American business is in its fifth decade of management fads. In some organizations the fads have worked, in most they have not, and in some they have even made matters worse. Many reasons have been advanced for the failure of fads, none of them quite complete. The fault lies not with the fads, but with our attempt to use them to change things for which we have insufficient understanding.
Experience has taught us well to react to events and to respond to patterns of behavior. Yet, there is a deeper level of understanding possible. An understanding on the level of structure. There are underlying structures responsible for the patterns of behavior and the events. Our lack of awareness of these structures often makes us the victim of them, even though many of the structures are of our own creation. The structures are not hidden, they are simply not obvious. We have never developed a way to see and understand them. Once we become aware of structures, know how to look for them, and understand them, they become readily apparent all around us.
What follows is a brief introduction to Systems Thinking along with a study the Home Heating Systems and a parallel to Organizational Change.
http://www.systemswiki.org/index.php?title=Victims_of_the_System_or_Systems_of_the_Victim
It seems there was a firm experiencing unacceptable payment delays from its customers. The financial analysts estimated that the company would save millions of dollars a year if they could reduce their average delay of 53 days by only a few days. Management, frustrated with the Accounts Receivable department’s inability to effect this reduction mandated that either the delay be reduced to 51 days or the department of three people would be fired. By the end of the year the delay had not been reduced and all three people were fired. Oh what a world!
Click the link below to follow the understanding that develops.
So I begin with an idea of what I want to accomplish, with sort of an idea of what it will look and feel like when I get there, though with little idea of the actual path to be traveled during the process. And, during the journey I don’t really want to introduce new concepts I want to simply build on what people already know, and make them feel amazingly well regarding how capable and talented they really are. Yes, I agree this is manipulation, pure and simple, yet I will condone manipulation when it is for your benefit, as long as you perceive it to be for your benefit.
http://www.systemswiki.org/index.php?title=Emergent_Understanding:_Learning_without_Teaching
The character of the questions we ask greatly influences the appropriateness of the answers we develop. If we ask short sighted questions should we be surprised if we develop short sighted answers? I would think not.
http://www.systemswiki.org/index.php?title=Formulating_Questions
In Leadership & Management: A Structural Perspective I offered some thoughts regarding what happens when typical management and leadership approaches are applied to a hierarchical organization structure. Having continued to consider the nature of these two activities I would now like to offer what I consider to be a systemic perspective. A perspective which differentiates the two based on the structures they foster rather than the particular activities they promote.
My contention is that the traditional activity of management, i.e., planning, organizing, directing, and controlling, is essentially the management of balancing structures, while leadership, i.e., challenge the process, inspire shared vision, enable others to act, model the way, and encourage the heart (Kouzes & Posner 2008) essentially represents the enabling of reinforcing structures.
http://www.systemswiki.org/index.php?title=Leadership_%26_Management:_A_Systemic_Perspective
I became aware of Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows shortly after it was published and sort of said, “Do I really need to read another introduction to Systems Thinking?” As it turns out this was a really stupid thought on my part.
While I’ve only fished Chapter 1, “Introduction: The Systems Lens”, I’m already convinced it’s a great piece of work, and here are a couple of thoughts which surfaced:
- Chapter 1 would make a good introduction to Systems Thinking lesson for almost any class, whether it was Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, or even Classic Literature.
- Considering the most adept manner in which the concepts were presented using “Stock & Flow Diagrams,” maybe it’s time to chuck Causal Loop Diagrams all together. Stock & Flow Diagrams are far more informative, and the book provides a way of presenting them which removes all the usual confusion.
Have a great day!
I recently happened to read Daniel Aronson’s “Targeted Innovation” paper and it kicked off a train of thought that resulted in a set of Causal Loop Diagrams which surfaced what seems to be the essence of Systems Thinking.
http://www.systemswiki.org/index.php?title=Systems_Thinking:_The_Essence_of_AND
Organizations have but a few basic difficulties. These difficulties just happen to masquerade behind a plethora of facades which ensure that most perceive their number to be legion. The apparent legion of difficulties can be distilled down to just four areas:
- Objectives: well defined, communicated, understood, and committed to
- Demand: commensurate with the level of capacity of the organization
- Capacity: adequate to meet the current and projected demands
- Effectiveness: extent to which the organization promotes demand, and manages capacity to respond to the demand on its journey toward its objectives.
See why this is considered to be the case at:
http://www.systemswiki.org/index.php?title=The_Knowledge_Centered_Organization:_A_Dream_Quest
How often do we set out with the best of intentions only to have our actions unexpectedly foiled?
Farmers Markets: http://www.snipr.com/tewlo
An example of a Success to the Successful Systems Archetype demonstrating how easy it is to influence a result based on an initial belief, without ever realizing the result is being influenced by the belief.