Systems thinking (original) (raw)
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Routledge eBooks, 2021
Background The idea of 'systems' has been discussed in almost all disciplines since its origin in the 17th century including physics, biology and chemistry, and was eventually used for explanations in ecology, engineering, economics, anthropology, geography, sociology, cybernetics and so on. It has emerged as a meta-discipline and as a metalanguage (Checkland & Scholes, 1999). Using the idea of systems, Checkland (1981 to date) provides the seminal work on 'systems-thinking'. 'Systems-thinking' is about consciously organised thinking processes (Arnold & Wade, 2015; Checkland, 1981). Systems-thinking is a world view which allows appreciation of holistic systems, having interconnections between the elements of which systems-thinking is made of, called system-components. This includes human and non-human elements of the system, encompassing physical, natural, social, economic, cultural and cognitive attributes, established in the form of the wider, linked processes between the users (human) and technologies or structures (non-human) of the system (Clegg, 2000). These system-components contribute to properties such as drivers, outcomes and feedbacks, and can be applied to problems of multiple disciplines (Cerar, 2012; Forrester, 1994; Voinov & Farley, 2007). As a core concept, systemsthinking is an idea of the 'adaptive whole'. As a whole, a system has its own emergent properties, layered structure and processes of communication and control (Arnold & Wade, 2015; Checkland, 1981). Systems-thinking involves several principles, which on their own are looked upon as disciplines of systems-thinking. Anderson and Johnson (1997) provide the basic principles of systems-thinking: 1 The 'Big Picture' principle demands widening one's perspective to find a more effective solution (e.g. in stressful times, one tends to focus on the immediate, most pressing problem and this perceives only the effects of changes elsewhere in the system). Therefore, one should step back to look at the bigger picture and investigate the source of the problem, which would more likely identify a more effective solution. 2 The 'Long Term, Short Term' principle suggests that the best approach to strike a balance about any decision is to consider short-term (e.g., a week, a quarter, a year) and long-term
Systems Thinking: The Art of Understanding the Dynamics of Systems
The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review
It is a discipline for seeing wholes, recognizing patterns and interrelationships, and learning how to structure those interrelationships in more effective, efficient ways. Systems Thinking is a discipline in that it proposes: to train us to observe reality as composed of dynamic systems;; to provide us powerful models of description and simulation;; to improve our ability to gain knowledge, that is to learn;; to develop our intelligence. Systems Thinking, in that it is a discipline, must be learned gradually, with practice, and continually perfected. In his book, Peter Senge presents Systems Thinking in an intuitive way, but he does not provide the logical principles behind it. I believe that the logical structure of this discipline can be summarized in five fundamental rules the systems thinker must follow at all times: if we wish to understand the world we must be able to see the "trees through the forest";; we must develop the capacity to "zoom" in and out from whole to parts, from systems to components;; we must not limit our observation to what appears constant but "look for that which varies". Variables-and the "variations" that these undergo over time-are what interests the systems thinker;; if we want to understand reality we must connect the variables which are of interest to us in a chain of causal relations among the connected variables;; we must "link the variables" in order to specify the loops between all those variations, thereby transforming the linear variations into system interactions among the variables;; when we observe the world we must always specify the boundaries of the system we are examining.
A Definition of Systems Thinking: A Systems Approach
Procedia Computer Science, 2015
This paper proposes a definition of systems thinking for use in a wide variety of disciplines, with particular emphasis on the development and assessment of systems thinking educational efforts. The definition was derived from a review of the systems thinking literature combined with the application of systems thinking to itself. Many different definitions of systems thinking can be found throughout the systems community, but key components of a singular definition can be distilled from the literature. This researcher considered these components both individually and holistically, then proposed a new definition of systems thinking that integrates these components as a system. The definition was tested for fidelity against a System Test and against three widely accepted system archetypes. Systems thinking is widely believed to be critical in handling the complexity facing the world in the coming decades; however, it still resides in the educational margins. In order for this important skill to receive mainstream educational attention, a complete definition is required. Such a definition has not yet been established. This research is an attempt to rectify this deficiency by providing such a definition.
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.
The Four Waves of Systems Thinking
Routledge Handbook of Systems Thinking, 2021
It has been over thirty years since the third wave washed onto the beach of systems practice, bringing with it (amongst other things) a healthy focus on methodological pluralism. This focus represents a significant aspect of the context for editing this book, and is the reason why such a diverse variety of approaches and methodologies could be represented in it. We describe the focus on methodological pluralism as ‘healthy’ because, in the early 1980s (just before the start of the third wave), the systems research community was involved in a paradigmatic war between first wave thinkers, who advocated a focus on objective analysis and optimization (usually using quantitative modelling methods to derive expert recommendations to hand over to decision makers), and second wave practitioners who advocated the participative exploration of stakeholder perspectives, and the use of qualitative modelling methods to enable better mutual understanding and agreements on action to be taken. In contrast, third wave authors argued that both types of systems approach were useful for different purposes and in different contexts. This advocacy for methodological pluralism struck a chord with pragmatic practitioners, many of whom already mixed methods from different paradigmatic sources—systems methodology was aligning with what many people intuitively saw as best practice. That was in the second half of the 1980s and early 1990s, and for the most part, it ended the paradigm war between first and second wave systems thinkers. A new valuing of diversity flourished, and as a result, more and more methodological innovations were proposed.
Systems, 2020
Systems thinking is an approach to reasoning and treatment of real-world problems based on the fundamental notion of ‘system.’ System here refers to a purposeful assembly of components. Thus, systems thinking is aimed at understanding relationships between components and their overall impact on system outcomes (i.e., intended and unintended) and how a system similarly fits in the broader context of its environment. There are currently several distinct flavors of systems thinking, both in practice and scholarship; most notably in the disciplines of systems science, systems engineering, and systems dynamics. Each of these, while similar in purpose, has a distinct history and a rich set of methods and tools for various application contexts. The WPI Systems Thinking Colloquium held on 2 October 2019 was aimed at exploring the diversity of perspectives on systems thinking from these disciplines. The colloquium brought together world-renowned experts from both industry and academia to sha...
Systems Thinking, Systems Practice: Includes a 30-Year Retrospective
The Journal of the Operational Research Society, 2000
Systems Thinking, Systems Practice "Whether by design, accident or merely synchronicity, Checkland appears to have developed a habit of writing seminal publications near the start of each decade which establish the basis and framework for systems methodology research for that decade." Hamish Rennie, Journal of the Operational Research Society, 1992 Thirty years ago Peter Checkland set out to test whether the Systems Engineering (SE) approach, highly successful in technical problems, could be used by managers coping with the unfolding complexities of organizational life. The straightforward transfer of SE to the broader situations of management was not possible, but by insisting on a combination of systems thinking strongly linked to real-world practice Checkland and his collaborators developed an alternative approach -Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) -which enables managers of all kinds and at any level to deal with the subtleties and confusions of the situations they face. This work established the now accepted distinction between 'hard' systems thinking, in which parts of the world are taken to be 'systems' which can be 'engineered', and 'soft' systems thinking in which the focus is on making sure the process of inquiry into real-world complexity is itself a system for learning. Thinking, Systems Practice (1981) and Soft Systems Methodology in Action (1990) together with an earlier paper Towards a Systems-based Methodology for Real-World Problem Solving (1972) have long been recognized as classics in the field. Now Peter Checkland has looked back over the three decades of SSM development, brought the account of it up to date, and reflected on the whole evolutionary process which has produced a mature SSM. SSM: A 30-Year Retrospective, here included with Systems Thinking, Systems Practice closes a chapter on what is undoubtedly the most significant single research programme on the use of systems ideas in problem solving. Now retired from full-time university work, Peter Checkland continues his research as a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow.
Systems intelligence in the process of systems thinking
2009
Abstract In any decision process, some kind of “big picture” is assumed. It encompasses a series of interdependent holistic judgments such as what is the overall purpose of the process, what issues are taken into account, what resources are decided upon, and what sources of information and expertise are used. The process of trying to see this big picture is an important element in the process of systems thinking.