UNIT V - SYSTEM

THINKING
System Thinking, Understanding Systems, Examples and
Understandings, Complex Systems
 System Thinking
Systems thinking is a way to approach issues by looking at them as systems. Rather than
considering only how to solve an immediate problem, you consider how all of the pieces connect to
make the whole.

“It gets made to sound so tricky,”. “But it’s really just logic.”
Here’s a simple example. Let’s say you’ve got a piece of machinery in which one pesky gear keeps
breaking. Instead of replacing that same gear over and over, a systems thinking approach might
look at the gear’s construction and design (casting, forging, metallurgy), the operational conditions
(weight, friction, torque, noise), the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, sanitation),
and the maintenance (cleanliness, lubrication). Various interconnected factors could be affecting
the gear’s performance and durability.
An iceberg metaphor is often used to describe what systems thinking is. With an iceberg, there’s
what we see above the water, and the much bigger, unseen portion underwater.
Continuing with this metaphor, a systems thinker might approach a problem by asking:

■ What could be under the surface that we don’t see?

■ What are the conditions (budgets, resources) that influence the problem?
■ What issues, people or systems are working together to create what is seen above the water?
■ What ripple effects might be created by our ideas/solutions?

Six key elements of systems thinking

1. Interconnections: Projects and people are connected. A systems thinking approach identifies
those connections and considers all of them.
2. Emergence: This is the phenomenon of a larger idea, function, property or outcome that
results from the interaction of smaller parts. It often is a better solution than could be
gleaned from simply looking at the individual parts in isolation.
 3. Synthesis: This means combining two or more components in a system to form something
new that helps us understand the entire system better or to build a better system.
“Sometimes you’re combining old ways to make a new way. Sometimes you gain new
information and create something new,” Marticek says.
4. Feedback loops: Feedback loops illustrate via charts or diagrams the feedback between
various parts of a system. “You gather different pieces of the pie, and at the end, hopefully
you have an outcome,” Marticek says.
5. Causality: Causality looks at how one thing influences others in an interconnected system.
6. Systems mapping: Systems mapping is the chart or flow that will inform decision-making. “If
you hand this to an executive, this flow diagram will help them understand what is needed to
make the change,”

For this process to work, buy-in from the top-down and bottom-up is essential. “If you’re going to
alter your business or organization, you have to have a new vision. This is the road everyone is on.
Everyone has to be on board with the process — you can’t have holdouts who think, ‘My idea is the
best,’”
 SYSTEM
● A system is a set of thing interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of
behaviour over time.
● The system response to an external stimulus is a characteristic of the system itself, and
that response is seldom simple in the real world.
● Hunger, poverty, environmental degradation, … are intrinsically system problems: stop casting
blame, see the system as the source of its own problems, and find the courage and wisdom to
restructure the system.

System Structure and Behaviour

Systems consist of:
1. Elements.
2. Interconnections.
3. Function or purpose.
● One of the most frustrating aspects of systems is that the purposes of subunits may add up to an overall
behaviour that no one wants.
● Relative importance:
● Changing elements has the least effect.
● Changing interconnections may alter the system greatly.
● Changes on purpose are drastic.
● Changing an element is the less noticeable, unless it also changes interconnections or purpose.
● Stocks:
● Are the elements of the system that you can see, feel, count, or measure at any given time.
● Change over time through the actions of flow.
● Take time to change, because flows take time to flow:
● Act as delays, buffers or shock absorbers in systems.
● Allows inflows and outflows to be independent and decoupled and temporarily out of
balance with each other.
● Flows can change suddenly.
● The human mind focus more easily on stocks than on flows, and more on inflows than
outflows.
● All system diagrams are simplifications of the real world.
● Feedback loops:
● When changes in a stock affect the flows into or out of that same stock.
● Balancing feedback loop:
● Goal-seeking or stability-seeking.
● Tries to keep a stock at a given value or within a range of values.
● It may not work well or be strong enough.
 ● Reinforcing feedback loop:
● Generates more input to a stock the more stock there is already there.
● A vicious or virtuous cycle.
● Whenever a stock has the capacity to reinforce or reproduce itself.

If A cause B, is it possible that B also causes A?

● Systems with similar feedback structures produce similar dynamic behaviours, even if the outward
appearance is completely dissimilar.

Questions for testing the value of a model:

a. Are the driving factors likely to unfold this way?

i. Speculative answer.
b. If they did, would the system react this way?
i. Scientific answer.
c. What is driving the driving factors?
i. System boundaries: are they independent or embedded within the system?
A stock with two competing balancing loops - A thermostat
A systems thinker is someone who is able to look at a complex system and consider its
interconnectedness and interdependencies, not just its isolated components.
Effective systems thinkers usually have an open mind and think holistically, rather than rely on a
predictable formula or a linear approach. Those who operate from a systems thinking perspective:

■ Are curious
■ Find root causes
■ Have an open mind
■ Are good listeners

“If you have ‘I-know-everything’ executives, this never works. People will try to dismantle that process
because of frustration with the person creating it,”.
Systems thinking often involves considering a number of components, including humans, machinery or
equipment, and the environment, and how they work together.
One systems thinking example in the workplace is organizing supply chains, which are highly complex and
often involve multiple suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers. Another example is project
management, which involves designing schedules, considering competing priorities and anticipating
potential delays to make sure that projects can be completed on time and within budget.
Examples of systems thinking

Systems thinking in healthcare

Systems thinking in healthcare can help with everything from improving patient outcomes to
developing a more streamlined billing process. Examples of systems thinking in this industry
include:

■ Considering social, cultural and emotional factors affecting a patient’s health to identify
optimal treatment
■ Figuring out how to improve quality of care by integrating treatment plans across primary
care facilities, specialists, and urgent or emergency care
■ Analyzing data on demographics, healthcare usage and disease to improve population health
and services within communities
Systems thinking in business
Although various departments within a company may be working toward a common goal, they may also be
competing for the same resources, implementing different project requirements, or prioritizing different
outcomes for success. The ability to design effective solutions and anticipate issues ahead of time is critical to
business success. Knowing how to apply systems thinking to business processes and operations management
can help to ensure that departments are working together rather than against each other.
A systems thinking approach can be applied to business situations such as:

■ Managing airline fleet maintenance, setting flight schedules and arranging sufficient staffing
■ Planning a marketing campaign while also considering customer personas, budgets, legal constraints
and competitors’ efforts
■ Implementing new customer-service software that may require additional employee training or reveal
incompatibilities in other systems

Those interested in applying systems thinking in business will want to consider a bachelor’s degree in
management or an operations management certificate to begin their career.
Systems thinking in education
Systems thinking provides a powerful framework for understanding and addressing the
interconnected factors that affect teaching and learning. This thinking can help educators and
administrators develop strategies to better support students as well as the institutions
themselves.
What is systems thinking in education? It can include:

■ Developing lessons and programs that build on past learning and are appropriate for the
student’s age and educational level
■ Ensuring programs are aligned with required competencies and current and future
workforce needs
■ Assessing learning outcomes to identify areas for improvement or gaps in curricula and
programming

In all of these fields, questions like “What am I not seeing here?” or “What's under the iceberg
that I don’t understand?” can help you begin to grasp the whole system.
 COMPLEX SYSTEMS
We live in a world of complex systems. Organisms, ecosystems, families, countries, and even the earth itself
are all complex systems. Therefore, it is useful to develop a systems view of the world in order to see it
accurately. This means seeing that everything exists within a context—everything is in relationship to the other
parts of a system and to the system as a whole. Knowing more about relationships within a system and the
dynamics of those relationships allows us to make better decisions.

Example of a Complex System

Your body is a prime example of a complex system. Many different interconnected parts interacting with one
another lead to the emergence of the body as a whole.

There are numerous levels of parts and wholes within the system of the body. Organic molecules interact
within cells, cells make up different kinds of tissues, tissues form various organs, and groups of organs
function within larger systems (digestive, respiratory, nervous, etc.). Finally, all these systems interrelate to
form the body as a complex system.
Examples
To get a sense of how thinking about complex systems can be useful, it’s helpful to look
at a variety of examples.
Soccer team: In a soccer team, the players are the parts of the system; the rules of
the game are the interconnections; the purpose of the system is both to play and to win
the game. In a professional setting the purpose might also include making money. What
emerges is the game itself, including all the fantastic plays, surprising moments, and
evolution of techniques. Imagine if you isolated one soccer player; he might be able to
practice shooting or dribbling, but a game of soccer would never be evident. The game
only emerges from the interactions of the parts of the system.
University: A university has many parts: students, professors, administrators,
buildings, computers, books, and so on. It also has intangible elements, such as
reputation or the culture of the institution. The interconnections include
communicating knowledge to students, rules of conduct for faculty, flows of money,
and many other things. The purpose of the system is to educate students. The whole
that is a university arises from the interactions of these various parts and
interconnections. A university isn’t a single student or professor but rather something
that emerges through the participation of everyone involved.
Beehive: Bees are the parts of the system. The interconnections are the
interactions of the bees in their daily pursuit of survival, like the waggle dances that
show other bees where food sources are. The function of the beehive is the function
of all organisms: to survive and continue. If we isolate a single bee, we will miss the
hive behavior that emerges when bees are together. A single bee has no one to
dance for. Complex systems emerge from the interactions of their parts and a
beehive is no different.

Because complex systems are everywhere, it is obvious that a systems view is

necessary for seeing accurately and acting coherently. Understanding complex
systems allows us to devise intuitive and effective strategies for bringing about
beneficial systems change.
The Implications of Systems Thinking and Complex Systems
We often hear that because we are working on complex systems we cannot have full coverage of what to
look for. Our view is just the opposite. Because we are working on complex systems we must have
complete coverage.

Complex systems are characterized by dynamic relationships between their related components. One
cannot understand the system by individually looking at any one or two or three components alone. The
system is not merely the sum of the components but rather it is the integration of the components, their
relationships and the interconnections between them. Systems thinking starts with understanding this.
You must recognize that you cannot investigate or learn about a system by decomposing it into its
components. Rather, to learn how the system behaves, and more importantly, how to improve it, you must
take a holistic view of the system. A system thinker can investigate components of a system, recognizing
that the sum of the components is not the system and that investigating the system while ignoring certain
components that make it up will leave a faulty understanding of the system.