Abstract Hierarchical theory is a new and promising area of general systems theory. This theory deals basically with the decomposition of a system into subsystems forming a hierarchical structure and is, therefore, on method of dealing with complexity. These subsystems or infimals are coordinated by a coordinator or supremal in such a way as to obtain original system objectives. Hence, hierarchical theory is applicable to systems with a natural hierarchical structure or whose dimensionality is so high as to present computational difficulties. Thus it would appear to be particularly appropriate for use in public and societal systems problems. This paper presents a tutorial introduction to hierarchical system theory. Optimization theory is used as a vehicle for presenting the hierarchical concepts, although estimation, identification and other systems problems are also amenable to hierarchical structuring. An example is solved to demonstrate the theory and some computational considerations.
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