Application Concept Strategy
Concept strategy is effective in ensuring that systems thinking benefits an organization. Strategy is an emerging business technique that has replaced several management functions like administration and planning (Fuertes et al., 2020). Systems thinking as a management concept is applied with a long-term focus as entities aim at sustainable development. As a managerial practice, systems thinking has advantages, including managing complexities, determining leverage points, understanding interdependences, and holistic perspectives. Since organizations have different parts in unique operations (Arnold & Wade, 2017), understanding the systems requires a comprehensive interpretation of the individual parts to determine how they can be improved for efficiency. For an effective application of systems thinking that adds value to an entity, the long-term focus should be the driving agenda of the management. Also, to facilitate its success, it is critical to understand how each of the parts interconnects to avert duplicity and conflicts that may render it ineffective in the long run.
Additionally, systems thinking can form part of an organizational culture that all stakeholders understand. Major developmental aspects of a business are informed by its culture, which influences its activities like environmental sustainability (Isensee et al., 2020). Since systems thinking influences cause-and-effect situations, it is a great input in decision-making as a management tool. Businesses should embrace systems thinking as a game-changer targeting the long-term attainment of goals. It ensures interconnections between departments, individuals, functions, and output.
Additionally, organizational goals should be aligned with all the sectorial considerations to make systems thinking responsive to every area’s unique requirements. Understanding the differences and needs of each section defines the effectiveness of management practices besides the impacts of systems thinking, thereby leading to favourable outcomes. Transformational sustainability, a guide to change strategies, is also attained through understanding how the interconnections apply in system thinking.
Institutional competence guarantees success in different sectors, such as logistics, production, recruitment, and environment, among other key areas. Systems thinking introduces a linkage between these aspects through competency. Organizational knowledge and awareness make activities smooth since major stakeholders are adequately informed on what should be done, why it should be done, and the appropriate time to do them. Illustratively, systems thinking assists in understanding how several management functions relate, determining any needed changes, and how these changes lead to desired outcomes. The process that an entity deploys throughout this requires competence which informs the ability to establish meaningful relationships between various functions and units. Organizations must invest in recruitment procedures that value quality and experience in related fields to ensure maximum competence that backs systems thinking. Also, technological applications that ensure efficiency in processes like logistics and production must be vital to businesses.
Change Management Strategy Implementation
In management, systems thinking helps to understand the different functions and how best to make changes or even leave things depending on the expected objectives and improvements. This is an opportunity that an entity can leverage to avoid a crisis. ADKAR Model factors in participation, individual contribution, and productivity for an effective change. The model emphasizes awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement in an organization to cause change, which is enabled through communication (OCM Solution, 2023). It is an effective change strategy that focuses on human factors. Therefore, it is the best model to be incorporated in pursuit of systems thinking. Communication, awareness, empowerment, identification and addressing challenges will endure that a management change approach is successfully adopted.
Additionally, Kurt Lewin’s Change management framework is another effective diagnostic model. It supports organizational changes by focusing on transformations needed to attain outcomes. The model suits systems thinking as it understands the necessity of interconnections (OCM Solution, 2023). The third model that can be used to assess the strategy before its adoption is the McKinsey 7S Model, which advocates for recognizing seven major elements making up an entity. The elements include structure, systems, style, staff, strategy, shared values, and skills (OCM Solution, 2023). The seven elements drive the interconnection that systems thinking advocates for, making the model a suitable analytical framework for implementing the concept.
Systems thinking delves into the significance of the interconnection between organizational components. The components are linked to complement each other and contribute towards the final goal through strategic planning as one of the first change management initiatives. Strategic planning applies to systems thinking since it is a framework that works for plans adopted by entities (Tien, 2019). A system is a collection of parts organized through proper planning and management to attain desired results. Moreover, systems vary in their domains, determining how efficiently they meet the targeted objectives.
On the other hand, strategic planning focuses on a project from the first stage to the last through its objectives, benefits, and limitations to ensure that an organization fully invests in what it understands. Consequently, strategic planning in systems thinking helps to understand the different functions and how best to make changes or even leave things depending on the expected objectives and improvements. It should be adopted as a practice in management to induce desirable changes that enhance performances across various departments.
Policies, operating plans, rules, and procedures guide an effective plan intended to cause changes in organizational processes. The four aspects are used to evaluate the effectiveness of strategic plans (Tien, 2019). Systems thinking, on the other hand, aids in comprehending the many functions in addition to determining changes that can be made (Grohs et al., 2018). Examining the implications of system thinking reveals how success and effectiveness relate to systems that various businesses adopt. The attachment between organizational development and its culture should determine how operating plans, procedures, policies, and rules apply to systems thinking. As various management organs strive to create interconnections to enhance performance efficiency, guidelines must be incorporated as cultural aspects that define an organization. The formed culture informs other practices like environmental sustainability, influencing business growth (Isensee et al., 2020). Thus, programs that run alongside systems think back to make them more effective in meeting the goals set by entities.
System thinking as a management tool is a learning discipline. As a learning discipline, systems thinking can be used to describe best cause-and-effect situations (Mahaffy et al., 2019). Educational programs, training, and seminars offer the best opportunities for organizations to extend employees’ learning lessons. Training and seminars are avenues of expressing knowledge and exchanging ideas that enhance interconnections. Additionally, they equip and inform employees about what they should be doing at all times for the gain of their employers. Besides, their growth and development, which are perfect agents of success for an entity, are boosted through meaningful training and seminars. Therefore, learning is one of the ways of ensuring lasting managerial changes through systems change. It moulds employees to the design needed by the employer, thereby enhancing performance and productivity.
References
Arnold, R. D., & Wade, J. P. (2017). A complete set of systems thinking skills. Insight, 20(3), 9-17.
Fuertes, G., Alfaro, M., Vargas, M., Gutierrez, S., Ternero, R., & Sabattin, J. (2020). A conceptual framework for the strategic management: a literature review—descriptive. Journal of Engineering, 2020, 1-21.
Grohs, J. R., Kirk, G. R., Soledad, M. M., & Knight, D. B. (2018). Assessing systems thinking: A tool to measure complex reasoning through ill-structured problems. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 28, 110–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2018.03.003
Isensee, C., Teuteberg, F., Griese, K.-M., & Topi, C. (2020). The relationship between organizational culture, sustainability, and digitalization in SMEs: A systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 275(1), 122944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122944
Mahaffy, P. G., Ho, F. M., Haack, J. A., & Brush, E. J. (2019). Can Chemistry Be a Central Science without Systems Thinking? Journal of Chemical Education, 96(12), 2679–2681. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00991
OCM Solution. (2023). Best Change Management Methodologies & Models | All You Need to Know – OCM Solution Blog. Retrieved from www.ocmsolution.com website: https://www.ocmsolution.com/organizational-change-management-methodologies/
Tien, N. H. (2019). International economics, business and management strategy.
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