Post on 09-Feb-2016
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ALED 342/ALEC 609 INFO• 4/09 LEARNING COMM REFLECTION DUE• 4/21 APP 4 DUE• 4/21 LEADER “E” EVAL DUE
• EXAM #2 – Add Part 1 points + Part 2 points + Part 3 points = your score out
of 250 points possible– Class average = 84%
Systems Thinking
ALED 342/ALEC 609Dr. Chris Townsend
Texas A&M University
Systems Thinking:Formal Definition
• A way of thinking about and a language for describing and understanding the forces and interrelationship that shape the behavior of systems. This discipline helps change organizations in relation to the forces within and surrounding the organization.
• WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?????????
Systems Thinking: How your actions shape current reality
• A framework, a blue print
• A way to enhance quality of thinking and decision-making
A recipe is a framework to enhance qualityChocolate chip/oatmeal cookies
– ¼ C butter– ¾ C “crisco”– 2 eggs– ¾ C brown sugar– ¾ C sugar
– 1 ½ C flour– 1 t baking soda– 1 t salt– 2 t water– 1 t vanilla– ½ bag chips– 1 C oats
What happens if you forget the sugar?
Systems Thinking: How your actions shape current reality
• See the “whole” organization• See the interrelationships• Distinguish important data & complex
patterns that affect outcomes
Systems Thinking Analysis StepsAPPLICATION 4
• LINKS: arrows that represent influence from one element to another
• Links show cause and effect
Cause Effect
Links Made Simple:
• Draw how an event influences another part of the system
Number of Students Class Size
“Loops”
1. Links are connected2. Connection is a circle3. Circle demonstrates “causality”4. Events can be both cause and
effect
LINKS to LOOPS
• Draw events within a system• Turn LINK into a circle
• Use arrows to show how each event influences the next one
Number of Students Class Size
LOOPS made simple:
• Now “read” what the loop says:• First ½ : When more students are admitted, classes get
larger
• Second ½: When classes get larger, more students are admitted
• So, what happens to the SYSTEM? The cause/effect continues…over and over again
Number of Students Class Size
“CAUSAL” LOOPS
• Add more detail to indicate type of INFLUENCE
• Add an “O” to indicate OPPOSITE effect• Add an “S” to indicate SAME effect
Number of Students
Class size
CREATE A CAUSAL LOOP
• When student #’s go UP, class size goes UP (S)• When class size goes UP, student #’s go DOWN (O)
Students Class size
S
O
“variable”“variable”
Corn Production
Market Price
S
O
Causal Loop:Telling your story with a diagram
Layoffs
Employee ConfidencePerformance
Anxiety
O
O
O
O
Causal Loop Interpretation:What does it say?
“variable”
“O=opposite influence”
Layoffs
Employee ConfidencePerformance
Anxiety
O
O
O
O
Causal Loop:Telling your story with a diagram
Consumer Demand for Organic Food
New Products
Cost to Consumer
Production
O
S
S
OCausal Loop:Telling your story with a diagram
Market Price
S
2 Types of Loops
•Balancing
•Reinforcing
Reinforcing Loops
• Generate exponential growth or great collapse
• Influences go “up,” means things are great• Influences go “down,” means a vicious
downward cycle
Balancing Loops
• Influences are be self-correcting
• Organization does not “spin” out of control• Stops a run away downward reinforcing
loop
Determining Balancing vs. Reinforcing
• Balancing = odd # of O’s
• Reinforcing = no O’s or even # O’s
• COUNT THEM & SEE IF IT WORKS!
Corn Production
Market Price
S
O
Causal Loop:Telling your story with a diagram
B
Layoffs
Employee ConfidencePerformance
Anxiety
O
O
O
O
R
Learning Reinforcement
• In your Learning Community, diagram an organizational situation with a causal loop – Create a causal loop– Must have at least 4 variables– Label the influences ( O or S)– Label as a “B” Balancing or “R” Reinforcing Loop– Post on the wall when you are complete– View other LCs’ loops
• Complete Application #4 DUE 4/21/08