Systems Thinking and Systems Logic

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a. Evaluate systems thinking and the application of systems logic as essential considerations in creating a new project. Explain how to incorporate systems thinking. In thinking about future change management projects, how would you apply the systems approach to manage effective change?

Let us first understand what a systems approach is or in other words, clarify our understanding about systems thinking. Simply put, a system is an organized collection of parts (or subsystems) that are highly integrated to accomplish an overall goal. The system has various inputs, which go through certain processes to produce certain outputs, which together, accomplish the overall desired goal for the system. So a system is usually made up of many smaller systems, or subsystems. For example, an organization is made up of many administrative and management functions, products, services, groups and individuals. If one part of the system is changed, the nature of the overall system is often changed, as well -- by definition then, the system is systemic, meaning relating to, or affecting, the entire system.

source: http://www.managementhelp.org/systems/systems.htm

Basically, systems thinking is a way of helping a person to view systems from a broad perspective that includes seeing overall structures, patterns and cycles in systems, rather than seeing only specific events in the system. This broad view can help you to quickly identify the real causes of issues in organizations and know just where to work to address them. Systems thinking has produced a variety of principles and tools for analyzing and changing systems.

source: http://www.managementhelp.org/misc/defn-systemsthinking.pdf

For new projects, the systems thinking allows the project manager and team members to take a complete overview of the project and take decisions about the project from a broader perspective, thereby including all the critical elements of the project and ensuring that all the project requirements are being met and concerns have been addressed. The systems perspective helps to ensure that the issues are being looked from the entire project's point of view, and no stone is being left unturned.

Even in terms of managing effective change, systems approach helps the change management team to look at the impact of change on all the individual elements of the organization and thus, helps to develop an integrated solution and strategy to manage the change. Such an approach highlights the interdependencies of the various integrated elements in the organization, ...