The effect of an individual's education level on their systems skills in the system of systems domain (original) (raw)
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Enabling systems thinking to accelerate the development of senior systems engineers
Systems Engineering, 2008
As systems become more complex, the roles involved in developing and managing such systems also become more complex. Thus, there is increasing interest in educating and training engineering professionals to think more systemically. In particular, there is an increasing need to accelerate the development of senior systems engineers. As new educational degree programs in systems rapidly emerge and as companies scurry to establish systems training programs to meet this need, fundamental questions still remain about how systems thinking develops in engineers. Increased understanding of the mechanisms that develop systems thinking will enable effective and efficient development of senior systems professionals. After reviewing related literature, an exploratory and inductive study was designed to gather data on enablers, barriers, and precursors to systems thinking development in engineers. In a field study conducted primarily in the United States aerospace sector, 205 interviews were conducted in 10 host companies. Senior systems engineers were studied to better understand how they developed systems thinking, and information was collected on company procedures for developing systems engineers. Using interview and survey data, 1 comparisons were made of two control groups and senior systems engineers. Proven stellar systems thinkers were also interviewed. To summarize the results, even though systems thinking definitions diverge, there is consensus on primary mechanisms that enable or obstruct systems thinking development in engineers. In order to reconcile the divergent definitions observed, a systems thinking framework and definition are given. The data show that the primary mechanisms that enable systems thinking development include experiential learning, specific individual characteristics, and a supporting environment. This document defines the research space on this topic and suggests applications for the results. Better understanding of systems thinking development provides a foundation for educational interventions and employee development in systems thinking for engineering professionals across industry, government, and academia.
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PRACTITIONERS' PREFERENCES FOR SYSTEMS-THINKING SKILLS
American Society for Engineering Management 2019 International Annual Conference and 40th Annual Meeting, 23 - 26 Oct., Philadelphia, PA, USA., 2019
The exponential enhancement of technology embedded in interdependent systems has led to increased difficulty and complexity in problem-solving and decision-making in any system of systems domains, including healthcare, infrastructure and utility networks, business structures, military combat systems and others. Systems thinking (ST) paradigm offer a shift in the worldview into how complex systems are perceived, assessed, managed, and governed. Addressing problems in complex systems need not only technical knowledge but also consideration for inherent individual differences, including differences in gender. This study compares the differences in systems skills/preferences across genders using multi-group structural equation modeling approach. The paper concludes with the discussion of results, limitations of the research, and directions for future studies.
Systems Thinking: An Analysis of Key Factors and Relationships
Procedia Computer Science, 2014
Today's work environment presents engineers with complex challenges that demand holistic approaches. Systems thinking provides ways to think about a problem and its solutions using "whole system" perspectives. There have been multiple studies that identify the key elements that comprise systems thinking. These studies have resulted in the identification of sets of individual systems thinking traits, elements, and characteristics. In this paper, the authors further explore and analyze individual systems thinking elements as well as the relationships between the various elements. The authors will present and discuss a model that illustrates the relationships between the elements related to individual systems thinking.
The Barriers to Systems Thinking
System Thinking is a prerequisite to effective Systems Engineering, and is one of the hardest elements to recognize, develop and use. This paper argues that this is because Systems Thinking is hard, and actually unnatural. There are barriers in the way the human brain is pre-disposed to act, and the current state of engineering can also be a barrier to Systems Thinking. To deliver the value promised by Systems Engineering recognizing these difficulties, and overcoming them is essential.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT, 2021
Although the application of systems thinking (ST) has become essential for practitioners when dealing with turbulent and complex environments, there are limited studies available in the current literature that investigate how the ST skills of practitioners vary with regard to demographic factors and personality types (PTs). To address this gap, this article uses a structural equation modeling approach to explore the relationship between practitioners’ST skills, PT, and a set of demographic factors. The demographic factors included in the study are education level, the field of the highest degree, organizational ownership structure, job experience, and current occupation type. A total of 99 engineering managers, 104 systems engineers (SEs), and 55 practitioners with other occupations participated in this article. Results showed that the education level, the field of the highest degree, PT, organizational ownership structure, and current job experience of practitioners influenced their level of ST skills. Additionally, the current occupation type of practitioners partially affects their level of ST skills. An in-depth analysis was also conducted using multiple group analysis to show how seven ST skills of the practitioners vary across their level of education. Taken together, the findings of the study suggest that PT and a set of demographic factors—the education level, the field of the highest degree, organizational ownership structure, current job experience, and current occupation type—influence the overall ST skill of the practitioners.
2005
In order to support or discredit existing heuristics on how senior systems engineers develop, a field study has been designed to gather data on enablers, barriers, and precursors to systems thinking development. In a series of host companies, information is being collected on formal company procedures for developing senior systems professionals, and senior systems architects and systems engineers are being studied to better understand how they developed. Using interview and survey data, comparisons are made of the characteristics and development histories of two control groups and these senior systems professionals. Results of this study are given. By providing information and data on this development process, this research helps companies understand how to more rapidly develop senior systems engineers.
An Instrument to Assess Individual Capacity for System Thinking
2014
AN INSTRUMENT TO ASSESS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY FOR SYSTEMS THINKING Ra’ed M. Jaradat Old Dominion University, 2014 Director: Prof. Charles B. Keating The purpose of this research was to develop and deploy a new systems thinking instrument to assess individual capacity for systems thinking using an inductive research design. While technology has been increasing exponentially, the corresponding methods to harness those technological advances, and the problems they have spawned, is lagging. While there is a broad collection of systems based methods, techniques, technologies, and tools that can be used in dealing with complex problems, these are predicated on an individual's capacity for engaging a level of systems thinking commensurate with their effective deployment. Research based methods to determine individual capacity for systems thinking were not found in the literature. This research addressed the literature gap by developing an instrument to determine the individual capacity f...
Determinants of Systems Thinking in College Engineering Students: Research Initiation
The 126th Annual Conference & Exposition American Society for Engineering Education, Tampa, FL., 2019
As the world becomes increasingly complicated, systems thinking continues to gain recognition as an important and necessary skill for future engineers. Systems thinking does not replace traditional technical skills required of engineers; rather, it provides a complementary skillset to help better navigate complex systems and their corresponding problems. The increasing complexity of U.S. industries demands that universities train and educate future engineers with systems-thinking skills to solve the range of interconnected problems companies may face. Many factors have the potentials to impact systems-thinking skills. This paper aims to identify the effects of potential impacting factors on the systems-thinking skillset. Current college engineering students were the target population of the study. Structural Equation Modeling was performed to quantify the relationship between systems-thinking skills and potential impacting factors. The results of this study indicated that employment status would affect the overall systems-thinking skills of the engineering students and the engineering students with outside job experience will score higher than students without outside job experience in the systems-thinking skills.
2000
As systems become more complex, the roles involved in developing and managing such systems also become more complex. As such, there is increasing interest in training engineering professionals to think systemically. However, sufficient data are missing to understand the mechanisms that most effectively and efficiently develop systems thinking. This article discusses preliminary findings on enablers, barriers, and precursors to the
The Development and Initial Validation of the Paradigm of Systems Thinking
Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2018
Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static "snapshots." '-Peter Senge. The current research examined the psychological construct of systems thinking alongside other established psychological constructs of intelligence, personality, cognitive complexity and creativity to distinguish systems thinking as an independent psychological construct. Across two studies, results suggest that, while systems thinking may overlap with some of these constructs, notably intelligence and cognitive complexity, these constructs did not fully explain obtained variance in systems thinking scores and suggest that systems thinking may indeed be a distinct, perhaps foundational, psychological construct that may exist as an individual difference dimension. This exploratory study discusses the theoretical implications of systems thinking as well as further psychometric validation of the Systems Thinking Scale.