Guest editorial
Smith, P.A.C. (2007), Special Issue: The relevance of systems thinking and system dynamics, The Learning Organization, Vol. 14, No. 6
In one of the first papers I had published in TLO (Smith and Saint-Onge, 1996, p. 5) it was asserted that “Predictability is still the basis on which most organizations are run.” That article, like a host of other publications by innumerable authors, looked forward with enthusiasm to the late 1990s and the end of the prevailing view of the world as a giant piece of clockwork. After all, much earlier, Ackoff had stated that we had begun to move from the “Machine Age” to the “Systems Age” (Ackoff, 1981, pp. 6-15), and Senge had very widely popularized the notion of “A shift of mind” and “Systems Thinking” as the cornerstones of The Learning Organization (Senge, 1990, pp. 12-13). Well, here we are in 2007, and I am still prepared to assert that “Predictability is the basis on which most organizations are run”, and furthermore, that much of today’s organizational distress can be traced to that mechanistic view.
I have always been convinced that Senge had it right when he wrote that “metanoia – a shifting of mind” was a prerequisite for adoption of a systems approach by individuals and collectives (Senge, 1990, pp. 68-92). For example in the previously referenced paper by Smith and Saint-Onge (1996) we described a case that strongly supported Senge’s view, demonstrating the importance of changing mindsets prior to systems interventions, and the means to accomplish this end. Unfortunately, as a management consultant of many years, such cases have convinced me that human beings in general are not naturally systems thinkers. In other words, the wide adoption of, or even appropriate recognition of the power of system dynamics will always be an uphill battle. Recently the Systems Dynamics Mailing List (2007) carried a heated dialog concerning “The Death of System Dynamics?” with views pro and con. Such questioning is not new – I have a copy of an excellent article by David P. Norton written in 1991 entitled “Whatever Happened to the Systems Approach” (I have a copy of the article but not the source).
It may well be therefore that I am preaching only to the converted with this Special Issue; however, I felt it timely to try to do my small part to underline once more the relevance I feel system dynamics holds for the overall success of all organizations, not just learning organizations, and indeed for the quality of the lives we live. The six authors contributing papers to this Special Issue clearly not only agree with me that systems thinking and system dynamics has relevance for organizations, but they have set out to prove it.
The first paper is by Jamshid Gharajedaghi, a longtime colleague of Russel Ackoff, and since I had the pleasure of working with Jamshid in the past, someone for whose insight and experience I have the greatest regard. Jamshid’s paper “Systems Thinking, A case for second-order-learning” is quite clear in its proposition that the roots of today’s inability to deal appropriately with change are buried in the shortcomings of a still prevailing analytical culture.
The second paper by Gianfranco Minati “Some new theoretical issues in Systems Thinking relevant for modelling corporate learning” first explores fundamental aspects introduced in the literature in order to establish a general rather than generic usage of the systems concept. Issues of definition and theoretical frameworks are then clarified before introducing new theoretical challenges for systems thinking. Gianfranco builds on these in proposing new theoretical frameworks relevant to learning, for example in learning organizations
In our third paper “Learning to think systemically – what does it take?” Carol Zulauf most effectively tackles the critical question that was central to my editorializing above. Carol describes one of the first attempts to actually gather data on how people learn to think systemically. Her action research approach involved collecting and reading 120 journals kept by graduate students in a systems thinking course. Carol’s paper concludes that systems thinking can be taught, and that indeed benefits are realized.
“Light bulbs and change – systems thinking and organisational learning for new ventures” by Misha Hebel is presented next. In this paper Misha explores the practical worth of different “tried and true” systems thinking tools that she feels may be dismissed by academic researchers as theoretically old fashioned. Misha demonstrates the contemporary power of such tools when emphasis is placed on both a simple application of the tools together with more complex processes of reflection learning.
A means to convert tacit knowledge into an explicit form is described by Messrs. Gopalkrishna, Varambally, and Rodrigues in our fifth paper “Insurance sector dynamics: towards transformation into learning organization”. By enabling the knowledge management component of an organization to better act as a central repository of organizational knowledge, making available best practices, past experience, and problem solutions for timely common use, their research minimized a critical “service quality gap”.
Last, but in no way least, in the paper “Change in(ter)ventions to organizational learning: Bravo to leaders as unifying agents” Roland Yeo examines the relationship between change interventions and organizational learning in a large-sized Singapore manufacturing firm that had implemented change interventions for two years. In this very practical paper Roland identifies the processes through which team learning develops; the factors that affect organizational learning; and the influences of such factors on organizational effectiveness.
The year 2008 marks a milestone for TLO being its 15th publishing anniversary; systems thinking and system dynamics have been around for a lot longer than this journal, but it would be gratifying to see all three flourishing and seen as relevant for very many years into the future. As always your comments are very much appreciated.
References
Ackoff, R.L. (1981), Creating the Corporate Future, John
Wiley & Sons,
Senge, P.M. (1990), The Fifth Discipline, Doubleday, Garden City, NY
Smith, P.A.C. and Saint-Onge, H. (1996), “The evolutionary organization: avoiding a Titanic fate”, The Learning Organization, Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 4–21
Systems Dynamics Mailing List (2007),
Peter Smith
Consulting and Special Issues Editor