Module 1 Introduction to systems thinking

INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEMS
THINKING
Professor Ockie Bosch
Dr Nam Nguyen

Introduction to the systems concept
 The six blind men and an
elephant
 A partial truth
 The moral of the story:
having a ‘holistic’ view
 “The behaviour of a
system cannot be known
just by knowing the
elements of the system”
(Meadows 2008, p.7)
© Professor Ockie Bosch and Dr Nam Nguyen

Definitions of Systems
 “A system is a set of elements or parts that is
coherently organised and interconnected in a pattern
or structure that produces a characteristic set of a
behaviours, often classified as its ‘function’ or
‘purpose’” (Meadows 2008, p.188)
 “Simply defined, a system is a complex whole the
functioning of which depends on its parts and the
interactions between those parts” (Jackson 2003, p.3)
 “A system is more than the sum of its parts – it is the
product of their interactions” (Ackoff 1999)

A System versus a Collection
 A collection is also
composed of a number
of parts but they are
just dumped together
and are not
interconnected
(Sherwood 2002)
 A marriage: a collection
or a system?
 A Degree program?
Honey, are we a
collection
or a system?
I hope we are
a system!
Source: http://www.yaseenkhan.org

Basic Properties of a System
 A system must consist of :
 Elements or parts
 Interconnectedness & Interactions
 Function or purpose
 Examples: a business, football team;
digestive system; school; faculty, city;
corporation; animal; tree; etc.

Definitions of Systems Thinking
 “Systems thinking is a way of looking at, learning
about, and understanding complex situations”
(Wilson 2004, p.7)
 “Systems thinking is a way of seeing and talking
about reality that helps us better understand and
work with systems to influence the quality of our
lives” (Kim 1999, p.2)
 Systems thinking is a ‘new way of thinking’ to
understand and manage complex problems (Bosch
et al. 2007; Cabrera et al. 2008)

Why Systems Thinking?
Climate and
Environmental
changes
Technological
developments
Global Information
Exchange
Increasing
Conflicts
Complexity
and Dynamics
Disruption
of the Value Chain
Social & Political
Developments
Differentiation of
Customer Needs
Social
Responsibility
Dealing with complexity and coping with increasing
dynamics has become the main challenge in project
and program management

Making Decisions in such a
Complex Web of Interactions
Politicians, business managers and all members of society have to make
important decisions on a daily basis in the complex web in which
business, social issues, finance and economics, environment, politics and
culture are all highly interconnected
Do we get it right?
• Do we make good policy and investment decisions?
• Are we aware of the unintended consequences of our decisions?
• Are we effective in our cross-sectoral communication and
collaboration to deal with the multi-dimensional nature of complex
problems?
• Do we go for quick fixes because it is easier to treat the
symptoms?
OR
Do we urgently need new and innovative ways of thinking and a fresh
approach and tools to deal with the problems facing our society?

CURRENT ISSUES IN THE MEDIA
 Food Safety & Security
 The Energy Crisis
 Environmental
Disasters
 Climate Change
 Carbon Trade
 Land Use
 Biodiversity
 Water Shortage
 Business Profitability
 Poverty
 Human Health
 Animal Health
 Globalisation
 Sustainability
 Job Losses
 Resource Management

Modified from Maani
and Nguyen (2009)
Interconnectedness
Water
Carbon
Deforestation
Land use
Climate
R1
Environment
?
Economic Growth
R2
Energy
Energy use
Population
Poverty
Population
Food
Agriculture
Biofuel
R3
Biofuel
Globalisation

The Torn Net

Agric. & Rural
Development
Operating in “Silos”
Natural Res &
Environment
Culture, Sport
& Tourism
Planning &
Investment
Training &
Education
Departments of Hai Phong City
Plans
Collaboration
Sharing
Integrated Systemic Master Plan for Governance

OOPS
?
Taking stock of a failed project
Andrew Stellman on July 24, 2009

Sanitation
Clean water
Living conditions

 Family
Planning
 Need for
Education
 Health issues

By concentrating on the
particular……… © Professor Ockie Bosch and Dr Nam Nguyen

….bourgeois
thought fails to see
the totality

Unintended Consequences

Systems
Thinking
A New Way of Thinking  “Where the world is dynamic, evolving and interconnected,
we tend to make decisions using mental models that are
static, narrow, and reductionist.” (Sterman 2000)
 Narrow focused and isolated solutions often lead to “policy
resistance” and unintended consequences.
 To balance and integrate short term and urgent solutions
with long term systemic interventions.
 To create resilience collaborative, integrated and systemic
approaches.
 To enhance cross-sectoral engagement, communication
and collaboration in dealing with complexity
 But, fundamentally and foremost, we need a new way of
thinking that allows us to test and challenge age-old
assumptions.

Application of Systems Thinking
 Business (Sterman 2000; Walker et al. 2009)
 Health (Cavana et al. 1999; Lee 2009)
 Commodity systems (Sawin et al. 2003)
 Agricultural production systems (Wilson 2004)
 Natural resource management (Allison and Hobbs 2006)
 Education (Galbraith 1999; Hung 2008)
 Decision making (Maani 2002)
 Human resource management (Quatro et al. 2007)
 Organisational learning and change (Galanakis 2006)
 Philosophy, biology, social theory and management
(Mingers 2006)
 Sustainability and evolutionary learning laboratories for
addressing complex issues (Nguyen, Bosch et al. 2011; Nguyen, Bosch
et al. 2013a; Bosch, Nguyen et al.2013b)

The capacity to redesign in systems and
sustainability terms, will increasingly be
what society and employers will require
from new people entering the workforce
 A “requirement” that has become one of the biggest challenges
for education in this century
 Only a deep understanding of the disciplines insufficient - need to
fully understand how disciplines fit into societal and global systems
 Living in a Century when humanity will meet ever more limits
 Didactic autonomous discipline based courses fail to foster a social
networking culture (interactions between students in different
disciplines)
 Need innovative curriculum designs and learning environments that
address academic paradigms as well as industry requirements

$$$ for
mitigating
unintended
consequences
24
STyHEstIeCEmBEsR AG ApPpPrRoOaACcHh
Symptoms
Events
PATTERNS
interactions between
components
$$$ for root
causes of
poverty
SYSTEMIC STRUCTURES
What does system look like
MENTAL MODELS/MIND MAPS
People’s understanding
$$$ for alleviating
poverty
Addressing fundamental
problems to achieve
sustainable systems
Adapted from Maani and Cavana, 2007

LINEAR THINKING
Improved
Quality of
Life
Enhance
Tourism
More Tourists
More Jobs
More $$$

Pollution
+
Temporary
immigration
SYSTEMS THINKING
Empoloyment
opportunity
Land required
for tourism
Natural
beauty
-
Availability of
underground water
+
Fresh water
consumption
Employment
opportunity for local
people
+
+
Social
issues
Infrastruture
& facility
+
+
Number of
tourists
Attractiveness
of Cat Ba Island
-
+
-
Wealth of
local people
+
+ Waste
+
+
+
Illegal forest
- exploitaion
-
Total
population
Agricultural
Production
Living
cost
-
+
+
-
+
-
+
+
-
Conservation and
agricultural land
+
-
B2
R1 B1
R3
R2
B3
B4
B5
B6
Student
population
Assess to
education
+
-
-
-
R5
R4
Investment
+
+
+
Resident
population
+
+
Wealth of
Local
People
Number
of
Tourists
Increasing
n Jobs

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