GE 401 – Systems Thinking Week 4&5 PDF

GE 401 – SYSTEMS THINKING  Thinking in systems One way of representing complex issues more simply is by the use of diagrams. The use of diagrams to represent situations is an important theme of systems work, as connectedness can be simply represented and understoo...

GE 401 – SYSTEMS THINKING  Thinking in systems One way of representing complex issues more simply is by the use of diagrams. The use of diagrams to represent situations is an important theme of systems work, as connectedness can be simply represented and understood. One of the central devices used in simplifying a holistic approach to problems is the representation of an issue or situation as system. This requires the identification of boundary that separates the system from its environment and a method or device for representing the system (such as a diagram).  Thinking in systems A readily understood ‘standard system’ is the ‘vicious circle’. Most of us have experienced vicious circles of one sort or another. For example, if I have an unproductive day, I tend to work late into the night to try and make up lost time. The next day, I'm tired out and even less productive.  Thinking in systems It cannot be emphasised too much that the point of using the systems way of describing an issue is not to say ‘this is how it actually is’ but intentionally to generate variety in the way the issue is thought about. This variety is useful, indeed usually necessary, where our conventional or established way of thinking about the issue has not led to a satisfactory outcome. The point of looking at something as if it were a system is to generate a new representation of the issue so as to make it easy to think about in a new way.  Thinking in systems The only criterion for deciding whether a particular representation is a ‘good’ one or not, is whether it leads to fruitful insights. With practice, most people start to get the trick of being able to identify quickly two or three representations that all generate insights and new learning While beginners take longer and are pleased if they can get more than one. Everyone has their own ways of thinking about other people, conflict, power issues, organisational politics and so on.  Thinking in systems The time when we all get stuck is when our usual ways of thinking about the issue totally let us down, when everything we try seems to make the situation worse, when every attempt to reduce conflict seems to increase misunderstandings. That is the time we need a ‘fresh approach’, a new way of looking at the whole thing, a new set of ideas to bring to the situation – and it is at such times that the systems approach can provide rewarding results.  Thinking in systems The systems approach to complex situations can also help in less extreme situations; indeed, if consistently used it would enable one to avoid getting into most extreme positions, Because maintaining a flexible view of a situation allows one to anticipate unpleasant surprises sooner than someone who holds a fixed view.  Summary Systems thinking is useful for investigating complex situations. It involves a holistic approach that looks at the behaviour of wholes, and the many interconnections between the components, using a variety of methods. Some of these methods are systematic and orderly but in general systematic thinking is more common in reductionist thinking where situations are broken down into parts.  Types of systems Everyone is involved with things called systems – information systems, financial systems, ecological systems, computer systems, education systems which are often called systems by professionals in a particular field. For example, doctors talk of the nervous system in the body, therapists of the family system, engineers of the safe systems in a car or power station. In general, all these systems seem complicated and often behave in unpredictable ways. Many firms have introduced computerized information systems and found that the information particular people need takes faster to find the relevant information than it did when it was kept in boxes. Another common experience, the system has changed people's jobs in unexpected and unintended ways leading to industrial difficulties and then to an awkward restructuring of the firm.  Definition of a system At first sight, a computer system and the body's respiratory system don't seem to have much in common, nor do the world financial system and an ecological system. Each of them is called a system, so they must have something in common. When you are not sure what something means one can find it helpful to look for opposites: so what isn't a system? For example; a brick, a book, a shelf, a packet of mints and a ticket for a concert. None of them seems to be a system. But the shelf with books on does look like a system, and we can suppose the ticket could be thought of as part of a system of organizing concerts.  Definition of a system One difference seems to be something to do with connections. The shelves, the brackets holding them up, the screws holding the brackets up, the books and the brick are all connected But not simply physically connected. We wouldn't describe the same set of things lying on the floor together, before we put the shelves up, as a system.  Definition of a system The activities which have to happen to put on the particular concert: the hiring of the hall, the rehearsals, the ticket selling – are connected too. The connections between them have been planned and organised. A second difference is that once they are up they have been put together for purpose. Although the connections are not of the same kind as those between the screws and brackets, they have been put together for a purpose  Definition of a system The first attempt at a definition is that a system is set of things interconnected for a purpose. The ‘things’ may be physical objects – like the shelf, books and brick – or they may be activities like those needed to put on the concert. They may even be ideas, such as those which make up a system of thought. It is helpful to have a generic word which will cover all these possible ‘things’, and we’re going to use the word ‘components’ instead; so to redefine a system as set of components interconnected for a purpose.  Definition of a system It is natural to use the word system only when a set of components seems to have some purpose that we have described to it – some aim or goal. So, the purpose of a car braking system is to enable us to stop the car, The purpose of the respiratory system is to enable our bodies to take in oxygen. On the other hand, it may occur to you that there are some things called systems in common speech which don't seem to have a purpose; There is a good reason. When you are confronted with a set of components and you want to find ways of working with them, or making them work better, it is always useful to look at them as if they had a purpose. An urban transport system may have grown up over the past fifty or more years, without any overall purpose; but if you want to replan or redesign it, it will always be helpful to look at it as if it had the purpose of enabling people to move easily around the city.  Definition of a system We can now elaborate on our definition of system of interest to include other aspects, namely: 1. A system is an assembly of components connected together in an organized way. 2. The components are affected by being in the system and the behavior of the system is changed if they leave it. 3. This organized assembly of components does something. 4. This assembly as a whole has been identified by someone who is interested in it.  Definition of a system Another definitions that come from noted writer on systems is: Ackoff: A system is a set of two or more elements that satisfies the following three conditions: 1. The behavior of each element has an effect on the behavior of the whole. 2. The behavior of the elements and their effects on the whole are interdependent. 3. However subgroups of the elements are formed, each has an effect on the behavior of the whole and none has an independent effect on it. A system, therefore, is a whole that cannot be divided into independent parts. The essential properties of a system taken as a whole derive from the interaction of its parts, not their actions taken separately.  The language of systems Whichever definition you prefer, the term system is closely, indeed logically, associated with two other terms environment and boundary. The environment of a system comprises those elements, activities, people, ideas and so on that are not part of the system but which may nevertheless be important in understanding it. System is the foreground; environment is the background. As for the term boundary, that is basically where the system ends and the environment begins. Putting a boundary around this organized assembly of components distinguishes it from its context or environment.  The language of systems The language of systems does not solve this problem, but it does provide a way of addressing it. The task is essentially one of finding a workable provisional boundary for the system containing the problem, or at least a significant part of the problem. But in distinguishing between system and environment one accepts that the problem is not self- contained, that it can only be partially disentangled from its broader context.  The language of systems The system described is not solely comprised of tangible elements – departments, people, workshops, and so on. The assumptions and norms that shape behavior are all important elements. One cannot really understand how the ‘system’ works without understanding how things look to those inside it. It includes a number of agencies and institutions that are clearly related, and the people they serve, but it also includes parts of other institutions as well as people who are not part of any relevant institution.  The language of systems An important distinction between two ways in which the term system is used: 1. Recognised systems that it is convenient to think of as existing ‘out there’. Such systems are widely acknowledged either because they are deliberately created (a stock control system, a computer system); or because they are fairly discrete, naturally occurring phenomena that have long since been ruled and analyzed by scientists (the nervous system and the solar system); or just because they are popularly referred to as systems in a vague though useful way (the legal system, the economic system, are examples). In general, such systems are based on widely shared perceptions.  The language of systems 2. Explanatory systems, such as in the phrase ‘it's the system’, whose status as entities is much more problematic. Indeed, if a system of this sort exists anywhere, it is in the mind of the individual who conceives it. It is simply a particular way of thinking about selected aspects of the world and their interrelationships which is useful in relation to the individual's concerns.  The language of systems Systems are nested within other, wider systems. Saying that ‘this’ is the environment, ‘this’ is the system, and ‘these’ are the sub-systems, of which the system is constituted, reflects a choice of the level at which you will work. Russian dolls, which fit easily one inside another, provide a useful analogy. No single one of them is ‘the doll’; each one fits inside a larger one. Instead of trying to identify ‘the system’ it is more helpful to think of a hierarchy of systems which fit inside each other from which you have to select the system-level at which you will work by exploring the most relevant ones.  The language of systems The use of the Russian doll analogy is an example of a set of techniques that can be used to explore complex situations, others being the use of metaphors, diagrams, and models. We can build up our view of the system being considered by wheeling in particular models of various systems and using them to highlight the presence or absence of particular interrelationships and patterns of behavior within the system. Thinking in terms of systems is to be of any use it must involve more than mentally grouping a number of elements together and calling them a system. The whole point is that these elements are interrelated, so it is important to be able to grasp the ways in which they characteristically combine and interact to provide a basis for deciding what to include in the system in the first place.  Summary The word ‘system’ to make five points about thinking in terms of systems: 1. The intangible elements, e.g. norms and assumptions, are essential factors in understanding how a system works. 2. Explanatory systems are identified in relation to the observer's interests. 3. Often one has to extend the boundary in order to achieve a coherent understanding of a complex situation. 4. A system at one level of analysis can be viewed instead as a sub-system in its environment at a higher level of analysis. 5. Models and analogies of systems are powerful tools in helping to identify patterns and regularities.  Summary A system A heap 1. Interconnecting parts functioning as a whole 1. A collection of parts 2. Changed - if you take away pieces or add 2. Essential properties are unchanged whether more pieces. If you cut the system in half you you add or take away pieces. when you halve do not get two smaller systems, but a a heap, you get two smaller heaps damaged system that will not properly 3. The arrangement of the pieces is irrelevant function 4. The parts are not connected and can function 3. The arrangement of the pieces is crucial separately 4. The parts are connected and work together 5. Its behaviour (if any) depends on its size or 5. Its behaviour depends on the total structure. on the number of pieces in the heap. Change the structure and the behaviour changes  Which of the following do you recognize as a system, according to the definitions given? 1. The houses in an old village. 2. Your personal computer. 3. Activities needed to get this course to you on time. 4. A small wood. 5. The spare parts in the store of a garage. 6. Mathematics. 7. Meetings of the board of directors of a company.  An example from your life. How did you solve a problem that you have faced with using systems thinking ? ozan.saglik@alanyauniversit y.edu.tr Thank you for listening! Ozan SAĞLIK