Let’s get ready for Tomorrow’s Exam James Burns June 10, 2002

The Adjacency Matrix ||

Also known as the Square Ternary Matrix  Be able to convert it to a causal loop diagram  Be able to convert the CLD to a SDF  Be able to write the rate equations associated with the SFD  Assumes rates are multiplicative functions of their antecedents

The Pension Fund Problem  What sectors did you find?  What stocks?  What rates?

THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE  What are the five disciplines?  Name four archetypes  Which discipline is concerned with getting individuals to make a commitment to lifelong learning?  Which discipline is concerned with the picture people carry in their heads?

 Systems thinking is a radical departure from the old, ____ way of thinking  Which archetype is most akin to the adage “the easy way out usually leads back in?”  Healthy companies that fail quickly, do so because of _____ _____.

Which one of the following is not a typical ST mistake?  “People believe they are their jobs”  “The enemy is in here”  “trying to be proactive”  “fixation on events”  “inability to learn from experience”

Seven Laws in ST  Today’s problems come from _____ _____.  The harder you push, the harder the system _____ _____.  Behavior grows better before it grows _____.  The easy way out usually leads ____ __.

Seven Laws, continued  The cure can be worse than the ____.  Cause and effect are not closely related __ ____ ___ ____.  You can have your cake and eat it too-- ___ ___ _____ ____.

 Which of the seven laws is due to compensating feedback?  Which of the seven laws is the “carpet bump” an example?

More ST  The first step in breaking out of the reactive mind-set is to see _____ __ _________.  “I am filling the glass with water” describes ___ ____ __ ___ ______.

Feedback  Name two types  Which type produces exponential growth?  Which type produces exponential goal seeking?  What is the discernment rule for distinguishing one type from another?

What about delays?  Cause ____ and ____ when ____ moves are applied

Seeing the World Anew  As wholes  Seeing ourselves as part of the whole, part of the system  Coping with Complexity mandates systems thinking  Today, we are creating complexity at a frenetic pace

When is dynamic complexity present?  When there are dramatically different effects in the short vs. The long run  When an action has one set of consequences locally and a very different set of consequences in another part of the system  When obvious interventions produce non- obvious consequences

The first Archetype  Senge often says structures of which we are unaware hold us ____.  All growth eventually ____.  Which archetype illustrates this??  Most managers react to the slowing growth by pushing harder on the _____ loop  Instead, concentrate on the balancing loop-- changing the _____ factor

Structure state of stock growing action slowing action Balancing Reinforcing

The second Archetype  An underlying problem generates symptoms that demand attention. But the underlying problem is difficult for people to address…  Draw the structure

The Stereotype Structure Symptiom-Correcting Process Problem-Correcting Process Addictioin Loop