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Introduction to Systems Thinking, 68C814AF-0CC0-4268-9678-CAA8AE8A4E1B -…
Introduction to Systems Thinking
What is Systems Thinking?
It is a way of seeing and talking about reality that helps us better understand and work with systems to influence the quality of life
It can be a perspective
What is a System?
It is any group of interacting, interrelated or interdependent parts that for a complex and unified whole that has a specific purpose
All the parts are interrelated and interdependent, if not then there is only a collection, not a system
Characteristics of Systems
Systems have purpose: property of the system as a whole and not of any of the parts
All parts must be present for a system to carry out its purpose optimally
The order in which the parts are arranged affects the performance of a system
Systems attempt to maintain stability through feedback
The importance of Purpose
In a human-made (or mechanical) system, the intended purpose is usually explicit and reasonably clear
Living (or natural) systems are continually evolving and have the capacity to change their purpose temporarily or permanently
Social systems or natural systems are far more complicated than non living systems, one can never know for sure what their purpose or design is
Systems in Content: “The Iceberg”
We can actually view reality from multiple levels of perspective
Events: the occurrences we encounter on a day-to-day basis
Patterns: Accumulated memories of events, by accumulating them through time, they can reveal “trends”
Systemic structures: the ways in which the parts of a system are organized. They generate the patterns and events we observe.
What do systems do? Close look at systemic behaviour
Mental models: beliefs or assumptions we hold about how the world works
Vision: our picture of what we want for our future, goals to achieve
Fun with feedback: feedback is the transmision and return of information. Key word: return
It’s the linear cause-and-effect way of viewing the world
The linear view sees the world as a series of unidirectional cause-and-effect relationships
The feedback loop perspective sees the world as an interconnected ser of circular relationships
The Building blocks of Systemic Behaviour: Reinforcing and balancing processes
Reinforcing processes: The engines of growth and collapse
They arise from what is known as positive feedback, which means they are successive changes adding to the previous changes and keep the change going in the same direction
Balancing processes: The Great Stabilizers
Balancing loops are continually trying to keep a system at some desired level of performance. They stabling a goal to seek
They quietly function to keep things as they are
Delays: The Hidden Troublemakers
They come in four basic “flavors”
Physical: They represent the amount of time it takes for one thing to move to another place or from one state to another
Transactional: There are the delays associated with communicating information about the physical changes or decisions that have been made
Informational: transmission does not necessarily equal communication
Perceptual: Our beliefs and assumptions are often so deep that even if reality on which they are based changes, our perception doesn’t necessarily shifts as easily
