Applying Systems Thinking and
Common Archetypes to Organizational Issues

Module 2: Organizational Learning and Systems Thinking Framework

Purpose of Systems Thinking

What Is Systems Thinking?

Systems Thinking has been described by George Richardson, former Chairman of the Systems Dynamics Society, as the "mental effort to uncover the ENDOGENOUS SOURCES OF SYSTEM BEHAVIOR." This means that we are most interested in how our behavior and the design of the system itself can account for the performance we observe. Keep in mind that there are always compelling explanations about how results are due to EXOGENOUS forces, however these explanations offer little leverage for change. From the perspective of organizational learning, we need a method of collective inquiry that helps us see the whole relative to our aspirations. We also need models about how disparate parts of an organization can better coordinate their strategic choices and action to achieve desired results.

The Purpose of Systems Thinking

As a tool for collective inquiry and coordinated action, the purposes of Systems Thinking are:

  • Foster team learning and collaboration.
  • Tell compelling stories that describe how the system works.
  • Discover the system structure behind problems.
  • Describe our own mental models and those of others about why the system performs as it does.
  • Test possible strategies against intended results and for unintended consequences.
  • Identify higher-leverage interventions.

As a result, Systems Thinking enables us to:

  • Understand how organizations and other complex systems really function.
  • Change our own thinking to match the way such systems operate.
  • Change our behavior so that we are working with these complex forces instead of against them to create what we want.
    • Develop greater appreciation for the impact of our strategies on others in the system.
    • Be aware of the impacts of time delays and the need to balance short-term and long-term objectives and strategies.
    • Anticipate unintended consequences of well-intentioned strategies.