Systems thinking for rapid decision making in industrial contexts

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren John Winter ◽  
Paul Ashton-Rickardt ◽  
Carwyn Ward ◽  
Mike Yearworth ◽  
Chris McMahon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Systems Thinking

Systems thinking, a consilience of values and logic

2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 259-274
Author(s):  
Sameer Kumar ◽  
Thomas Ressler ◽  
Mark Ahrens
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Qualitative Reasoning ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Problem Solving Process ◽  
Problem Solvers

This article is an appeal to incorporate qualitative reasoning into quantitative topics and courses, especially those devoted to decision-making offered in colleges and universities. Students, many of whom join professional workforce, must become more systems thinkers and decision-makers than merely problem-solvers. This will entail discussion of systems thinking, not just reaching “the answer”. Managers will need to formally and forcefully discuss objectives and values at each stage of the problem-solving process – at the start, during the problem-solving stage, and at the interpretation of the results stage – in order to move from problem solving to decision-making. The authors suggest some methods for doing this, and provide examples of why doing so is so important for decision-makers in the modern world.

scholarly journals Systems Thinking in Tolerance and Quality-related Design Decision-making

Procedia CIRP ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 59-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Hoffenson ◽  
Rikard Söderberg
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Design Decision ◽  
Related Design

Drifting the goals archetype: a systemic study

Kybernetes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Virupaxi Bagodi ◽  
Biswajit Mahanty
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Complex Decision Making ◽  
Complex Decision ◽  
Current Reality

PurposeManagerial decision-making is an area of interest to both academia and practitioners. Researchers found that managers often fail to manage complex decision-making tasks and system thinkers assert that generic structures known as systems archetypes help them to a great deal in handling such situations. In this paper, it is demonstrated that decision makers resort to lowering of goal (quick-fix) in order to resolve the gap between the goal and current reality in the “drifting the goals” systems archetype.Design/methodology/approachA real-life case study is taken up to highlight the pitfalls of “drifting the goals” systems archetype for a decision situation in the Indian two-wheeler industry. System dynamics modeling is made use of to obtain the results.FindingsThe decision makers fail to realize the pitfall of lowering the goal to resolve the gap between the goal and current reality. It is seen that, irrespective of current less-than-desirable performance, managers adopting corrective actions other than lowering of goals perform better in the long run. Further, it is demonstrated that extending the boundary and experimentation results in designing a better service system and setting benchmarks.Practical implicationsThe best possible way to avoid the pitfall is to hold the vision and not lower the long term goal. The managers must be aware of the pitfalls beforehand.Originality/valueSystems thinking is important in complex decision-making tasks. Managers need to embrace long-term perspective in decision-making. This paper demonstrates the value of systems thinking in terms of a case study on the “drifting the goals” systems archetype.

Critical Systems Perspective of Strategic Decision Making

2020 ◽  
pp. 55-80
Author(s):  
Jelena Nikolić ◽  
Dejana Zlatanović
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Critical Systems Thinking ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Strategic Decision Making ◽  
Critical Systems ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Systems Methodology ◽  
Soft Systems ◽  
Factors Affecting

Growing complexity and diversity of strategic decisions indicate the need for applying the appropriate holistic tools in strategic decision making. Thus, the chapter deals with the process of strategic decision making from the viewpoint of critical systems thinking, with emphasis on the role of values and context in strategic decision making. The main purpose is to show how systems thinking generally and critical systems thinking particularly can help decision makers involve different perceptions and values in the process of strategic decision making, as well as take into account context in which the strategic decisions are made. Considering the key internal and external factors affecting strategic decision making, the authors have selected three systems methodologies stemming from different paradigms: soft systems methodology as interpretive, team syntegrity as emancipatory, and organizational cybernetics as functionalist systems methodology. The way in which they can be combined, aimed at improving effectiveness of strategic decision making, has been presented.

scholarly journals Incorporating Systems Thinking into Local Governments in the United States of America

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-29
Author(s):  
Jennifer Capler
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
The United States ◽  
Participative Leadership ◽  
Government Organizations

This is an opinion-based review of other research work on systems thinking paradigms and the possible application to local governments within the United States of America. Systems thinking is a complex interaction of people to generate thoughts, concepts, and ideas for situations involving organizational processes and changes. Using systems thinking can encourage collaboration, participative leadership, and interpersonal relations, increasing organizational effectiveness. Local government organizations may benefit greatly from creating and using systems thinking, incorporating constituent input before making decisions. Taking current organizational theory and design and recognizing a knowledge gap, this specific opinion-based review of using systems thinking emphasizes the importance of maintaining leadership and effective communication, advantages and disadvantages of system thinking paradigms, and ethical considerations. As communities grow and diversity expands, local government organizations should also grow and expand with the changing demands of constituents and economic needs. My theory is that with the incorporation of systems thinking, local government representatives can increase the overall effectiveness of council meetings and decision-making. Keywords: Systems Thinking; Local Government Organizations; Effective Communication; Effective Decision-Making; Participative Leadership

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