System Thinking Mid-Term Examination Pointers
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Questions and Answers

What does a reinforcing loop in a casual loop diagram depict?

  • Vicious cycles (correct)
  • Interconnections between parts of a system
  • Major structural elements
  • Responses to changes in the environment

    • What is the defining characteristic of an open system?

  • It is cut off from its environment
  • It is a manufactured system
  • It interacts freely with its environment (correct)
  • It is non-physical

    • What is the main focus of System Thinking?

  • Recognizing interconnections within a system (correct)
  • Creating physical systems
  • Creating vicious cycles
  • Recognizing natural systems

    • Which type of systems respond to changes in the environment for improved performance and survival?

    <p>Adaptive Systems</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do Systems Archetypes represent in system thinking?

    <p>Classic stories and common patterns in system thinking</p> Signup and view all the answers

    'Structure' in a system refers to:

    <p>How elements are organized or interrelated</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key characteristic of a system?

    <p>The parts interact and are interdependent.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes mental models?

    <p>Our beliefs about how the world works.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary function of a balancing loop in a causal loop diagram?

    <p>To represent a balancing process.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the relationship between patterns and events?

    <p>Patterns are the accumulated memories of events.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes a leverage point?

    <p>An area where small change can yield large improvements in a system.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of vision in a system?

    <p>To determine the mental models we hold as important.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary purpose of a BOT Behavior over Time Diagram?

    <p>To graph the behavior of variables over time</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the Social System made up of, according to the given information?

    <p>People</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which diagram captures the relationship between two variables by plotting their values over a range?

    <p>Graphical Function Diagram</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of a computer model in the context provided?

    <p>To translate relationships into mathematical equations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which diagram is used in conjunction with BOT Behavior over Time Diagrams to identify reinforcing and balancing processes?

    <p>Causal Loop Diagram</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main characteristic of complex systems?

    <p>They have many interconnected components that interact dynamically, often resulting in emergent behaviors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the name of the pattern where the general trend is upward, but there can be declining portions?

    <p>Exponential growth combined with oscillation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements about non-linearity in complex systems is true?

    <p>The relationships between components are not proportional.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who is considered the father of Living Systems Thinking and founder of the Society for General Systems Research?

    <p>Ludwig Von Bertalanffy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the name of the pattern where the quantity of interest will overshoot the goal on both sides, and the amplitude of these overshoots declines until it stabilizes at the goal?

    <p>Goal-seeking behavior combined with an oscillation whose amplitude gradually declines over time</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who developed system dynamics to study and model complex feedback systems?

    <p>Jay Forrester and Donella Meadows at MIT</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Systems Thinking

    • A system is any group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent parts that form a complex and unified whole with a specific purpose.

    Types of Systems

    • Open system: interacts freely with its environment, taking input and returning output.
    • Closed system: cut off from its environment and does not interact with it.
    • Physical systems: may be static or dynamic in nature.
    • Abstract systems: non-physical entities or conceptual that may be formulas, representations, or models of a real system.
    • Adaptive systems: respond to changes in the environment in a way that improves performance and survival.
    • Non-adaptive systems: do not respond to the environment.
    • Natural systems: created by nature.
    • Manufactured systems: manmade systems.

    System Components

    • Accumulators: anything that builds up or dwindles.
    • Flows: amount of change something undergoes during a particular length of time.

    System Analysis

    • Behavior over Time Diagram: graphs the behavior of variables over time and gain insights into any interrelationships between them.
    • Graphical Function Diagram: captures how one variable affects another by plotting the relationship between the two over the full range of relevant values.
    • Causal Loop Diagram (CLD): help identify reinforcing and balancing processes.
    • Structure Behavior Pair: basic dynamic structures that can serve as building blocks for developing computer models.

    Systems Archetypes

    • Classic stories in system thinking, common patterns and structures that occur repeatedly in different settings.

    Feedback and Loops

    • Feedback: return of information about the status of a process.
    • Reinforcing loop: depicts a reinforcing process or vicious cycles or virtuous cycles.
    • Balancing loop: depicts a balancing process.
    • Events: occurrences we encounter on a day-to-day basis.
    • Patterns: accumulated memories of events, revealing recurring trends when strung together as a series over time.
    • Systemic Structures: how parts of a system are organized, generating patterns and events.

    People and Contributions

    • Ludwig Von Bertalanffy: father of Living Systems Thinking and founder of the Society for General Systems Research.
    • Jay Forrester and Donella Meadows: developed system dynamics to study and model complex feedback systems at MIT.

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    Description

    Prepare for your mid-term examination in System Thinking with these key points covering systems, events, and patterns. Understand the interrelated and interdependent parts that form a system, the occurrences encountered in daily life as events, and the accumulated memories of events known as patterns.

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