Systems Thinking and Obesity
Systems Thinking and Obesity
Heather Chrissis
Systems Thinking, OLAM 310
Professor Don Solomon
May 2, 2010
Systems Thinking and Obesity
From the time I was 6 years old I have wanted just one really personal thing for my life and that is to be thin. I was always the girl who thought she weighed more than anyone else in the class. I have been plagued my entire life by this overwhelming issue of being overweight. True understanding of why I was overweight and what caused it has for many years kept me from making any life lasting changes. How does this play into Systems Thinking? Let’s take a step back and take it from the beginning. A system is a set of elements or components that work together in relationships for the overall objectives/vision of the whole. To understand how they are used in organizations, we first must understand a system. Many of us have an intuitive understanding of the term. However, we need to make the understanding explicit in order to use systems thinking and systems tools in organizations and life. 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. Systems range from simple to complex. There are numerous types of systems. For example, there are biological systems (for example, the heart), mechanical systems (for example, a thermostat), human/mechanical systems (for example, riding a
Heather Chrissis
Systems Thinking, OLAM 310
Professor Don Solomon
May 2, 2010
Systems Thinking and Obesity
From the time I was 6 years old I have wanted just one really personal thing for my life and that is to be thin. I was always the girl who thought she weighed more than anyone else in the class. I have been plagued my entire life by this overwhelming issue of being overweight. True understanding of why I was overweight and what caused it has for many years kept me from making any life lasting changes. How does this play into Systems Thinking? Let’s take a step back and take it from the beginning. A system is a set of elements or components that work together in relationships for the overall objectives/vision of the whole. To understand how they are used in organizations, we first must understand a system. Many of us have an intuitive understanding of the term. However, we need to make the understanding explicit in order to use systems thinking and systems tools in organizations and life. 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. Systems range from simple to complex. There are numerous types of systems. For example, there are biological systems (for example, the heart), mechanical systems (for example, a thermostat), human/mechanical systems (for example, riding a
References: Senge, P. (2006). The Fifth Discipline, The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday.