28
Systems Thinking and Open Systems in Organizations
Posted by admin | Posted in Thinking | Posted on 28-01-2009
Systems thinking is important for Organizational Change (OC)
practitioners (and managers) because rarely is there an “evil”
person in the organization bent on bringing pain and
destruction. Bad behavior, or ineffective behavior, is often
unwittingly rewarded by management. Protecting turf, not
communicating with peers, not contributing to the team, high
absenteeism, and resisting change happen for a reason.
In many organizations (especially in American organizations),
the management team goes “headhunting” immediately after an
error occurs or a problem arises. “Heads will roll!” they
declare. The assumption is that there is a bad person causing
the problem; if they get rid of the person, they get rid of the
problem.
More often than not, the person is not “the problem.” The
problem is typically embedded in the system. If we don’t change
the system, we will soon face the same problem again.
Lessons from Other Professionals
Systems theory was not originally developed by OC practitioners.
Systems theory has roots in the early theories of physical
scientists. They correctly understood that physical phenomena
don’t operate in a closed vacuum; physical phenomena
continuously interact with other phenomena in any given system.
Fortunately, the wisdom of systems theory did not start and end
with the physical scientists. Social scientists, including
sociologists and psychologists, have also adopted a systems
approach.
Systems thinking has been a highly effective tool of counselors
with at-risk youths. “At-risk youths” is a nice way of talking
about the types of teenagers who frighten us (at risk for drug
use, teenage pregnancy, or a life of crime). Many frustrated
counselors were devoting many hours to these youths. Typically,
after these youths faced up to their problems, and committed to
changing their behavior, they were sent home. But with alarming
predictability, these at-risk youths reverted to their old
behaviors. Why? Were they insincere about change?
Counselors eventually realized that sending these youths back to
the same abusive fathers, alcoholic mothers, and drug-abusing
friends was inviting failure. The youths needed support for
their new behavior; that meant changing the system. Counselors
began counseling the entire family. Changing the system (the
family) has been much more effective.
Organizational change consultants and managers must take the
same systemic approach. Peter Senge is often quoted for his work
on organizational learning. Personally, I believe Senge’s larger
contribution is in the application of systems thinking to
business organizations. Systemic change involves a lot of work,
but the change is powerful and lasting.
Open Systems
Open systems theory takes systems thinking one step further.
Systems Theory changes our diagnostic focus from the individual
to the system. Open Systems Theory helps us recognize the fact
that the system itself is embedded in another, larger system.
This larger system, its environment, exerts substantial
influence on the organization.
As OC practitioners we may see system-wide problems that exist
within the walls of the organization, but we must remain aware
of the environment in which the organization operates. A
business organization’s environment includes its customers,
suppliers, competitors, government regulators, and so on.
Overwhelmed and need better organization tools for high school?
I started school about 2-3 weeks ago, and already I'm a bit overwhelmed. Junior year is a lot more stressful than I thought it would be, and I'm not staying organized.
I originally planned on one organization system, but my English teacher requires us to use a binder. Also, the spiral notebooks and everything is not working for me right now. Normally, I cannot use binders, but I'm thinking that might be my only option. My main problem with binders is that I work best sticking things into folders. I cannot work well with having to open and close the rings…I end up just sticking the paper elsewhere and loosing it. I also learned that binders can overfill easily, and I don't really like that, as sometimes too-full binders can break, however I need to keep all of my notes and work IN ORDER somewhere so I can study for finals and the state tests this year.
I am wondering if anybody has any good organizational tips and techniques that may work for me. Thanks for the help!
I also don't work well with separate binders, so I need to keep everything TOGETHER, even if that means having the appropriate English stuff in the middle of the binder and other classes organized the way I want them to be.
CURRENT SYSTEM:
I purchased a package of pronged portfolios some three-subject notebooks for:
Math
Science
History
English
Health/Gym
Lunch
Study Hall
Elective
I know for a fact that Lunch and Study Hall will be a no-note class. Health is for one marking period, therefore it is a light-noted class (at least, generally health has been).
Math, Science, and History however, I expect a good amount of notes from. These three classes' notes will be each in a separate section of the three-subject notebook. If I run out of room in one section, I will simply start a new section in the second notebook. The pages will be numbered, and headed with the class name (subject) and date. I will do a similar thing with a single subject notebook with my elective, if needed.
(cont.)
On Fridays, I will remove the pages from the notebooks and place them in the PRONGED section of the folder for that class, along with other loose-leaf notes and classwork. In the front folder, I will keep class handouts and worksheets. In the back will be homework that is either completed and needs to be checked by the teacher, or needs to be done during the night. Large projects, such as a research paper, may be placed in a separate folder.
I will keep all folders in a filing case, so not to loose any. Loose-leaf paper will be in the front of the folders, and if I need to put a temporary manila filing folder for a project, it will be placed behind the portfolio for the class.
At the end of each marking period, I will remove the folders from the filing cases, and place in new folders, which will be empty with the exception of a few current assignments and notes that have been carried over from the previous marking period.
My english teacher is a little…psycho. She is very strict about all of her rules and everything.
I am using a binder for my english and folders for everything else, but I like having stuff together in ONE thing, and I also am learning that I don't particularly care for spiral notebooks.
Wow. Talk about overcomplicating things.
I've had a huge organizational problem my entire life, and by time I got to high school, I knew something had to be done. But like you, I hate binders with a passion. Still, by my junior year, I had it all figured out.
For me, I had a different colored folder for each class. I put notebook paper in one side of the folder, and all my work in the other side.
I had one thick spiral for math notes, and two smaller ones for science and history. They were the same color as their respective class folders, to make it easier to find.
And…that was it. The folder system worked wonders for me, because I would just take the folder out at the beginning of class, and since its thin and small, it just sat out on my desk the entire class, always ready for me to take out a paper if I needed to. No dealing with binder rings, or digging through backpacks. It was very simple, and effective.
As for your english class, I don't know why you're teacher would absolutely require you to have binders, but try talking to her and explain to her that you'd really rather not use them. If that doesn't work, just use 1 small binder for English, and folders for everything else.
References :
I was a junior last year, in all honors classes, so I had a LOT of work to keep track of.