Foundations of Systems Thinking

The Learner's Guide for Session 7: Approaching system change    Change as a system; ethics, legitimacy and power



Learners Guide

The Power analysis exercise instructions (slides 18 & 19) 

The Power analysis exercise table template (slide 20

Learner Guide

Session 7: Approaching system change: Change as a system; ethics, legitimacy and power



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This short session is the first of a pair (7 &amp; 8) that could sensibly be taken together, and they are part of a ten-session Foundations of Applied Systems Thinking course.This session covers four main topics:1.<span style="font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-language-override: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Changing as a system is challenging – why is that?2.<span style="font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-language-override: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Four ‘rules’ of systems that apply (especially) to change.3.<span style="font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-language-override: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Boundary choices – efficacy, ethics and legitimacy.4.<span style="font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-language-override: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Power: power analysis; mitigating power differentials and leveraging power assets..During the session, we will take you through the following methods, tools and models: system, environment and strategy; adaptation rate; settling rate; steering your system by using purpose and ethos to broker the tension between today/delivery and tomorrow/change (System 3-4-5 homeostat); boundary and emancipation (inclusion, legitimacy and ethics); power analysis.<h3 id="cc396673-6064-4609-a160-eb84037151b6" data-toc-id="cc396673-6064-4609-a160-eb84037151b6" style="margin-right: 14.15pt; text-align: left; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Objectives</h3>Following this session, you will:o<span style="font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-language-override: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp; Understand how four rules of systems affect and are integral to system change. Appreciate how these rules constrain or create risks to systems, to your options, and to system change.o<span style="font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-language-override: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp; Be able to identify where these four rules have affected systems you work in so you can diagnose them in future.o<span style="font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-language-override: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp; Understand how your boundary choices for your system of interest and the perspectives you include or exclude affects the quality, legitimacy and ethics of your system change.o<span style="font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-language-override: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp; Be able to analyse power types and differentials among stakeholders in your system; be able to identify power assets that you may wish to leverage.Appreciate the links between power, perspectives, partiality and bias, and how bias creates risks to your system change.

This short session is the first of a pair (7 & 8) that could sensibly be taken together, and they are part of a ten-session Foundations of Applied Systems Thinking course.

7: Approaching system change: Change as a system; ethics, legitimacy and power

Systems Thinking practitioner

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