitution of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television, the governing body of the activity, constitutes a decisive step for the emergence of a new National Radio System, made up of the national, provincial and local radio stations existing in the country, whose operation it responds to an administrative direction structured from the national level to the base.
The change experienced from that moment in the organization of radio stations, allows them to establish relationships different from the previous ones, because if before those relationships are manifested spontaneously, in the new conditions they will have a constant, planned expression and with a homogeneous line.
Now, radio stations in Cuba, despite being scattered throughout all provinces and municipalities, at a given moment can establish a chain and become a single plant, because they respond to the same policy, emanating from a direction that has the function of methodologically guide the work of the activity in the nation.
It is assumed that the National Radio System, as a major system, includes other minor ones, which are made up of national, provincial and municipal stations. The performance of each of these radio plants makes it possible for the governing institution of the activity to meet the plans and objectives set in the sector.
At the provincial level, there is another system made up of the provincial station and those existing in the municipalities, whose relationships are key elements for achieving the planned purposes in the given territory.
The fact that there is an administrative department at the provincial level in charge of guiding, checking and controlling the performance of the base stations constitutes a strength for the development of the system, because this guarantees an adequate entry and exit of the necessary elements for the good performance of the aforementioned system.
The internal organization of the stations is made up of different departments, which are those that carry out the various functions involved in running a radio station. This set, when interacting in order to achieve the purposes envisaged by the entity, forms another smaller system than the previous one.
But, in each of these departments there is another much smaller system, whose action enables partial fulfillment of the goals set by the radio station in the short, medium and long terms.
In Cuba, most of the radio stations, in their administrative structure, have a department dedicated to the broadcasting of journalistic materials, which, due to the function it performs, deserves a separate analysis.
The set of departments in charge of broadcasting news in the stations of a province make up the provincial information system, which allows the exchange not only of information, but also of guidance, experiences and knowledge, which constitutes a strengthening of the inputs and outputs of the system.
At the same time, the provincial radio information system interacts with the local newspaper and television, and this presupposes the existence of a complex system that contributes to fulfilling the objective of keeping the population of a certain territory informed.
In this sense, Martín Vivaldi, 1973: 18), expresses:
"If we want to know what is happening in the world at any time of the day or night, it will be enough for us to listen to the corresponding news bulletin broadcast by any radio broadcasting station in the world (…) if we want to see an illustrative image of what is happening or has happened, the television, at the usual hours of its newscast, will satisfy our desire. But if we really want to find out in depth or in the most complete way possible about world, national or local events, we have no choice but to go to the daily newspaper ”.
In correspondence with the ideas expressed by that author, it is assumed that radio stations, from the information point of view, complement the work of other mass media, because each one contributes news elements according to their own characteristics, which which structures a system that gives richness to the message, and this contributes to the receiver having the option of receiving the information through the channel of their preference or can contrast it when obtaining it in the different media.
According to Levins (2005: 86) the parts of a system can be systems themselves with their own dynamic structure. Based on this concept, it is inferred that each of the mass media constitutes a system with its own characteristics, but this does not exclude that special relationships are established between them, in which each one makes its contribution to the exercise of informing the population. and, then, as a whole they form a system, because journalism is one, although with peculiar forms of expression.
In the dynamics of systems, it happens that their relationships with the environment determine a type of regulation, which will influence the development of the activity in which that system works:
If regulation is the adjustment in the operation of a system as a consequence of interactivity, there is no doubt that the radio constitutes a center of absorbency of external energy elaborated internally by the creatives of communication. At this point, the content is transformed, receives a purification process, is packaged and returns to the environment from which it came out as an artistic product with a new aesthetic suggestion and reflects the reality and diversity of cultures and people. Diéguez Rodríguez (2009)
It follows that radio, by relating to the social system, establishes an external regulation, which will influence the operation of the mass media. The social system is made up of the set of systems such as the institutional, economic, technological, legal, political, sources, public and others.
Radio work is not only governed by external regulation, but also by self-regulation. According to García Luis (2005: 23), regulation is understood to be the purpose-oriented adjustment in the functioning of a system, due to the material-communicative interaction with other systems; Self-regulation is a relative dimension of this very concept, which man uses to denote the adjustment that occurs by virtue of the interaction of internal forces in a system.
The relationships of the environment with the radio systems influence the operation of these systems, and therefore the existence of a certain balance between regulation and self-regulation is necessary to achieve favorable conditions that contribute to the constant development of the system.
It is assumed that radio, like any other mass media in Cuba, responds to the interests of society; Its work is manifested in the interrelation of different systems from the national level to the base, with the consequent entries and exits, in which the objective of meeting the goals set for the body as an institution and for issuers as entities is implicit. aimed at informing, educating, recreating and entertaining your radio audience.
Bibliography used
1. Diéguez, C. (2009) The radio to invent. Sancti Spíritus. Cuba.
Available from:
Date of access: 13-2-2009.
2. García, J. (2004) The regulation of the press in Cuba: moral and deontological references. Doctoral thesis. University of Havana.
3. Levins R. (2005) "Dialectics and systems theory". Marx magazine now. No. 20, first semester, pp 79-98.
4. Martín, V. (1973) Journalistic genres. Madrid. Editorial Paraninfo.
5. Levins R. (2005) "Dialectics and systems theory". Marx magazine now. No. 20, first semester, pp 79-98.
