Undergraduate - UnitMGP1200 - Systems thinking for business

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

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Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Business and Economics
Organisational Unit	Department of Management
Offered	Peninsula Second semester 2013 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Mr Max Coulthard

Synopsis

This unit combines a broad introduction to the field of 'systems thinking' with a range of systems tools and methods to help students and managers understand and deal with complex systems such as modern organisations or the global climate system. Focusing on a 'new' way of thinking about complex system problems, systems thinking is widely considered essential in understanding and effectively managing contemporary complex organisations as well as complex social and natural system problems such as poverty, environmental degradation, or climate change. The unit is presented both as a set of thinking skills and practical skills that enable policy makers, business managers and public servants to act more effectively and responsibly within their organisations and a complex world.

Outcomes

The learning goals associated with this unit are to:

describe and contrast Systems Thinking with more traditional approaches, as a generic set of 'new' thinking skills for understanding and dealing with a range of complex systems from modern organisations to the global social and economic system
develop awareness and understanding of a range of the essential principles, tools and methods of systems thinking
apply the systems thinking tools and methods to generate insights and solutions to complex organizational and social/natural systems
communicate systemic insights using the tools and methods of systems thinking.