Professional Development Day

“Understanding Systems Thinking Methodology”

Michael D. Ford, TQM Works Consulting

M.S.I.S.E., CFPIM, CSCP, CLTD, CQA, CRE, CQE, ACPF, CPSM, CSSGB

8:00am – 12:30pm, Friday 14^th April 2023

The Spot Restaurant, Binghamton NY

                            source: 123rf.com

Systems thinking provides a strategic advantage to business organizations, both profit and nonprofit. It can also facilitate success in our personal lives. A valid concern is that systems thinking is not generally taught within the framework of most K-12 educational programs, nor is it a common subject in most college degree programs. To be sure, it is often discouraged. There is a very real, yet illegitimate reason for this: systems thinking is perceived as a threat to the system components! (e.g., status quo, persons, policies, etc.)

Join this highly interactive session to accomplish the following learning objectives:

• Define systems thinking methodology and common terms
• Identify system design elements
• Apply systems thinking to professional and personal life examples

The facilitator will additionally challenge the audience to recognize three fundamental concepts:

• We all have bias.
• The first step to learning is unlearning the wrongs we have been taught.
• Skepticism is a healthy attribute; cynicism is not.

The facilitator will utilize a variety of learning tools and techniques, to include: slideshow presentation; roundtable discussion; individual and team exercises; breakouts; Q&A sessions; and final summary.

Keywords: bias, system, systems thinking

Bias – prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. (source: Oxford)

System – a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network. (Oxford)

Systems Thinking – a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts. (wikipedia)