Systems Thinking Is Critical in Developing Solutions to Sustainability Challenges - Coursework Example

Systems Thinking Are Critical In Developing Solutions to Sustainability Challenges Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Name Date of Submission Systems Thinking Are Critical In Developing Solutions to Sustainability Challenges Introduction Presently, a day hardly passes without people hearing the word “green” or “sustainability” mentioned somewhere (Kim 2012). The increased focus on sustainability is attributed to the emergence on many complex problems that makes the world unsuitable for people, animals and plants. Climate change is amongst the wicked problems that the world faces today. A wicked problem refers to a problem that is not easy to solve because lack of agreements or changing requirements. Climate change is a wicked problem because solving the problem of climate change has remained a big problem due to disagreement among leaders on the best approach to use. Currently, the climate change is causing havoc to the planet to the extent that people could soon find it unbearable to live on the planet. Therefore, to tackle the problem of climate change, the world is resorting to the use of different strategies to promote sustainability and address the problem of climate change. However, system thinking is tipped as being the solution to sustainability challenges, such as climate change, though this is debatable (Goodman et al. 1997, p. 44). This discourse seeks to explore the extent to which system thinking can be used in developing solutions to climate change problem. System Thinking Framework Although system thinking is a very old concept, the concept has gained wide recognition and application in addressing complex problems both at local and international level. Systems thinking take a holistic approach to addressing complex problems by focusing on the understanding of how structures of a dynamic system interrelate (Maani and Cavana 2007, p. 4). Midgley (2003, p. 6), however, defines system thinking as an approach that looks at the interdependence and not things, in order to understand the patterns of change. Midgley’s definition of the concept implies a system thinker is one who analyzes a complex issue by looking at the patterns of behavior over a period of time; rather than just focusing on a particular event. Accordingly, system thinkers are people who are broad-minded and try to see things beyond the context in which they are embedded. Buchanan (1992, p. 7) argues that solving the wicked problems facing the world requires require adopting a system thinking approach instead of a linear approach. Adoption of system thinking approach in problem solving is necessary because the approach ensures that though and behavior of an individual or corporation is brought in line with sustainability law. Some scholars have argued that system thinking has become a new way of solving complex problems in the world because it enables practitioners to understand and act towards bringing together the economic and social environment paradigms to sustainability, which in turn enables the community to address the challenges facing the society and make the ecosystem suitable for the well-being of the people. Jackson (2003, p. 14) agrees with the argument, stating that system thinking approach play a very critical role in the present day society as it helps in solving the complexities in management than other approaches. Jackson (2003, p. 14) proceeds to state that mental models are helps in evaluating things that are happening around and enables people to predict the future outcome. In this way, Jackson (2003, p. 15) argues that an individual or community is able to choose what to do to influence the future via casual loop diagrams. Below is a diagrammatic representation of a system thinking approach System Thinking Approach Diagram Understand the system that causes the problem Problem Change the system Levels of Thinking-Iceberg Model There are four levels of thinking, according to Bosch et al. (2007). These include event, pattern, systematic structure and mental model. The event level is the first level of decision making and involves incidents that create awareness of problem. Event level basically attracts the attention of the persons concerned and requires immediate attention. The pattern level denotes the history or trend of an event as it has occurred over time (Smith 2011, p. 24). For instance, the pattern level describes things such as the history of climate change and the contributing factors. Systematic structure denotes the interrelation from factors that cause a given problem those results in the patterns of the event (Jackson 2009, p. 39). The last level, which is mental model, describes the human factors, such as feelings and beliefs that people hold about a particular event that might affect the actions taken (Sterman 2000, p. 45). Mental model is associated with chaos, and tragedies. Source: Pidd (1996) Climate Change Problem Climate change is the major environmental issue facing the world today. Today, the entire planet is affected by climate change due to the global warming effect. Scientists have discovered that the planet’s average temperatures have increased significantly over the last few decades due to global warming (Roskam and Moran 2010, p. 5). The problem of climate change has been linked mainly to the excessive emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. According to Singer and Avery (2007, p. 34), once greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere in large quantities, they end up blocking the ozone layer, thereby causing global warming. The impact of climate change is causing many problems in different parts of the world. Firstly, climate change has contributed to increase flooding experienced in different parts of the world. China, for instance, witnessed one of its worst flooding in history in recent times in what scientists have attributed to climate change (Van der Lans 2014) Secondly, climate change has contributed to increased drought in different parts of the world. Currently, many parts of the world that used to receive enough rainfall receive very little or none due to global warming effects. Additionally, climate change has contributed to rise in sea levels, as well as increased glacial movements that threaten the water levels in certain areas, such as the North and South Pole (Sterman 2000, p. 22). Other negative effects of climate change include increased storms and typhoons, as well as natural disasters. Although world leaders have attempted to address the problem of climate change to ensure sustainability, the efforts have not achieved much in addressing climate change menace. Such efforts include the Copenhagen agreement and the Kyoto Protocol on climate change among others. The failure to address climate change problem is attributed to a number of things. These include different positions taken by world leaders on the issue; lack of awareness on the problem of climate change and its causes; as well as the failure of governments to enforce laws on climate change (Tong and Chen 2002, pp. 378). Application of System Thinking in Addressing Climate Change Problem Although world leaders are trying to come up with a collaborative effort in addressing climate change problem, the efforts have been hampered by political stance between developing and developed countries. The persistent differences between the developed and developing countries on the best approach to adopt in addressing climate change only allow things to worsen. Fortunately, it has been noted that the adoption of system thinking can be the solution to the climate change problem that the world is facing today. Anderson and Johnson (1997, p. 21) attributed this to the fact that system thinking enables an individual or society to not only to understand or think about the interaction happening in a complex situation like the climate change, but also offers a way of understanding how individuals and the society relate to systems, as well as how the society’s conception of systems affect how people interact with systems. Firstly, in understanding how system thinking can help in developing a solution to climate change problem, it is critical to highlight that system thinking views the outcome of an event as the result of the interaction among various elements that make a system. At the same time, system thinkers understand that their actions as part of the system determine the success or failure of the entire system (Kim 2012). Climate change, however, is the most complex system problem that the world has ever faced. System thinking is therefore, one of the best ways of solving climate change because system thinkers normally focus on addressing the systems; rather than the symptoms. Because system thinking takes a holistic approach to addressing complex issues, this implies that, in solving climate change problem, a system thinker will consider using different approaches to tackling the climate change problem, including adoption of new technologies, business models, engaging with each other, as well as adopting effective policy frameworks (Smith 2011, p. 21). For many years now, people and organization have tended to use a single approach to addressing climate change problem. However, evidence has shown that climate change cannot be addressed effectively by just relying on a single solution, such as moving away from fossil fuel to renewable energy. Instead of focusing on a single solution, system thinking approach has been shown to be effective in addressing climate change problem because it ensures that a holistic approach is taken. One way that system thinking helps in solving climate change problem is by ensuring that there is collaboration between partners to increase the ability of the communities facing climate change problem to be more resilient (Mingers 2006, p. 19). Currently, almost every part of the world is affected by the effects of climate change. Therefore, to address the problem, the community must be resilient enough to be able to withstand the effects of climate change. Therefore, system thinking approach ensures that, as much as there are efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of global warming, through the adoption of strategies such as renewable energy, the community is also made to become resilient to the effects of climate change (Maani and CavanaY 2007, p. 93). Secondly, system thinking provides an effective way of solving climate change problem by tackling the system problems. System thinkers are people who understand that, because they are part of the system, their actions contribute to the problem (Mingers 2006, pp. 22). For instance, with regards to climate change, a system thinker will understand that human activities are partly to blame for the problem of climate change. Therefore, in order to address the climate change menace, a system thinker will try to address the factors that contribute to the climate change. For example, because climate change is caused by a number of activities, such as clearance of forests, charcoal burning, and the use of electric appliances, system thinking approach will take a holistic approach by trying to address all the problems (Maani 2013, p. 43). This is because the climate change problem does not just emanate from a single activity. Therefore, taking a system thinking approach is effective in solving climate change problem by addressing the system problems in entirety. System thinking is also critical in developing a solution to climate change because it promotes the involvement of the entire society (Nguyen and Bosch 2012, p. 32). Climate change is not caused by a single individual or country; rather, the problem is caused by everyone in the planet. This implies that tackling climate change require a collaborative effort of all countries and individuals. Fortunately, system thinking makes people aware that climate change is a problem that is contributed by everyone, thus require a collaborative effort. This is because system thinkers view the world as an assortment of interconnected system. For instance, as much as Australia is far apart from the United States, system thinkers see the two countries as a collection of interrelated system (Pidd 1996, p. 92). This implies that negative actions of Australians to the environment because both Australia and the U.S. contribute to climate change, system thinkers would argue that it requires the collaborative effort of both Australia and the U.S. to address the problem, rather than just leaving a single country to address the problem. Conclusion Climate change is a serious environmental problem that the world faces. Currently, all parts of the planet experiences various negative effects of climate change, including prolonged drought, flooding, rising sea levels, typhoons and glacial movements among others. Although world leaders are making efforts to address the problem, nothing much has been achieved so far. Fortunately, system thinking emerges as one of the most effective approaches to addressing climate change problem to ensure sustainability. System thinking promotes sustainability by making it easy for the government, individuals and scientists to identify the systems that cause climate change and the leverage point that aid the change of the climate system. References Anderson, V., & Johnson, L 1997, Systems thinking basics, from concepts to causal loops, Pegasus Communications, USA. Bosch, O. J. H., King, C. A., Herbohn, J. L., Russell, I. W. & Smith, C. S. 2007. 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