Tip of the Iceberg

The Tip of the Iceberg

Case study Assignment

GB500

1. Describe the primary system described in the story including the parts of the system, the system’s purpose, and the larger system in which it is embedded.

The primary system in the Tip of the Iceberg story was the causal loop system (Hutchens,2001). Each part of the system tied into the other parts of the system in order to make it function as a whole. One part of the system was the penguins who owned the territory the clams were under but were unable to dive deep enough to get the clams themselves. Another part of the system was the walruses that could technically eat the penguins and take their land and therefore the clams but did not want the trouble to do that despite the fact that they could easily retrieve and crack open the clams for a feast (Hutchens, 2001). Another part of the system was the iceberg that everything was taking place on, around and below. The finally part of the system was the clams themselves that everyone wanted to eat but were as a whole unattainable by either side if left to their own devices. The overall purpose of the system was to create a way that the walruses and penguins could cooperate to get the clams and share the feast without harm coming to anybody. The larger system that their causal loop fit into seemed like a growth and expansion loop. These types of situations don’t end well if they go unchecked such as in the story when the iceberg was sinking due to the excess weight on it’s surface.

2. In what way did the penguins’ system seek stability?

The penguins said that it was like the iceberg itself was actually trying to tell them something. The penguins did their best to calculate how much food and space they had to make sure they kept things in check and would be able to keep up with their new guests appetites and living space requirements. When their system went too far unchecked the penguins started getting sat on and the iceberg started sinking. The sinking...