Let us begin by answering the question, What is an Operating System?

An Operating System (OS) is a program that, once installed on a device, controls, coordinates, and integrates all of the device's application programs. It enables communication between a computer's software and hardware, as illustrated in the diagram below.

What happens if you don't have an operating system? Your laptop would be rendered useless without an operating system. Consider a project manager who appoints a monoglot Spanish person to lead a team of monoglot English speakers without any translators or resources to help them understand each other. This is analogous to software and hardware being unable to communicate with one another.