The concept of "wholeness" is very important in general system analysis. The system must be viewed as a whole and modified only through changes in its parts.

Systems thinking is often focused on problem solving through understanding elements of the system and their interconnections.  >>>

This is, definitely, a valuable perspective to assist organisations improve performance. However, adopting other conceptions of holism, such as The Tree of a successful business (see example), 6Ws of corporate growth (see example), 5 Basic Elements of a winning organisation (see example), or working both smart and hard, may open up new perspectives which may also be very valuable.

Example

For instance, when applied in social situations, holistic thinking involves sensitivity, intuition and tact.  Before modifications of the parts can be made for the overall benefit of the system, a thorough knowledge of how each part functions and the interrelationships among the parts must be present.

Your firm's value chain links to the value chains of upstream suppliers and downstream buyers. The result is a larger stream of activities known as the value system.

Making breakthrough improvements in your value chain requires out of the box, cross-functional, systems thinking.  You have to see the value creation process across the entire flow of work, not just single points.