Waubonsee Community College

Seeing the forest for the trees, a manager's guide to applying systems thinking, Dennis Sherwood

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-339) and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Seeing the forest for the trees

dictionariesbibliography

51844660

Dennis Sherwood

a manager's guide to applying systems thinking

Readers learn to tame the complexity of real-world problems by using a structured approach of balancing broad views and relevant details. Managers will gain tips and advice on everything from dealing with a busy office to negotiating an outsourcing deal

Cover Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; Acknowledgments; Foreword; Systems thinking is a big idea; So what is systems thinking all about?; Connectedness; Why systems must be studied as a whole; The systems thinking toolkit; The benefits of systems thinking; How the book works; Prologue: What is systems thinking?; PART I: TAMING COMPLEXITY; 1 The systems perspective; Systems; Emergence and self-organization; Feedback; Systems thinking; On with our journey{u2026}; 2 Carrying the back office rock; The story; The context; The issue; A diagrammatic representation; Enriching the diagramWhat happens as a consequence of error?A nasty vicious circle; What else drives the ability to cope?; But what about cost?; There's still one thing missing{u2026}; Back to wisdom; 3 Quality, creativity, and cutting costs; The story; The context; The picture; Another nasty vicious circle; What should we do?; Who's right?; Deciding policy; PART II: TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES; 4 Feedback loops; The central role of feedback loops; Reinforcing loops; Balancing loops; Dangles, boundaries, and real systems; There are only two types of link-the S and the ODistinguishing between reinforcing loops and balancing loopsThe two fundamental building blocks; The importance of language; Are all links always either an S or an O?; Fuzzy variables; Ss and Os that work in one direction only; A final thought; 5 The engines of growth-and decline; Vicious and virtuous circles; Vicious and virtuous circles really do have the same structure; The engine of growth; Patterns of growth; Exponential growth becomes very fast; Explicit and implicit dangles; Boom and bust; Reinforcing loops can be linked; 6 Setting targets, seeking goals; More on balancing loopsBalancing loops in businessBalancing loops are often linked; Balancing loops and time delays; What is the definition of variance?; Time to reflect; 7 How to draw causal loop diagrams; Rule 1: Know your boundaries; Rule 2: Start somewhere interesting; Rule 3: Ask "What does this drive?" and "What is this driven by?"; Rule 4: Don't get cluttered; Rule 5: Use nouns, not verbs; Rule 6: Don't use terms such as "increase in" or "decrease in"; Rule 7: Don't be afraid of unusual items; Rule 8: Do the Ss and the Os as you go along; Rule 9: Keep going; Rule 10: A good diagram must be recognized as realRule 11: Don't fall in love with your diagramsRule 12: No diagram is ever "finished"; PART III: APPLICATIONS; 8 Stimulating growth; In real life, exponential growth does not go on for ever; Breaking through the constraints; The growth of urban populations; The context; The dynamics of population growth; Driving economic prosperity; Urban growth doesn't go on for ever; The final causal loop diagram; The moral of this story; Don't pedal harder, take the brakes off; 9 Decisions, teamwork, and leadership; The talent problem; The senior executive's perspective; The star's perspective