Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity

Type E Systems Approaches for People Complexity

For some people, when you say ‘Timbuktu’ it is like the end of the world, but that is not true. I am from Timbuktu, and I can tell you we are right at the heart of the world

(Farka Touré 1994)

Many systems thinkers argue that systems involving people are unique and that, as a result, a radically different kind of approach is required if they are to be successfully managed. They have developed a strand of the systems approach called “soft systems thinking,” which shows an overriding concern with people complexity. This form of complexity is seen as emerging from human self‐consciousness and free will, and is reflected in the very different ways individuals and groups see and respond to the world. The plurality of perspectives that exists has been enhanced, in contemporary society, by an increase in education among the populace and by a loss of belief in many of the old guarantors of consensus (religion, capitalism, communism, etc.). Soft systems approaches seek to improve organizational performance by exploring different perspectives and ensuring that enough agreement is obtained among stakeholders about the purposes they wish to pursue to enable them to take action. Their primary orientation is to review different aims and objectives, promote mutual understanding, ensure an accommodation is reached, and gain commitment to purposes. It is argued that only when an agreement has been reached about “doing the right things” ...