Topic: Introduction to System Thinking

Topic: Introduction to System Thinking

Introduction

The writer of this book, “The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization,” Peter M. Senge, is recognized as the father of organizational learning in society. The author has divided the book into five major sections.

• Section I: its focus is looking at the problems that face mankind, and attribute those problems as consequences of the actions of human beings. i.e., these problems facing individuals and organizations have answers that are amidst us. The author in this section also explains that individuals have the ability to take control of their fate.
• Section II: this section revolves around the systems thinking and fifth discipline. The author identifies different learning disabilities that drag various organizations and outlines their remedies.
• Section III: it highlights a single section to each of the additional four disciplines., mental model, shared vision, personal mastery, and team learning. The section also talks about the disciplines in line with system thinking.
• Section IV: talks about the various prototypes that the author uses in regards to system thinking.
• Section V: after the five core themes are established, the author deliberates on the results of what lies ahead of learning organizations.

In the entire reading, the author Peter M. Senge based his findings on teamwork for the successful learning process of an organization, and also the vitality of individual efforts towards the same.

Chapter One and Chapter Four Analysis

In chapter one the main ideas that the author believes are vital for an organization to learn in order to facilitate system thinking are: –

1. The current world is becoming more interconnected. Therefore, an organization should do away with ancient ideas about leadership.
2. It is no longer enough for one individual to “learn on behalf of the entire organization.”
3. Companies and corporates that will become more successful are the ones that will discover how to tap individuals’ capacities of learning and their commitment to learning new ideas at a personal level for the general prosperity of the company.

In the fourth chapter, the author believes that there are eleven laws that hinder most organizations from achieving system thinking that is vital for an organization to excel. The main ideas here are: –

1. Yesterday’s solutions are the resultants of today’s problem, and he further states that for an organization to embrace the five disciplines, they must work on closing the undetected problems that shift from one part of the organization to another.
2. The norms that hinder system thinking is a result of undetected bad behaviors that grow worse.
3. The easy way out of a problem that hinders organizational learning is what leads the system back to face bigger problems.

Senge states that it is hard for an organization to incorporate the five disciplines once in a learning organization that wants to develop system thinking. However, managers and organizational leaders are in the move to revolutionize and constantly cultivate these five disciplines into their organization. Although an organization might find it difficult to fully master and practice these disciplines, each discipline gives an important dimension as follows.

Personal mastery

According to Senge, for organizations to learn, individuals must first learn. He furthers says that it is not guaranteed that an individual’s learning capacity can impact organizational learning. Personal mastery refers to one’s ability to learn and grow. Personal mastery as discipline embodies two main points for successful system thinking.

• First, it continually clarifies what is vital for an individual. This means that an individual in an organization needs to limit the time they spend on “other” non-essential problems that arise. The energy used in solving these problems should instead be directed to their personal growth.
• Second, individuals should focus and learn how to view the current (immediate) reality in depth. This means that, for example, in a business meeting scenario, individuals might suggest that they are on the right course, yet personally, one feels they are not. Therefore, its vital for an individual to know where they are in regards to system thinking.

Mental model

The author outlines that many ideas fail to be transformed into practice. That systemic insight fails to operate as policies. He attributes all this to images that are created in what he terms as the “internal world.” In order to build a learning organization: –

• The conflict between the reality (outside world) and the images of the internal world must be managed. This conflict limits individuals’ ways of thinking and acting, Peter (1990).
• The mental model disciplines should be used to acts as a principal that unsurfaced internal images, test, and improves how the individual world works. This is so because it is hard for individuals to carry organizations in their families, communities, or mind; thus, they only carry stories, assumptions, and images in their heads.

Shared vision.

In regards to system thinking, Senge dismisses the notion that a shared vision is an idea. He states that it is a force from within individuals’ heart that has a lot of power. He describes the vitality of shared vision in a learning organization as: –

• Images that individuals in an organization carry. He adds that these images develop a sense of commonality that allows the organizational learning, and avails coherence to a range of activities.
• A shared vision is bound to connect individuals in an organization. When one individual has a vision similar to another, and those two have a vision similar to the third person, then that is a shared vision. It is vital in organizational learning because it avails the energy and focus of learning.

Team learning

Senge describes team learning as aligning individual efforts towards the success of an organization or a group. The main idea in team learning in regards to organizational learning is

• that when individuals put in more personal effort, their efforts may fail to be recognized because they are in contrast with the alignment of other members of the organization. Therefore, they hinder system thinking.
• When individuals align themselves in regards to the directions the organization wants to go, their individual efforts will be harmonized, and thus the desired result that beneficial to both the organization and the individual will be achieved.
• All participants should work in unity and disregard any form of incoherence in unity.

Conclusion

For organizations to move from just being “mere” organization to becoming a learning organization (which is very vital in excelling as an organization). The ideas by Senge are very crucial in coming up with solutions to problems that face different organizations which try to embrace system thinking. The importance of system thinking is that it “opens up” our eyes to see the issues that currently affect an organization and also avails solutions that will improve current situations. According to Pasmore (2011), system thinking enables teams to look at frequently shrouded subtleties, their influence, and their impact on the organization. Then come up with programs, plans, and projects that will be geared towards transforming this system through the interconnection of the five main disciplines of Peter M. Senge’s book “The Fifth Discipline.”

References

Pasmore, W. A. (2011). Tipping the balance: Overcoming persistent problems in organizational change. Research in organizational change and development, 19(2), 259-292.

Peter, S. (1990). The fifth discipline. The Art & Practice of Learning Organization. Doupleday Currence, New York.