Lecture 1
What is the system thinking?
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What is System thinking?
• Before we start this Chapter
• Discussion: How can you solve a problem?
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Outline
• Week 1: 4/9 Course outline, Chapter 1
• Week 2: 11/9 Chapter 1/Chapter 2
• Week 3: 18/9 Chapter 2/Chapter 3
• Week 4: 25/9 Chapter 3/Chapter 4
• Week 5: 2/10 Chapter 4/Chapter 5
• Week 6: 9/10 Chapter 5/Chapter 6
• Week 7: 16/10 Chapter 6/Chapter 7
• Week 8: 23/10 Chapter 7/Chapter 8
• Week 9: 30/10 Chapter 8/Practice of System thinking case study
• Week 10: 6/11 revision
• Week 11: 13/11 Project presentation
• Week 12: 20/11 Project presentation
• Week 13: 27/11 Project presentation
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What is system thinking
• Systems thinking is the ability that an individual or organization has to
solve tough problems. With systems thinking, individuals use strategic, big-
picture thinking to make sense of a complex system.
• Systems thinking is the ability that an individual or organization has to
solve tough problems. With systems thinking, individuals use strategic, big-
picture thinking to make sense of a complex system.
• For example, we talk about how optimizing for the company typically
means sub-optimizing for individual teams. But it holds true for any large
organization.
• Without systems thinking, a team might set its goals very narrowly and
pursue them. Sometimes, those pursuits result in strategies that are
detrimental to another team or the bigger company objectives.
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• Continuing with this metaphor, a systems thinker might approach a
problem by asking:
• What could be under the surface that we don’t see?
• What are the conditions (budgets, resources) that influence the
problem?
• What issues, people or systems are working together to create what
is seen above the water?
• What ripple effects might be created by our ideas/solutions?
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• Six key elements of systems thinking
• Interconnections: Projects and people are connected. A systems thinking approach identifies those
connections and considers all of them.
• Emergence: This is the phenomenon of a larger idea, function, property or outcome that results from the
interaction of smaller parts. It often is a better solution than could be gleaned from simply looking at the
individual parts in isolation.
• Synthesis: This means combining two or more components in a system to form something new that helps us
understand the entire system better or to build a better system. “Sometimes you’re combining old ways to
make a new way. Sometimes you gain new information and create something new,” Marticek says.
• Feedback loops: Feedback loops illustrate via charts or diagrams the feedback between various parts of a
system. “You gather different pieces of the pie, and at the end, hopefully you have an outcome,” Marticek
says.
• Causality: Causality looks at how one thing influences others in an interconnected system.
• Systems mapping: Systems mapping is the chart or flow that will inform decision-making. “If you hand this
to an executive, this flow diagram will help them understand what is needed to make the change,” Marticek
says.
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What is a systems thinker?
• A systems thinker is someone who is able to look at a complex
system and consider its interconnectedness and
interdependencies, not just its isolated components.
• Effective systems thinkers usually have an open mind and think
holistically, rather than rely on a predictable formula or a linear
approach. Marticek says those who operate from a systems
thinking perspective:
• Are curious
• Find root causes
• Have an open mind
• Are good listeners
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• Group discussion:
• Are you a good system thinker? Why?