Reality is filled with interconnected variables interacting with each other in profound and meaningful ways. This inherent inter-connectedness is seen at the micro as well as macro scale, including people, cells, molecules, society, the stock market, the economy, etc. These are interconnected in such a way that they produce their own model of behaviour over time. This type of perspective is called systems thinking, stemming from the field of system dynamics, which was founded in 1956 by MIT professor Jay Forrester. It differs from the traditional form of analysis in that it involves encompassing and expanding its radar (holistic) to fit in more significant numbers of influences and interactions considering the issue. On the other hand, the traditional form of analysis involves separating the individual pieces and studying them.
A system consists of elements, interconnections, and function or purpose. For example, the elements in the digestive system include one’s teeth, tongue, enzymes, saliva, stomach, and intestines, which are further interrelated through the physical flow of food and different digestive juices/ enzymes. The purpose or function of this particular system is to break down food into its basic components and transfer them into the bloodstream (another set of a system) while also separating it from unusable waste. Similarly, a football team is a system, and so is a city, factory, school, cooperation, and nation. A forest is a larger system encompassing subsystems such as trees, animals, and bird systems. So is a galaxy with a subsystem of the solar system, the milky way, and asteroids. Everything is a system except something that is a set of collections that does not have a particular function or interconnections.
Systems thinking involves understanding that alcoholism may not just involve a single gene or a simple molecular event (as seen in a reductionist approach) rather it involves a much larger function between gene to molecules to synaptic plasticity to neuronal network activity which can only be apparent when using a systems biology approach. Understanding that a circular economy is better than a linear economy. Furthermore, a change in policy and finding out ways to accelerate adoption of circular economy principles is essential to promote sustainability in a developing country like India. Additionally, systems approach is also used in professional counselling especially family counselling, as it provides an overarching framework that helps address issues within the context of family. Various other issues such as obesity, poverty, environmental degradation, economic instability, chronic disease, lack of integrated healthcare, and even war could possibly be solved effectively using systems approach because they are an inherent problem of the system which produces them. Thus, seeing the system as the source of its own problems and restructuring it can help solve these problems. Hence, systems thinking is a meta-discipline and a meta-language that can be used to understand different subjects of many different fields.
One important factor in a stable system is a feedback loop whose main function is to correct errors. For example, when riding a bicycle, we make small adjustments continuously to correct the ‘errors’. If you tilt one way, you steer back to the other way to maintain balance. Even riding it on a straight road, you wiggle and correct yourself when the bicycle moves off course. Thus, to cycle properly you need information that is received from your eyes, muscle, ears, etc. This flow of information creates a feedback loop that makes cycling possible. Furthermore, our world is in a constant state of flux. For a system to exist, it needs to cope with the ever-changing environment otherwise it will perish. All stable systems have a self-stabilising ability which is possible because of negative feedback loops. One common example of a negative feedback loop is a thermostat. When a specific temperature is set in a thermostat, the system will try to maintain the temperature to that level. This creates a negative feedback loop where the furnace maintains the air temperature, the air temperature maintains the thermostat, and the thermostat maintains the furnace. Thus, a temperature rise is followed by a drop in the air temperature. However, the presence of a feedback loop in any system does not necessarily mean that it will be stable or work well. It can fail due to many reasons such as information arriving too late or at the wrong destination, the information is difficult to decipher or is unclear, lack of necessary resources, delayed action, or simply the information being ineffective. There are also reinforcing feedback loops that are amplifying in nature. Some examples would be when soil is eroded, fewer plants grow, giving fewer roots to hold the soil, so the greater the erosion of the soil the fewer plants grow. Similarly, the more prices go up, the more wages need to be elevated to maintain the standard of living. When the wages increase , the prices do so as well to maintain profit; which means the wages have to go up again and hence, so do the prices..
Usually, systems are understood better by simplifying and creating diagrams. A complex system has more than one feedback loop and consists of understanding various system traps and opportunities. To learn more about the intricacies of systems thinking, Donella H. Meadows’s book ‘Thinking in Systems’ consists of wisdom from thirty years of systems modelling and teaching carried out by many creative individuals and most of them are based at or influenced by the MIT system Dynamics group. It’s important to learn and embody systems thinking in a proper manner, especially for leaders who want to change something larger than themselves e.g. government, policies, drug problems, organisation, health care, education system, community, etc. This is because these systems are complex in nature and tend to backfire if changes are made without proper understanding of systemic principles in an holistic way..Changing the bigger, more complex structures without the knowledge of various functions, opportunities, principles as well as traps present in these systems will do no good and will often backfire, thus creating more problems.
Reon Michael
