The purpose of this assignment is to examine the relationship between systems thinking, projects, and corporate strategy.
Reflect upon the relationship between corporate strategy, projects, systems thinking. Using the “Levels of Perspective” framework discussed in the “Introduction to System Thinking” article by Kim located in the Topic Resources, compose a 500-750-word paper demonstrating the value of systems thinking in developing corporate strategy including the following.
- Describe the connection between systems thinking, projects, and corporate strategy.
- Describe an example of how an event, negative or positive, can grow into a vision or strategy by using feedback, loops, and labels.
Minimum of five outside resources.
IMS013E Introduction to Systems Thinking System. We hear and use the word all the time. “There’s no sense in trying to buck the system,” we might say. Or, “Mary, she’s a systems analyst.” Or, “This job’s getting out of control; I’ve got to establish a system.” Whether you are aware of it or not, you are a member of many systems—a family, a commu- nity, a church, a company. You yourself are a complex biological system comprising many smaller systems. And every day, you probably interact with dozens of systems, such as automobiles, ATM machines, retail stores, the organization you work for, etc. But what exactly is a system? How would we know one if we saw one, and why is it important to understand systems? Most important, how can we manage our organizations more effec- tively by understanding systems? This volume explores these questions and introduces the princi- ples and practice of a quietly growing field: systems thinking. With roots in disciplines as varied as biology, cybernetics, and ecology, systems thinking provides a way of looking at how the world works that differs markedly from the traditional reduc- tionistic, analytic view. But this is not an either-or distinction we are making here. Because some problems are best solved through analytic thinking and others through a systemic per- spective, we need both to better understand and manage the world around us. Why is a systemic perspective an important complement to ana- lytic thinking? One reason is that understanding how systems work—and how we play a role in them—lets us function more effectively and proactively within them. The more we under- stand systemic behavior, the more we can anticipate that behav- ior and work with systems (rather than being controlled by them) to shape the quality of our lives. It’s been said that systems thinking is one of the key manage- ment competencies for the 21st century. As our world becomes ever more tightly interwoven globally and as the pace of change continues to increase, we will all need to become increasingly “system-wise.” This volume gives you the language and tools you need to start applying systems thinking principles and prac- tices in your own organization. IMS0013E Contents What Is Systems Thinking? ............................................. 2 What Is a System? ........................................................... 2 Collections Versus Systems Defining Characteristics of Systems The Importance of Purpose Putting Systems in Context: “The Iceberg” ................. 4 What Do Systems Do? A Close Look at Systemic Behavior............................................................ 5 Fun with Feedback The Building Blocks of Systemic Behavior: Reinforcing and Balancing Processes Looking for a Sign: Loops and Labels The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: A Closer Look at Balancing Loops Delays: The Hidden Troublemakers Putting It All Together: Two Examples of How to Manage Systems ........................................................... 12 Managing Product Quality at FitCo Fixes That Backfire at DevWare Corp. Working on the System, Not in the System................... 16 Appendix: “Acting” in Different Modes ........................ 17 A Glossary of Systems Thinking Terms.......................... 19 Introduction to Systems Thinking Daniel H. Kim Introduction to Systems Thinking @1999 by Pegasus Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For additional copies contact:
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[email protected] What Is Systems Thinking? What exactly is systems thinking? In simplest terms, 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. In this sense, systems thinking can be seen as a perspective. It also involves a unique vocabulary for describing systemic behavior, and so can be thought of as a language as well. And, because it offers a range of techniques and devices for visually capturing and communicating about systems, it is a set of tools. For anyone who is new to systems thinking, the best way to “get your feet wet” is to first learn about the defining characteristics of systems; in short, what is a system? But to be a true sys- tems thinker, you also need to know how systems fit into the larger context of day-to-day life, how they behave, and how to manage them. The final three sections of this volume tackle those issues. What Is a System? In the most basic sense, a system is any group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent parts that form a com- plex and unified whole that has a specific purpose. The key thing to remember is that all the parts are inter- related and interdependent in some way. Without such interdependencies, we have just a collection of parts, not a system. Collections Versus Systems Let’s illustrate this point with the follow- ing exercise. Take a look at the list of items below and determine for yourself which ones are systems and which ones are just collections of parts. Ready, set, go! • Bowl of fruit • Football team • Toaster • Kitchen • Database of customer names • Tools in a toolbox • A marriage So, which ones are systems and which are merely collections? This ques- tion isn’t as easy to answer as it might seem at first. Your responses depend on what assumptions you are making about the item in question. Let’s walk through each example (starting with the simpler ones first) and make our assumptions as explicit as we can. Kitchen, database of customer names, and tools in a toolbox. These are all collections, because none of them meets our original cri- teria of inter- relatedness and interdependence. Even though the kitchen itself is full of sys- tems (refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher), it is still just a place that has a collection of sys- tems and other elements in it. None of those things interrelate or interact in an interdependent way. (Note, though, that once humans enter a kitchen, they, together with the other elements, form a system. It’s a curious fact, but when- ever you add people to a collection, you almost always transform a collection into a system!) Football team and toaster. Both are systems. Notice that in addition to our criteria of interrelatedness and interde- pendence, a team and a toaster are each put together for a specific purpose. Indeed, purpose acts as the predomi- nant organizing force in any system. If you want to understand why a system is organized in a particular way, find out the system’s purpose. Bowl of fruit. Most people would classify this as an obvious collection, because the pieces of fruit are not inter- related in any way and do not interact with each other. In truth, however, they are interacting—at a microscopic level. For instance, if you put certain fruits together, they are apt to decay faster because they interact at a molecular level. Someone for whom these interac- tions are important (a fruitologist?) might even consider this bowl of fruit to be a very interesting system—one whose purpose is to maximize the biodegrading process. Marriage. For any of you who saw this one as a collection, please seek mar- riage counseling immedi- ately! All kidding aside, the question of whether one has a healthy marriage has a lot to do with whether the relationship more resembles a collec- tion or a system. Marriage is essen- tially a voluntarily chosen state of interde- pendence with another person (not codependence, which is something altogether different). This state actually characterizes any long- term relationship, including friendships. Is there anybody among us who has not been reminded by someone that our actions have an impact on him or her? Sometimes, that is how we first encounter systems, and how we learn (often painfully) that we are part of a larger system than we may have realized. Well, that was quite an excursion. I hope this tour has revealed that systems Introduction to Systems Thinking Pegasus Communications, Inc. (tel) 781-398-9700 www.pegasuscom.com 2 Honey, are we a collection or a system? I hope we're a system! are indeed all around us and that they take many different forms. In spite of these differences, though, all systems share several defining characteristics. It may be helpful at this point to summa- rize those characteristics. Defining Characteristics of Systems Systems have purpose. As we saw in the examples above, every system has some purpose that defines it as a discrete entity and that provides a kind of integrity that holds it together. The pur- pose, however, is a property of the sys- tem as a whole and not of any of the parts. For example, the purpose of an automobile is to provide a means to take people and things from one place to another. This purpose is a property of the automobile as a whole and can- not be detected in just the wheels, the engine, or any other part. All parts must be present for a sys- tem to carry out its purpose optimally. If you can take pieces away from some- thing without affecting its functioning, then you have a collection of parts, not a system. In the toolbox example, if you remove a wrench, you have fewer tools, but you have not changed the nature of what is in the box. Likewise, if you can add pieces to a collection without affecting its functioning, it’s still just a collection. The order in which the parts are arranged affects the performance of a system. If the components of a collec- tion can be combined in any random order, then they do not make up a sys- tem. In our toolbox, it doesn’t matter whether the screwdrivers are piled on top or buried at the bottom of the box (unless, of course, you really need a screwdriver now!). In a system, how- ever, the arrangement of all the parts matters a great deal. (Imagine trying to randomly rearrange the parts in your automobile!) Systems attempt to maintain sta- bility through feedback. In simplest terms, feedback is the transmission and return of information. The most important feature of feedback is that it provides information to the system that lets it know how it is doing relative to some desired state. For example, the normal human body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. If you go for a run, the exertion warms your body beyond that desired temperature. This change activates your sweat glands until the cooling effect of the perspiration readjusts your temperature back to the norm. Or, in our car example, imagine that you are steering your car into a curve. If you turn too sharply, you receive feedback in the form of visual cues and internal sensations that you are turning too much for the speed at which you’re traveling. You then make adjustments to correct the degree of your turn or alter your speed, or some combination of both. If you are a pas- senger in a car driven by someone who is not paying attention to such feed- back, you might be better off getting a ride with someone else! The Importance of Purpose We talked about systemic purpose a bit, but let’s take a closer look at it. A key to understanding any system is knowing its purpose, either as a separate entity or in relation to a larger system of which it is a part. In human-made (or mechanical) systems, the intended pur- pose is usually explicit and reasonably clear, at least at the outset. The purpose of a washing machine, for example, is to wash clothes. The washing system is designed so that all the components work together to accomplish that pur- pose as effectively as possible.1 In mechanical systems, the purpose is usu- ally “hard-wired” into the design and therefore does not evolve over time. Your car, for example, was designed