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

Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Name Date of Submission Systems’ Thinking Is Critical In Developing Solutions To Sustainability Challenges Introduction Sustainability has been an area of increased interest in the present day society. Individuals and businesses alike are trying to found ways of making the world better through sustainable initiatives. The increased attention in the area of sustainability is a largely attributed to the emergence of many wicked problems that cause havoc to humans, plants, animals and the environment as a whole. Thomas define a wicked problem as an issue that is difficult or impossible to solve because of the complexities involved, such as due to the contradictory, incomplete, differing opinions and persistent change in the requirements (par. 11). Pollution of oceans is one of the wicked problems that the world is grappling with today. Increased industrialization in different parts of the world has resulted in increased pollution of the oceanic water. The high rate of pollution of the oceanic waters is interfering with the aquatic life that depends on waters as their home. Systems thinking are widely recognized as one of the approaches to addressing sustainability issues, such as the pollution of the oceanic waters (Mingers 19). However, the suitability of systems thinking in solving sustainability challenges remains a debatable issue as there are some people who do not believe of this concept as a solution to sustainability challenges. This essay discusses the value of systems thinking in developing solutions to pollution of oceanic waters. System Thinking Concept System thinking has emerged as one of the approaches being sought as a solution to addressing sustainability issues. Academic literatures are currently full of theoretical frameworks that adopt systems thinking as a problem solving approach. Despite the fact that this concept has been around for many years, it is still not well understood. Different scholars define the framework differently. Maani and Cavana define system thinking as the processes involved in understanding how things that make up a system influence each other in a system (32). Boardman and Sauser define system thinking as a problem solving approach that focus on the interdependence between things that makes up a system with the aim of understanding the change pattern (6). This definition is trying to imply that a system thinker is that person who analyzes a complex problem by looking at the behavioral patterns for sometime instead of just focusing on a specific issue. Therefore, based on the two definitions, the common denominator is that system thinkers are broad-minded individuals who try to see things beyond broadly instead of just focusing on the context in which they are embedded (Vidas, and Johan Schei 36). Examples of system thinking include the ecosystem where different elements that make up the system, such as air, water, plants, animals, and living organisms interact to ensure survival. However, in an organization, systems comprises of structures, people and processes that work in jointly and influence each other to ensure the good health of an organization. Boardman and Sauser advise that, to solve wicked problems amicably, it is important to adopt a system thinking approach rather than linearly (11). Systems thinking are highly recommended for use in problem solving because it ensures that an organization or a person’s behavior is modeled in such a way that bring it in line with the sustainability law. To others, systems thinking have become a popular approach used in solving complex problems since it enhances the understanding of the practitioners of the problem being solved and operates by uniting environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainability. Consequently, this allows the society to solve the complex problems that faces the society and making the environment healthy and suitable for human and animals, as well as plants. Jackson conquers with the argument and proceeds to suggest that systems thinking are a very important approach to problem solving, especially in the present day society because it allows for easy solving of complex problems than other methods (43). Besides, the author argues that systems thinking are a suitable model for problem solving since it enables individuals and organizations to assess the currently situations and happenings and use them in predicting what might happen in the future so that the right actions to minimize adverse consequences are taken right away something that Jackson represents in the form of a casual loop diagram. The diagram below (fig 1) shows a diagrammatic representation of a systems thinking approach to problem solving. Fig. 1 System Thinking Diagram The systems thinking diagram above indicate that solving a problem using systems thinking approach begins with problem identification of the problem to be solved. Once the problem has been identified, this is followed by understanding the causes of the problem. Once the root causes have been assessed and understood, a systems thinker proceeds to determine the leverage point and finally make changes to the system where deemed necessary. Importance of Sustainability Sustainability is current recognized as the only way to ensure the wellbeing of the future generation (Kim par. 4). In the past, the society did not consider sustainability as an important thing. This resulted in adoption of practices that has caused massive destruction to the environment with the future generation expected to suffer the most from the current poor business practices. Therefore, promoting sustainability is important because it would ensure not only the social and economic wellbeing of the people, but also the environment. In fact, sustainability is based on Three Pillars of Sustainability (fig. 2). These three pillars include social, economic and environmental pillars. The social pillar focuses on striking a balance between the needs of individuals and that of the group (Kim par. 4). Most companies promote social pillars of sustainability by developing programs that promote the wellbeing of stakeholders, including employees, and the community. Wall-mart, for instance, promotes the social wellbeing of the people by providing training programs for its employees, offering food donations to the less fortunate, women empowerment programs and sustainable agriculture among others. Economic pillar of sustainability denotes the approaches that seek to promote effective utilization of economic resources to the advantage of stakeholders. Sustainable economic paradigm advocates a fair distribution and efficient allocation of economic resources (Mingers 21). Lastly, environmental pillar of sustainability is a sustainability approach that holds that a company has a responsibility to minimize negative environmental impacts by promoting and adopting sustainable business practices, products and services. Therefore, sustainability is important because it ensures that the three pillars of sustainability are advanced in the course of doing business. Fig. 2 The Three Pillars of Sustainability Source: Kim (11). Pollution of Oceans: A Wicked Problem Pollution of oceans is one of the wicked problems that the world has to deal with today. About 70% of the earth’s surface is covered waters that provide numerous benefits to man and the societies, including food, shipping, recreation, jobs, climate regulation, natural resources and tourism (Center for Biological Diversity par. 1). Additionally, water is also beneficial because it plays a critical role in traditions, cultures and the wellbeing of the people. However, there is a consensus that oceanic waters are under threat and is already in poor and deteriorating health and this could have serious ramification not only on aquatic life, but also billions of people that depend on oceans either directly or indirectly. Although the deteriorating health of the oceans is caused by a number of things, persistent pollution ranks top among the major causes of the poor and declining health of oceans. Because of high growth of industries, large volumes of wastes from the industries are discharged into to the ocean, thereby causing massive pollution (Smith 14). Although some companies claim to treat their waste water before discharging to oceans, there have been many cases involving companies discharging waste waters into the oceans untreated or poorly treated and this cause havoc to the aquatic life and poisoning of the people that rely on oceanic waters for drinking, bathing and farming among others. Plastic pollution, for example, is a major problem in oceans. The Center for Biological Diversity study found that the ocean has millions tons of plastics (pr. 8). These plastics pollutes the waters because they are not biodegradable and have toxins that when consumed by sea animals, results in poisoning. For instance, it has been noted that thousands of marine mammals tangle because of ingesting plastics. Other than plastic, oil is also a major polluter of oceanic waters. In 2010, for instance, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill at the Mexican Gulf resulted in massive pollution of the oceanic waters the effects of which are felt to date. Therefore, oceanic pollution is considered a classic wicked problem in the sense that it involves different people and different sectors of the economy with diverse view of the problem and potential solutions. Wicked problems are problems that are complex, messy, controversial and confusing. Solving wicked problems such as pollution in oceans requires that organizations and individuals take a “bias towards action” in order to come up with a solution (Thomas par. 11). Application of System Thinking in Addressing the Problem of Pollution in Oceans Although there is consensus that pollution in oceans is a problem that needs to be addressed, the efforts that have been made towards addressing the problem has been hampered by politics between developed and developing nations. Fortunately, systems thinking have been tipped as the one of the best solutions to oceanic pollution. Maani and Maharaj suggest that systems thinking is a suitable approach to solving a wicked problem like the oceanic pollution because the adoption of the approach allows the problem solver to think critically about the things that are happening, as well as how people and the society relates to the system, the society’s conception of the problem to be addressed (73). Systems thinking, therefore, are an effective strategy for solving pollution in ocean since system thinkers’ main focus is on addressing the systems and not the symptoms. As such, this allows for the pollution problem to be addressed head-on without necessarily having to focus on the symptoms. Secondly, systems thinking are a suitable approach to solving pollution in oceans because it adopts a holistic approach to solving complex issues (Maani and Maharaj 91). Therefore, in addressing the problem of oceanic pollution, a system thinker will involve different approaches when addressing the problem of pollution that already causes havoc to aquatic life. In this regard, a system thinker would consider using different approaches, which includes engaging other stakeholders, adopting emerging technologies, as well as creating effective policies to deal with the problem, such as putting heavy fines on industries and individuals that pollute the ocean. For years now, single approach has been the approach favored by most individuals and organizations. However, Smith shows that single approach cannot address the problem of oceanic pollution since oceans are not polluted by just one individual or organization; rather by many people and firms (23). Therefore, system thinking is favored for solving oceanic pollution problem because it adopts a holistic solution to the problem. System thinking can also be applied in addressing the problem of pollution in oceans because system thinkers approach problems by involving different stakeholders affected or interest in the problem, such as the environmentalists and the society (Mingers 21). Because pollution of oceans affects the whole society, involving the community in addressing the problem is important. Fortunately, systems thinking are a good approach as it aims to make the community to become more resilient to the pollution effects. Additionally, systems approach is a suitable approach to oceanic pollution problem because it seeks to tackle the system problems. Furthermore, systems thinking are also a suitable approach in solving the problem of oceanic pollution because it involves the entire society in solving the problem. Conclusion Oceanic pollution is a major environmental problem that the world is grappling with today. The ocean is getting polluted at an alarming rate and by different sources, including industrial discharge, plastics and oil spills, just to name but a few. Although many attempts have been made in an attempt to mitigate pollution of oceans, little has been achieved in such efforts. Therefore, because this is a wicked problem that is complex, contentious and involves different people with diverse views on the solution to the problem, systems thinking can be the best approach because it takes a holistic approach to solving problems. Works Cited Boardman, John and Brian Sauser. Systems Thinking: Coping with 21st Century Problems. London: CRC Press, 2008. Print. Center for Biological Diversity. Ocean Plastics Pollution: A Global Tragedy for Our Oceans and Sea Life. Web. 6 April 2016 http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/ Jackson, Michael C. Systems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers. Wiley, Chichester, 2003. Print. Kim, Sunmin. Can Systems Thinking Actually Solve Sustainability Challenges? Part 1, The Diagnosis, 2012. Web. 5 April 2016 http://erb.umich.edu/erbperspective/2012/06/04/systems-thinking-part-1/ Maani, Kambiz E., and Robert Y. Cavana. Systems Thinking, System Dynamics: Managing Change And Complexity. Prentice Hall, Auckland, NZ, 2007. Print. Maani, Kambiz E., and Vandana Maharaj. Links between systems thinking and complex decision making" System Dynamics Review, 20. 1 (n.d): pp. 21-48. Print. Mingers, John. Realising Systems Thinking: Knowledge And Action In Management Science. Springer, New York, USA, 2006. Print. Smith, Tanzi. Using Critical Systems Thinking To Foster An Integrated Approach To Sustainability: A Proposal For Development Practitioners. Environment Development And Sustainability, 13. 1 (2011): 1-17. Print. Thomas, John B. “Ocean Health as a Wicked Problem.” Huffington Post 14 April 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-b-thomas/ocean-health-as-a-wicked-_b_4770052.html Vidas, Davor and Peter Johan Schei. The World Ocean in Globalisation: Climate Change, Sustainable Fisheries, Biodiversity, Shipping, Regional Issues. New York, NY: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2011. Print. Read More