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Business book. The
ultimate resource. Voice
activation applied, excuse typos. Open Systems
Thinking. Does not
replace expert consultation. Open systems
thinking should not follow a rigid series of tasks. Systems
thinking invades many of the most radical approaches to modern management. Three main
reasons why a mechanical view of systems fails to work. System
complexity. Uncertainty
in the environment. Conflict in
human values. Definition. The forces of
interrelationships that shape the behavior of systems. Traditional
approaches might work for engineering are scientific problems. Totally
inadequate for complex systems like organizations. Open systems
thinking concentrates on describing the behavior of the system and associated
problems before the possibility for improving the behavior of the system and
solving these problems are explored. Open systems
thinking is also a learning approach compatible with modern quality
philosophies. Advantages. Can encourage
creative thinking, new ways of doing things. Focuses on
reality, not idealized mental maps. Probably the
only way to deal with wicked problems. Takes a
longer-term strategic view, not just a technical one. Fits well
with management practices such as teamwork and continuous improvement. Disadvantages. Intellectually
challenging. May produce
more questions than answers. Not
appropriate for situations were structured problems solving approaches are
guaranteed to work. Or where there is cultural heavily technocratic
environments. Usually
requires like-minded people. Checklist. 1. Find out
about the problem. Open systems
thinking leaves explanations until the end. Trying to
observe all the symptoms in a situation.
A wide as viewpoint as possible. 2. Define the system. Describe the
events that are relevant to the situation. Pay attention
to the department or organization as a whole. Pick up the
main trends or patterns. Trying to
identify the most important variables and understand what is going on is most
important. Mapping
changes on time lines will often reveal surprising relationships between the
variables and events in time. Map the
underlying systems or structures. This is a key
stage in building effective models of systems. Identify the
relationships or inner dependency between components. Focus on the
feedback loops that control the behavior of the system. The behavior
of all systems is controlled by feedback loops. Do not make
your mind up early. Example, a
rising customer complaints might be linked to a circle in which increased
pressure on sales staff is occurring. 3. Build models from your definitions. Models are an
important part of our everyday lives. Finding the
right model to describe complex situations is a real art form. Mental
models, can achieve remarkable results in conveying to others the essence of
particular situations. 4. Compare the models with the real world. Go back to
the stakeholders and confirm that the model works and takes all the factors
into consideration. Someone
throws a monkey wrench into the works at this time, change the model. 5. Identify possible actions. Not
solutions, the ways of improving the behavior of the system. The solution
may require shifts in these relationships instead of intermediate short-term
measures. 6. Implement the action. In a learning
organization, managers to spend a lot of time watching the effects of
introduced change. 7. Start the cycle again. The approach
to solving problems, is cyclical. Continuous
improvement. Glossary. Structured
systems analysis. The use of formal
problems solving techniques to describe systems. Top-down approach. System. A collection of units interactive form a
single operational unit. Systems
analyst. The application of special
techniques to study systems. Open systems
thinking DO's. Avoid quick
fixes. Test and
retest. Try to gain
ownership and acceptance for your models before you look for solutions. Open systems
thinking don'ts. Do not place
too much trust on the ability of your explanation to account for the behavior
of your organization. Don't take
the rejection of your interpretation as personal criticism. Don't
underestimate the importance of human beings in the system your modeling. Thought
starters. If you are to draw an
organizational chart based on the real power illusion, how would differ from
the official one. How many
levels of systems are there in your organization. Delayering
attempts to simplify systems, but often fails to reestablish the right sort
of feedback loops in the system. End of data. |
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