Business: Systems Thinking Essays

Submitted By missellenadams
Words: 1655
Pages: 7
Open Document
All human actions take place within a wider context or situation. The essential aspect of understanding situation from a system perspective is to consider the system as a whole. One of the most popular descriptions of this system or the holistic view is known as the (SSM), which is generally known as the Checkland approach. A systems approach tends to be an approach to a problem that takes the broad view, which takes all aspects into account, and which concentrates on interactions between different parts of the problem. An approach is the way of tackling a problem, and obviously, a particular approach may be relevant to more than one subject (Checkland, 1981).

A system approach use systems thinking to help in understanding the world and its behaviour. System thinking involves the use of systems concepts (ideas) and system methodologies and leads to construction of models of the system. Soft system modelling is a subjective process because no two people will look at any particular aspect of the world (except hard system) in exactly the same way. A system model is a set of organised assumptions about a particular aspect of the world and the way it works which have been identified as a system. Identifying system is not a purely objective process since the purposes and interests of the researcher will be involved. The system approach is not an attempt to understand every thing about a system, rather its tries to include all factors relevant to the topic or problem under consideration. This helps to highlight requirements of the system. System approach by itself is not a methodology, but involves the use of systems methodologies. Jenkins (1969) states that systems methodology comprises stages of system analysis, systems design, implementation and operation, formulation of the problem or objective is starting point. System approach is not a method, it is a way of looking at a problem. As result of this, finding a methodology, which uses the systems approach to apply to this study was essential Checkland's soft methodology which use system approach was chosen. SSM has stimulated much interest and also has attracted considerable academic debate regarding its use in wider management problems and information systems issues. Indeed, SSM is not a technique (a method that requires certain procedures to be followed in order in obtain a predictable outcome), but is a set of guidelines for applying system ideas. Although these guidelines help an analyst to approach investigations methodically, they still allow considerable scope for individual interpretation. Since the original group of people who developed this approach was part of the Department of Systems Engineering, much of the activity was developed using characteristics of industry. Only in recent years, has experience outside industry contributed significantly to SSM development (Checkland, 1999). However, during the past two decades since its inception, SSM has had a considerable success as a general purpose problem - solving methodology, tackling the messy or unstructured problems which managers of all kinds and at all levels have to cope within their work. The emphasis of SSM is not on finding a solution to a specified problem, it is on understanding the situation in which a perceived problem is thought to lie.

Distinction between 'hard' and 'soft' problems

In selecting a methodology for problem-solving, a distinction between hard and soft problems is very important. A hard or structured problem is one which is exclusively concerned with a 'how' type of question. This kind of problem is the domain of the design engineer who seeks effective and economic answers on 'how' to provide. For example, 'How can we transfer an objective from point A to B at a minimum cost'? Another example of a hard system is an engineering application or a computer system development. Hard problems are problems characterised by the fact that they can be well defined. It is assumed that there
Show More

Related Documents: Business: Systems Thinking Essays

Essay about Jack: Requirements Analysis and Critical Thinking Questions

Systems Analysis and Design: IS 4430 Spring 2014 Department of Operations and Information Systems The David Eccles School of Business The University of Utah Instructor Jon Soldan Class Times Wednesday 6:00 – 9:00pm Classroom SFEBB 1110 Phone (801) 440-0349 Email jon.soldan@business.utah.edu Course Description Systems analysis and design is an essential skill for anyone involved with technology. Whether you are a product manager, functional manager, database administrator, developer…

Words 1219 - Pages 5

Organization and Effective Learning Organization Essay

workplace” (p. 13). The Systems theory is one approach to Organizational theory that I believe demonstrates my philosophy that employees with a sense of value in the workplace benefit an effective learning organization. According to Ingram (2015), “As arguably the most valuable component of a company, employees make up various vital subsystems within an organization. Departments, work groups, business units, facilities, and individual employees can all be considered component systems of the organizations…

Words 479 - Pages 2

Critical Review of "It's Not Luck" Essay

Introduction to Business Strategy and its Operations Strategy 3 3. Levels of Strategy 4 4. Executive Summary of It's Not Luck 6 5. Principles of Operations Strategy 7 6. Conclusion 9 7. References 10 1. Preface The content of this assignment constitutes my understanding and interpretation of the book "It's Not Luck" authored by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt. I have endeavoured to provide a critical review of the book and its application to the business…

Words 3298 - Pages 14

E-Myth Revisited Essay example

Report In this report, I have two main parts from each section, a before part and an after part. The “before” part basically describes my outlook towards business and entrepreneurship before reading The E-Myth Revisited and the “after” portion basically describes the various aspects of my changed thinking and the changed outlook towards business and entrepreneurship after reading the book. Baking has been my passion and I have acquired some good baking skills over the years. People also say that…

Words 1334 - Pages 6

Is Concentration And Career Analysis

a small business, I decided to pursue a degree in business administration with concentration in management and marketing. By the time I graduated from college, I realized how important it is to implement information technology into a small business like ours. Our competitors have created online shopping websites which result in increasing sales and expanding territories. It would be cost insufficient for us to hire a professional firm to build our website and maintain it. I start thinking why not…

Words 1825 - Pages 8

Accounting Information System Essay

reflection about learning Accounting Information Systems Part 1 The course of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) introduces fundamental information system concepts and includes the knowledge of applying the system to collect, store and analysis the financial and accounting information for decision-makers (Dull et.al 2012). By learning this course, it helps to build the ability of using information technology to manage and process information in business process and to deal with some practical problems…

Words 1700 - Pages 7

critical thinking Essay

Class: Philosophy 150 Date: 04- Nov - 2013 Critical thinking “the systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs, or statements, by rational standards”. This statements can be view and discuss in numerous dimensions. Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationaly. It is not a matter of accumulating information. A person with a good memory and who knows a lot of fact is not necessay good at critical thinking. A critical thinker is able to bring out consequences from what…

Words 661 - Pages 3

WEEK 5 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT Essay

426 April 21, 2015 Diannah Thomas In the modern business world, the working environments for all different types of business organizations have seen massive amounts of change. This factor is due largely in part to situations like globalization and the constant cycles of development in information technologies. Business organizations have no choice anymore but to face and accommodate this new business environment. Change in the business environment is never as easy as it seems, and each organization…

Words 1319 - Pages 6

BSBMKG501B Presentation 1 V2 Essay

BSBMKG501B Identify and evaluate marketing opportunities Session 1 Purpose of this presentation At the end of this session, you should be able to analyse information on markets and business needs to identify opportunities. Key discussion:  information systems  market research  evaluation of data  information systems  environmental factors  opportunity and threat analysis  assessment of markets  customer and consumer trends. Purpose of this presentation (cont.) Key discussion:    …

Words 2687 - Pages 11

Crit A Consultation Essay

describe your business. A small building company that currently has approximately 30 employees. We have 5 completed projects and all are sold out, as we have dedicated investors and buyers that favour our apartment designs. What is the current situation and problem(s) that your business is facing? The main problem is as my business is expanding in terms of its customer base and storing and managing data is becoming a problem. As we are currently using a paper-based filing system then inputs it…

Words 542 - Pages 3