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March 16, 2009
The current economic crisis blindsided most lenders, borrowers, and regulators. Unless we fully understand and address the dynamics that led to the crisis, even further economic disruption is likely. Examine the systemic causes of the crisis and their implications for business and political leaders in “A Systems View of the Economic Crisis” in the
topical issues section of the AST Resource Library.
February 14, 2008
People often think of systems thinking as a strictly analytical approach to solving complex problems. However, solving complex organizational problems depends on the strong support of decision-makers to think and act differently. This in turn requires building a strong foundation for organizational change before applying the technical tools of systems thinking. You can learn more about how to build this foundation by going to “Building the Foundation for Change” in the leveraging change section of the AST Resource Library.
December 26, 2007
In our last journal entry we identified the unintended addictive tendencies of political leaders to solutions that perpetuate instead of solve chronic, complex social problems. This month we introduce an analysis of the United States’ growing prison population and often unsuccessful efforts to help ex-offenders integrate back into society. The analysis sponsored by the Open Society Institute (www.soros.org) concluded that one high potential area for intervention is in reducing our fears of not only being a victim of violent crime, but also of poor young people of color who make up such a high percentage of people in prisons. These findings are detailed in the new report, “Facilitating Reentry of Formerly Incarcerated People: A Systemic Approach” in the topical
issues section of the AST Resource Library.
October 7, 2007
In recent work with such
chronic, complex social
problems as homelessness
and recidivism among released
prisoners, we have noticed
an interesting trend: Political
leaders who seek to assist
drug addicts in living productive
lives often become addicted
to policies that increase
the very problem they are
trying to solve.
For example, the well-intentioned
policy of providing temporary
shelters for people who
are homeless can undermine
the development of permanent,
supportive housing by reducing
visibility of the homelessness
problem and diverting funds
away from a more lasting
solution. "Get tough"
sentencing for drug users
can lead to further marginalization
of ex-offenders when they
are released, making it
even more difficult for
them to overcome their problems
and lead productive lives.
These findings will be detailed
in upcoming reports in the
topical
issues section of the
AST Resource Library.
September 7, 2007
Crisis management or firefighting
typically overwhelms time
spent on developing and
implementing strategy. For
example, the internal R&D
group of a major health
care chain that was responsible
for introducing new information
technology asked "Why
do we spend so much time
fixing software bugs and
fending off additional demands
from our customers?"
The group learned that its
very tendency to raise expectations
of customers about the potential
of its products kept it
in firefighting mode (for
a fuller description of
the case, go to Marilyn
Paul and David Peter Stroh,
"Managing
Your Time As Leader".
Another study of new
product development organizations
revealed that
conceptual activity required
to plan new releases is
often displaced by requirements
to solve problems in the
current release. Moreover,
the study suggests that
a one-year increase in workload
of 25% can permanently put
an organization into firefighting
mode! To learn more about
how to reduce firefighting,
you are invited to attend
a workshop, "Only
You Can Prevent Firefighting",
at the 17th annual Pegasus
Conference in Seattle November
5-7, 2007.
The Rich Get Richer...
Describes the dynamics underlying this persistent and growing problem, and substantiates the importance of empowering poor people through giving them more control over the factors of production. Download the PDF.
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