Using Systems Thinking, Give an Example How You Would Avoid

Essay

Using systems thinking, give an example how you would avoid the unintended consequences. For example, our world is made of many complex relationships and interrelationships. Systems thinking provides a perspective that, most of the time, various components affect each other in various, and often unexpected, ways. So, for example, the use of the pesticide DDT to kill mosquitoes led to several unanticipated side effects. These included the decimation of several species of mosquito-eating birds and the rise of DDT resistant mosquitoes. Over time in some places, this dynamic made the mosquito problem worse (see "Unintended Consequences of DDT"). In organizations, systems thinking brings powerful tools and enlightened perspectives to organizational diagnosis, problem solving, strategy, and leadership (see "Linear vs. Systems Thinking").