• What is systems thinking?
• Background of systems thinking
• Systems thinking characteristics
• Systems thinking methodology
• Benefits of systems thinking
• Differences with cause-effect thinking

We explain what systems thinking is, its principles, method and characteristics. Also, cause-effect thinking.

Systems thinking studies how the elements are articulated in a whole.

What is systems thinking?

Systems thinking or systematic thinking is a conceptual framework that includes the reality as a system of interconnected objects or subsystems. Consequently, try to understand its operation and its properties to solve a trouble.

Put more simply, systems thinking prefers to see wholes rather than isolated parts, to focus on the patterns of functioning or the mode of interrelation between the parts, operating as a system.

It is a way of thought developed over the last seventy years. It aims to facilitate the understanding and resolution of patterns, based on common concepts in other disciplines, such as engineering, biology wave systems theory.

The term systems thinking comes from the concept of system, by which is understood any set, organism or segment of reality that can be described based on its components and the interaction between them, abstracting from the "outside" of it.

Systems have “inputs” and “outputs” through which they exchange information (Energy, matter) with their surrounding environment, and depending on how much they can be open systems (free exchange) or closed (limited or null exchange).

Background of systems thinking

His background is in the philosophy, hylozoic theory, and in biology vitalism. Refering to psychology, the notion of Gestalt is important.

The General Theory of Systems was enunciated in 1937 by Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972). This Austrian philosopher and biologist proposed the original statement of the inaugurating a trend that others later incorporated into their respective areas of study.

For example, it was taken up by the Prussian psychiatrist Kurt Goldstein (1878-1965) and the American physiologist Walter Cannon (1871-1945). Also disciplines such as engineering were nourished by this new perspective, giving rise to the emergence of cybernetics.

In 1961, with the appearance of the book The social system, the American sociologist Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) applied systems theory to the society entire, being to date one of the largest applications of systems thinking available.

Systems thinking characteristics

Systems thinking considers reality as a network of relationships.

Systems thinking understands its objects of interest as ordered systems, and for this it applies four fundamental principles, which are:

• Position principle. There is a hierarchy within the systems, that is, a vertical order, on which depends the place that its elements occupy. This is also replicated when analyzing systems of systems, that is, suprasystems.
• Relationship principle. The relationship that exists between the elements of a system, or between different systems of the same suprasystem, generates polarities, forces of attraction or repulsion, and allows the formulation of a field theory.
• Limitation principle. Every system is limited by controls that correct its duration, measure, rhythm, radius of influence and operating model.
• Equifinality principle. Systems that move towards a specific purpose can achieve it through different mechanisms, as long as they contemplate the same goal.

In addition, there are other psychological criteria of systems thinking, which are:

• That the essential properties of a system belong to the whole, and none of its parts can have it by itself. A system is more than the sum of its parts.
• Everything analysis of a system must be done from the micro and the macro, the sub and the supra, at its different levels.
• A part of the system is a pattern embedded in a network of relationships.
• Reality is a network of relationships.

Systems thinking methodology

The methodology This type of thinking can be very diverse, but roughly it is summarized in four fundamental steps:

• Acquire a global vision of the system and its sets.
• Understand the implications between the parts of the system and its projection in the medium and long term.
• Recognition of dynamic and complex and interdependent (sub) systems that allow the construction of useful models for solving a problem.
• Recognition of measurable and / or non-measurable indicators to be able to use qualitative or quantitative resources as necessary, and thus obtain conclusions.

Benefits of systems thinking

Systems thinking provides a more perspective holistic, that is to say, more global, complex and dynamic than reality. It allows modeling complex systems, reducing problems to a minimum, and opening our minds to solutions “outside the box” (Out-of-the-box in English). For this reason, it drastically rethinks the perspective of the subject studied.

Differences with cause-effect thinking

Cause-effect thinking and systems thinking are two different routes to the same result. However, cause-effect thinking is characterized by a direct relationship between an event and its consequences: a specific cause and a measurable effect of it, assuming that there is a demonstrable relationship between the two.

This is, in some cases, one of its weaknesses: the effects of a cause cannot always be perceived, or the causes of a perceived effect can be known, and this does not mean that they do not exist. Sometimes even the excess of information Contextual obscures any attempt to establish cause and effect. This is where systems thinking proves its worth.

Useful for long-term evaluations, systems thinking allows us to understand the complex relationships that link two events, in principle distant from each other, or difficult to relate directly, allowing us to reach a perspective that goes beyond the need to find a person in charge or attribute blame.