At the operational level, most organizations can be boiled down to three key elements. The organization produces an output (a product or service). The organization has systems and processes with which to create the output, and employs and manages people who utilize the systems to produce the output, some of which may be defective or unacceptable. These could involve errors, mistakes, inefficiencies, or defects, which may cause injuries or losses. The operational system resides in a larger system called the organization. It, too, has systems and people.
To differentiate between the two, the people at the operational level are the producers, and the people and the organizational level are the managers. The systems at the operation level may be the plant and equipment as well as practices, processes and procedures focused on producing the product or rendering the service. At the organizational level, the systems are policies and procedures designed to run the business efficiently and manage the employees so that they are productive, effective and operate safely and injury free.