""Cybernetics" comes from the Greek word Kybernetike, meaning "the art of steering". Cybernetics is about having a goal and taking action to achieve that goal. Knowing whether you have reached your goal (or at least are getting closer to it) requires "feedback", a concept that was made rigorous by cybernetics. From the Greek, "cybernetics" evolved into Latin as "governor", and it has, as a result, come to mean a form of government and hence control, in an all-embracing way. It has therefore come to mean not only an understanding of the applied environment, in terms of the mechanisms used to find one's way through the complexities of that environment, but also the means of controlling that environment using the facilities of a central control facility, hence the concept of government as a form of central control. Cybernetics as a process operating in nature has been around for a long time; indeed, it has existed for as long as nature has been around, and as a concept in society, it has been in existence at least since the Greek philosopher Plato used it to refer to government in general. Its function as a link between nature, the machine and administration was largely developed by Norbert Wiener in the late 1940s, based on the function of the brain as a means of control and synergy. Cybernetic synergy is the study of relationships and controls of and between corporate entities, on an external basis, and departments within corporate entities, on an internal basis. It concerns the decision-making process, and how decisions can be made on the basis of feedback from any part of the organisation being managed. It therefore concerns the issue of input of raw material or information, the output of the transformed information and materials, and the rectification of any issue based on negative feedback related to the productive process. It investigates not only the basic theory of the subject but also its applications in the commercial and business environment, as well as touching on government and administrative issues where shortcomings have emerged owing to a lack of synergy and communication"--