Systems Thinking

Systems

Systems are defined as a set of components comprising ideas, objects, and activities that are interconnected for a purpose. The purpose of the system emerges because systems thinkers and practitioners have an interest in it and want to improve it. With the help of systems diagrams, a situation or system of interest can be explored. Systems of interest are represented [Page 502]by system maps. In contrast to the unbounded complex reality of systems, system maps are bounded. They have an explicit boundary that distinguishes the system of interest from those parts of the situation that are perceived to be of secondary importance. A system of interest

• is an organized assembly of interconnected components;
• consists of a number of subsystems, the behavior of which is affected by being in the system, and which change the behavior of the system by leaving it;
• does something;
• is identified by someone because he is interested in it.

Further, systems are characterized by several concepts. The system environment, comprising the wider context, external influences, and subsystems of secondary importance is distinguished from the system itself by a boundary. The boundary is the result of judgment and simplification processes undertaken by an analyst who is interested in the system. A system transforms inputs into outputs. Subsystems interact within a hierarchy and are interdependent. Communication, feedback, and control take place between subsystems and the system as a whole. Systems are adaptive and dynamic.

Systems Thinking and Systems Practice

No simple or single definition captures all aspects of systems thinking. It involves seeing a situation as a complex system, and holds the central idea that the nature of the system is in the eye of the beholder. Since people have different worldviews comprised of different values and traditions of thinking, there are many ways to see the world through a systems lens. Nevertheless, authors agree upon common features of systems thinking:

• A complex situation produces no solution, but results in multiple comprehensions, all with the aim of acting purposefully within the situation.
• People, and their viewpoints and emotions, belong to the situation.
• Complexity is not a feature of a situation, but arises from the interplay of the observer with the situation.
• The connectedness between events, things, and ideas is as important as the events, things, and ideas themselves.
• Systems thinkers apply techniques that encourage a wide variety of thought in considering a situation, thus not overlooking significant connectedness and important features of the whole situation. One technique is to use multiple partial views by considering the perspectives or viewpoints of various stakeholders in a situation. The purchase of printing paper, for example, can be seen in terms of managing supplier–buyer relationships, financing, or environmentally friendly business behavior. In tackling a situation, the first step is to take a “helicopter view” to see the whole picture and the context of the situation. By doing so, systems thinkers are borrowing ideas from holistic thinking.
• In systems thinking, diagrams play a central role, facilitating learning by representing complex situations in each step of the iterative learning cycle. The learning cycle begins with immersion in the complexity of the situation and ends with an exploration of activities that can improve it. The “rich picture,” a situation summary diagram that enables experiencing of complexity, represents as much as possible about a situation including feelings, motivations, pictorial symbols, keywords, and cartoons.

An effective systems practitioner can be described as a reflective thinker who considers four elements continuously: his or her being, his or her engagement with a real-world [Page 503]situation, his or her contextualization of approaches to the real-world situation of interest, and his or her management of his or her involvement in the situation. To consider his or her own being, the systems practitioner must be aware of his or her worldview, beliefs, and traditions of thinking. The practitioner reflects upon whether or not he or she engages a situation as complex. Several systems approaches need to be contextualized within and adapted to a specific situation of interest. Hard Systems Method, Soft Systems Methodology, and Critical Systems Thinking are examples of systems approaches. In a multimethodological mode, various methodologies, methods, and concepts are synthesized and applied in a situation. In managing a situation, the practitioner must decide whether he or she is in or out of the situation.

...