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

Systems Thinking Is Critical In Developing Solutions to Sustainability Challenges Name: Course: Professor’s Name: University: City: Date: Systems Thinking Is Critical In Developing Solutions to Sustainability Challenges Introduction Systems thinking involve the use of models to assist in the understanding of events, patterns of behavior causing the events, and the structure responsible for these behavior patterns (Midgley, 2003 p.13). In analyzing a certain problem, systems thinking are critical in understanding the problem as well as its causes hence guide in development of sustainable solutions. Homelessness is a major problem in Australia and a crucial problem to address since shelter is a basic human need. In a single night, approximately 105000 people are homeless with the largest population being in large cities of Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. A person becomes homeless when they cannot access safe and secure housing, they are in circumstances that threaten affordability of their home, and lack security of tenure. In a census conducted in 2011, 1 in every 200 Australians appeared homeless recording a 17 percent increase from the 2006 census. The homeless population includes those living in impoverished dwellings, boarding houses, supported accommodation, severely crowded lodgings, and other temporary lodgings. Male population of the homeless accounts for 56 percent while the female population stands at 44 percent with domestic violence being the largest cause of the situation. This essay seeks to assess how systems thinking can facilitate in solving the homelessness problem in Australia. It will begin by assessing the concept of systems thinking and connect its applicability to solving homelessness in the long-term. Systematic Approach Systems thinking is a framework focused on interrelationships for looking at patterns of change rather than focusing on snapshots. When using the systems thinking approach, one needs to focus on a problem in terms of patterns of behavior over a period of time rather than on particular events. It looks at the bigger picture by focusing on the relationships rather than finer details of a problem. (Fischer-Lescano, 2012) explores the use of critical system approach to assess problems in details. There can be no systematic approach without the analysis of systems that emerge from interconnection of various elements. The concept of systems thinking breaks from the traditional decision making that focuses on breaking a situation into parts then analyzing them in isolation. It understands that elements behave differently when isolated than when part of a system. If analyzing patterns in a system, it becomes easier to develop a bigger picture that can assist in solving a problem and preventing its recurrence. Observing patterns enables the understanding of how a system works hence make decisions to reinforce of change the patterns for desired reports. If patterns lead to a desirable outcome, the decision maker should find ways to reinforce the patterns to ensure they produce the same desirable outcome. In case the outcome appears undesirable, the decision maker then finds alternatives to influence the change in these patterns for a different effect. Significance of Systems Thinking Planning Prevention is better than cure is an old adage that denotes the importance of preventing problems than dealing with them after their occurrence. The cost of prevention is lower than the cost of eliminating problems caused by problems. Systems thinking can develop systems handle the design of social systems to develop systems that do not cause certain problems in future. This would enable analysts understand what causes the systems to give an undesirable outcome. This identifies the cause of the problem and gives a clear picture of the structure of this problem. Eliminating causes of a problem takes a different approach than dealing with consequences of the problem and its impact lasts longer (Karlsson, 2011 p.153). In dealing with homelessness, it is important to focus on the causes of this situation. These causes include individual factors such as low educational level, discrimination, poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse, vulnerability to swindles, unemployment, financial problems, limited affordable housing, and social factors such as aging and immigration. Dealing with the root cause will prevent the occurrence of the homelessness situation hence it will be unnecessary to deal with its consequences. Planning begins with the design of a structure resulting into desirable outcomes by eliminating the causes of undesirable outcomes (Lilianfeld, 2000 p.76). It will therefore involve eliminating these causes to eliminate the threat of citizens becoming homeless. Interventions The approach of systems thinking enables acquisition and collection of new knowledge about a particular problem. Information gathering changes how people think, act, and communicate by adopting new information and utilizing it in their routine decision-making process (Senge, 1990 p.35). This knowledge enables the identification of high-leverage actions and interventions that could assist in solving the problem (Cavaleri, 2005 p.388). This could then lead to implementation of stronger recommendations for sustainable solutions to the problems. One develops solutions from information gathered in the topic of discussion through a systematic analysis of the problem (Hines, Holweg & Rich, 2004 p.1001). The problem in question is homelessness and analysis of its structure offers relevant information that enables decision makers get an in-depth understanding of the problem. Having all the information leads to making of informed decisions regarding the issues at hand. It leaves no stone unturned and assess all possible angles to approaching the problem to avoid making assumptions but rather come up with real solutions (Knight, 2016 pp.3). In dealing with homelessness, two major interventions could facilitate in solving this problem in Australia; increasing the number of people moving into permanent housing from temporary housing and decrease the number of people facing the risk of becoming homeless. Increasing the outflow of people living in temporary structures and increasing the speed of their exit will leave fewer people in this situation. This intervention is not enough to remove people from the homelessness situation since we need to ensure there is a reduced inflow of people into temporary housing. Increasing the outflow and decreasing the inflow of people, living in temporary housing eventually reduces the number of people in this situation. These interventions will have a long-term effect of reducing the number of people in temporary housing by moving them into permanent housing. Sustainable Solutions It is at the interest of every decision maker to develop sustainable solutions to a problem hence preventing its recurrence. Sustainable solutions have a long-term effect of solving a particular problem and ensure that people do not have to deal with the same problem repeatedly. Short-term solutions only work for a while and the decision maker has to go back to the drawing board to develop other solutions. This mostly when one fails to understand the causes of a problem and how they interact to provide the undesirable outcome. System thinking requires not only the understanding of these causes and their consequences, but their relationship that causes the observed results (Burns, 2006 p.432). The decision maker therefore focuses on this relationship rather than the causes in isolation to develop a solution that works. This presents a bigger picture hence the ability to manipulate elements surrounding the problem. Developing a sustainable solution begins with identifying the root cause of a problem as well as reasons why these elements cause a certain effect. It is only through identifying the causes of homelessness that one can understand issues that require addressing before the problem gets a permanent solution (Confine, 2012 pp.4). The identified problems such as social factors may not indicate why people end up in a homeless situation. It is important to show the connection between these factors and other factors that lead to homelessness since some people may have similar problems but do not end up in a similar situation. This indicates the areas that decision makers should focus on to provide permanent solutions. Assessing the patterns of behavior of homeless individuals can also provide an insight on the necessary actions to adjust these patterns hence realize a desired outcome (Meadows, 2008 p.92). Changing the patterns introduces an alternative system of interaction for relevant elements that leads to a different outcome than the initial one. This changes the future of homelessness through offering a permanent support system to help people avoid ending up in a homeless situation. Complex Situations Simplification of complex problems is one of the goals of using systems thinking since it assists in breaking down the problem. It involves breaking down of a complex issue into its elements and shows various relationships between these elements. One can therefore understand the factors involved in a certain issue, which helps in an in-depth understanding of the issue at hand. (Senge, 2003) assesses the use of systems approach to analyze a complex situation hence simplify it for comprehensive understanding. This requires decision makers to begin looking at a situation from a point of lack of knowledge to instill their motivation to understand the strange situation. The use of models enables the use of information gained through education to analyze real life problems. At the initial stages of assessing a problem, one begins with the knowledge in their brain and tends to use intuition to understand and analyze a situation. Use of a systems approach enables the adoption of a developmental approach to assess a situation. Gradually the complex situation seems manageable and an individual can see elements overlooked at first glance. This approach also indicates the important factors that guide in the comprehension of the problem, its causes, and indicates possible solutions. Social issues such as homelessness may prove difficult to understand since they rely on behavioral factors of humans (Elder-Vass, 2007 p.411). It becomes necessary to understand why people behave in a certain way in order to understand situations they find themselves in. the use of a systematic approach can assist in this analysis identifying the causes of certain behaviors as well as patterns of behavior. This enables one to understand patterns and identify their outcomes in various situations. A decision maker can then use these patterns to influence behavior to obtain a certain outcome. For instance, if poor education translates into low, financial status that then leads to homelessness; the decision maker can find a way to break the cycle by improving educational level. Criticism Despite all the positive elements of systems thinking, some writers disagree that it is as necessary as thought to be. It has numerous advantages that help in decision making in both simple and complex situations. However, some negative elements emerge in the use of this analysis to understand problems and develop sustainable solutions. This analysis is time consuming since the decision maker must identify various elements regarding the problem (Fischer-Lescano, 2012 p.11). He must then develop various relationships between these elements to show all relationships that are helpful in understanding the problem. This hectic process requires a lot of time hence may delay the decision making process. This is undesirable since organizations prefer quick decision making that does not interfere with the running of business and delivery of goods and services. For this reason, some organizations and individuals may be skeptical about adopting systems thinking in their decision-making (Sherwood, 2002 p.67). This analysis may also require experts to perform the process since not everyone can manage to follow the systematic approach to solving problems. These reasons make systems thinking undesirable in solving problems especially the simple and straightforward ones. Conclusion System thinking involves the use of a systematic approach to analyzing problems to identify elements involved and the system in which they interact. It enables the analysis of complex situations by breaking them down to elements that are more comprehensive. It also enables the acquisition of new knowledge, planning, identification of possible interventions, and adoption of sustainable solutions. Understanding the problem becomes the key to finding, a suitable solution to eliminate the causes hence obtains a permanent solution to a problem. The problem of homelessness in Australia provided a context through which we assessed applicability of the system thinking approach to solving this particular problem (Stroh &, Goodman, 2007 p.5). Systems thinking enable the breakdown of the systems involved in this problem for easier understanding of the issue in an in-depth manner. This reveals the causes of homelessness and their interaction with various factors, which guides in identification of possible interventions that could lead to sustainable solutions. Eliminating causes of the problem eradicates the problem by eliminating the likelihood of recurrence. This becomes a very effective means of analyzing the problem and finding workable solutions for citizens and policy makers. 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