Week 7: Systems Thinking for Good
During the previous 6 weeks, you have explored systems thinking and its effectiveness in
understanding and solving business performance problems. This week, you will explore how these
same systems thinking methods and tools can be used to create positive social change. Social
change can encompass many different themes—from reducing homelessness, to improving public
health, to developing an environmental sustainability effort to fight climate change, to resolving ethical
shortcomings. Regardless of the scope, systems thinking can provide the principles and tools to
enable better and more effective results.
This week, you will continue your reading and discussion of The Goal. You will also continue your
three-part Assignment to create a business report for a fictional organization, focusing this week on
evaluating the organization in terms of social responsibility and ethical considerations.
This week’s subject matter aligns with the Baldrige Excellence Framework:
Category 1 – Leadership: Section 1.2b(2) Governance and Societal Contributions – Legal
and Ethical Behavior – Ethical Behavior and Section 1.2c Governance and Societal
Contributions – Societal Contributions, as well as Category 2 – Strategy: Section 2.1(a) Strategy
Development – Strategy Development Process.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Analyze the relevance of systems thinking in effective business practices
Apply systems thinking concepts to effect positive social change for an organization
Evaluate the impact of systems thinking on diversity and inclusion within an organization
Week at a Glance
This week, you have two main classroom activities in which you will engage with your colleagues and
Instructor or have an assignment due:
Required Activities Due Dates
Points
Possible
Discussion: The Goal—Part 2
Initial post is due by Day 3.
Response posts to two or more colleagues are due by Day
5.
40
Assignment: Systems
Thinking for Good, Part 2
Submit by Day 7.
85
Note: All assignments are due by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time (MT) on the day assigned (which is
1:59 a.m. Eastern Time [ET] the next day). The time stamp in the classroom will reflect Eastern
Time (ET), regardless of your time zone. As long as your submission time stamp is no later than
1:59 a.m. Eastern Time (ET), you have submitted on time.
Learning Resources
Required Resources
Systems Thinking and Social Change
Using these resources, you will explore how applying systems thinking principles can be
used to promote positive social change. As you review these resources, consider how you
might apply systems thinking to create change. How might these concepts benefit the
greater good?
Time Estimate: 16 minutes
Hernández, A., Ruano, A. L., Marchal, B., San Sebastián, M., & Flores, W. (2017). Engaging
with complexity to improve the health of indigenous people: A call for the use of systems
thinking to tackle health inequity. International Journal for Equity in Health, 16(1), 26–31.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-017-0521-2
Stroh, D. P. (2014). Systems thinking for social change: Making an explicit choice. Reflections,
14(3), 35–42.
Time Estimate: 16 minutes
Time Estimate: 24 minutes
Ethical Considerations
Through these resources, you will investigate how the application of systems thinking principles and
tools can assist managers in understanding and mitigating ethical dilemmas. As you review these
resources, consider some ethical concerns that you may have encountered in your personal and
professional life. Can you think of any ways in which systems thinking principles could have done
anything to address or alleviate those concerns?
Time Estimate: 26 minutes
Time Estimate: 26 minutes
Time Estimate: 22 minutes
Stroh, D. P., & Zurcher, K. (2012). A systems approach to increasing the impact of grantmaking.
Reflections, 11(3), 31–43.
Bardoel, E. A., & Haslett, T. (2006). Exploring ethical dilemmas using the “drifting goals”
archetype. Journal of Management Education, 30(1), 134–148.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1052562905280836
Noga, T., Pant, L. W., & Shaw, L. (2011). Recalibrating ethical dilemmas using the “fixes that fail”
archetype. Journal of Business Ethics Education, 8(1), 115–118.
Steele, R., & Derven, M. (2015). Diversity & inclusion and innovation: A virtuous cycle. Industrial
and Commercial Training, 47(1), 1–7.
Time Estimate: 32 minutes
Important Documents and Resources for the Week
Discussion: The Goal—Part 2
Through the lens of the business novel The Goal, you have been following many characters, complex
business issues, and various management methodologies proposed for correcting problems. In
choosing to write a novel, the authors are able to explore abstract concepts in an informative and
accessible format. In effect, they are comparing and contrasting strategies in a realistic setting, rather
than presenting their argument in an academic article. This format helps meet the intent of the
Discussions for this module, in which you can relate the concepts of this book to your experiences
and understanding of the business world.
This week is a continuation from Week 6, in which you used critical thinking skills to analyze business
issues from the business novel The Goal. You will analyze the relevance of systems thinking concepts
described in the book to effective business practices.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Read pages 124–236 (Chapters 17–28) of The Goal.
As you read this part of the book, consider passages that contain ideas that you find compelling
and particularly relevant to effective business management. You will select at least three passages
Werhane, P. H. (2002). Moral imagination and systems thinking. Journal of Business Ethics,
38(1/2), 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015737431300
Goldratt, E. & Cox, J. (2014). The goal: A process of ongoing improvement (4th ed., pp. 124–
236). North River Press.
Note: This resource will be used for this week’s Discussion.
Time Estimate: 143 minutes
to discuss this week.
In addition, consider how understanding these concepts might have influenced your past decision
making.
By Day 3
Post your analysis of The Goal, to include the following:
Identify three or more short passages from this week’s assigned reading in The Goal that contain
one or two essential ideas that you found compelling, and explain why each passage you chose is
relevant to and important in effective business management. Be sure to include the citation for each
passage in your explanation.
(Note: A theme you can focus on this week is explaining why the techniques that the team are
implementing are working, as well as how “breaking the rules” in this case makes sense from a
systems performance perspective.)
Then, reflect on and complete this statement based on your own experience: “If I had only known
this back when…”
Refer to the Week 7 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will
use this grading rubric to assess your work.
Read some of your colleagues’ postings.
By Day 5
Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:
Provide an insight you gained from the passages your colleague found compelling or from another
example from the book.
Ask a clarifying question about your colleague’s analysis, either of the concept from the book or of
their reflection on past experiences.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you
have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
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