Systems Thinking

In today’s world, managers find themselves straddling two schools of thought—the traditional managerial style with a top-down and strict hierarchal structure, and the more nuanced approach, incorporating elements of systems thinking. Systems’ thinking is the focus on big picture items such as the underlying inevitable force of change and how adaption will take place, as well as the overall idea that all parts of an organization are integrated and feed off each other as opposed to the typical linear design (Senge, 1990). This is in contrast to the traditional managerial style where there is more or less, a highly established and regulated hierarchal system where departments are responsible for their assigned duties and nothing more, innovation and creativity takes a back seat to company politics, problems are solved in a reactionary measure as opposed to understanding the root cause of the issue as well as the relatively solid protection of the status quo (Senge, 1990). The overall theme of systems thinking is to see the organization as a constantly living, breathing and evolving organism, instead of seeing it as a series of isolated events that have little effect on each other. Within the company I work for, there are several examples of aspects of the status quo that can be replaced with system thinking methods which would ultimately improve the overall flow and sustainability of the company. While shifting a deeply rooted managerial ideology may prove to be difficult, it is necessary for the positive evolution of all human effected/benefited systems.

The company I work for has been in business for over 50 years. It was developed in a different era, following the managerial ideals and principles accepted at the time. Naturally, there have been developments since then, and while my company has done an overall good job of acclimating, there are ways on both a small scale and large that it can implement systems thinking for improvement. Leadership in my division...