>How does your organization use systems thinking to handle ongoing
>challenges?
Our firm has spent a lot of time skilling people in systems thinking tools
and techniques. We use tools such as stock and flow simulations and
causal loop diagrams to investigate emerging issues and identify leverage.
We also use a series of tools that we call systems design tools to
actually go about designing effective solutions once we identify leveraged
options. Some of these design tools come from information systems
analysis and cross over nicely into non-technical applications.
Beyond this, we are active in using and teaching the same tools with our
clients, who are usually in the midst of organizational transformation.
Our philosophy is to skill up many people in the client organization (with
emphasis on front-line workers), so that the organization can learn to
adapt itself effectively to the changing nature of its environment.
We've used these tools to identify the sources of workload problems,
explore team dynamics problems, plan projects, and identify leveraged
applications of information technology. The techniques work very well,
and both our staff and our consultants find them very useful.
Jason Smith
Quantum Solutions
jsmith@quantumsolutions.on.ca
--"Jason Smith" <jsmith@quantumsolutions.on.ca>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>