In the past, many professionals used to explain concepts using linear flow charts. In modern days, things have changed and models with interactive elements have replaced linear charts. Every element in an interactive model affects the operation of other elements in the system. These interactive elements are what scholars call a system. A system usually has various elements that interact in an interdependent manner to give a result that derives from all the factors.
System thinking entails two types of loops, namely balancing and reinforcing loops (Bellinger, 2004). This work defines these two loops and goes further to demonstrate how they work using a case study. Besides giving a contextual demonstration of the working of these loops, this paper also discusses organizational learning in the context of the case study, and finally identifies the learning opportunities in the Whole Foods Market.
In a reinforcing loop, the elements that build a particular system interact in a manner such that they add or reduce quality or quantity to each other. One action leads to an improvement or decline in the other action. The improvement or decline occurs at an exponential rate. However, these results are usually not noticed after a short period. They are visible after a very long time (Bellinger, 2004). According to this explanation, the influence that factors have on others can cause either positive or negative results. When the results are positive, the company should find the best manner of maintaining them. Otherwise, things might change when that good performance reaches a certain threshold. In case the loop indicates undesirable results, the company should find ways of correcting the situation.
A balancing loop, on the other hand, involves an ideal situation and the real situation. Organizations usually strive to close the gap between the ideal situation and the real situation by taking appropriate actions. Managers usually balance the two situations by coming up with goals and objectives and forcing the staff to work towards accomplishing them. In the process of trying to satisfy the goals and objectives, managers can end up with what they did not expect. They, therefore, need to be very careful when working towards attaining their goals (Bellinger, 2004).
This work uses productivity, incentives, and motivation to explain the reinforcing loop. It describes how these elements interact in an interdependent relationship within an organization to bring change in the operation of the organization. The paper uses Whole Food Market’s desire to buy most of its items from farmers within the US to explain the concept of a balancing loop. This company takes some actions to help it achieve this goal.
Application of Systematic Thinking to Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market came up with a program of giving incentives to their employees in order to motivate them. Giving incentives to employees motivates them to work harder than they were working before, and in the long run, increases their productivity. Therefore, when incentives interact with employees’ motivation, the level of production rises. Incentives, motivation, and productivity are interdependent. Each one of them has a great impact on the other.
Increasing the incentives increases the level of motivation among workers, which in turn increases workers’ productivity.
Many people criticized Whole Foods Market for not buying their products from local farmers. They alleged that the company mostly bought its products from other countries and only a small fraction of its goods were from the US. The company, therefore, had to find a way to appease the citizens of America. It could only achieve this goal by reducing the amount of the products it bought from other countries and increasing the amount it bought from local suppliers. However, the problem was not with the company, but with the local farmers because they mostly preferred growing and rearing genetically modified crops and animals.
Managers of Whole Foods Market sent their employees to meet the farmers and talk to them about the products they sell before buying them. The managers knew that this action would increase the number of products the company bought from the local market. The factors that formed the balancing loop in this system were the original situation, where the company used to buy from other countries, and the number of goods it bought from the local market. The interaction between buying from markets abroad and the desire to buy from the local market created a gap. The company, therefore, had to take action in order to move towards buying more items from local farmers than it was buying before. It encouraged farmers to grow natural crops and rear natural breeds of animals because the company sells natural products only.
The Theory of Organizational Learning
In an organization, every person has a mental model. These mental models are very important in organizational learning. This type of learning occurs when different mental models come together and create a common vision. It takes place when individual members of the team are free to share their individual thoughts and experiences. Sharing allows them to shape their different opinions and mindsets such that they start looking at issues from the same vantage point. Individuals must, therefore, be ready to listen and compromise their beliefs and ideologies for learning to take place.
When members of an organization share different perspectives, they learn from each other. In the process of sharing their thoughts and aligning their perspectives, they also solve many problems in the organization. Workers learn from workmates through practically testing their different visions (Larsen, McInerney, Nyquist, Santos, & Silsbee1996).
Learning Opportunities in the Whole Foods Market
Feedback loops in a system always provide an opportunity for employees to learn from each other and from past decisions. They also learn from each step that managers take towards achieving desirable objectives (Forrester, 2009). At Whole Foods Market, managers and other staff members learned from both the reinforcing and the balancing loops through buying more products from local producers and giving incentives to their employees.
The learning opportunities that resulted from the reinforcing loop in the operation of the company were the impact of motivation on productivity and the effect of incentives on motivation. When the management team and other employees saw how incentives motivated workers, they understood their importance and made it part of the company’s policy. The whole staff compared the level of production before and after the implementation of the incentive program. The learning process among workers mostly takes place through discussions and other interactive sessions. During such discussions, all employees give their perspectives on the topic under discussion.
Most of the time, their perspectives on different issues differ, but in the process of the discussion, some of them influence others to think like them. This influence involves aligning all their perspectives towards one direction. When workers in Whole Foods Market aligned their perspectives about the impact of motivation on productivity, they arrived at a conclusion that incentives, motivation, and productivity were interdependent.
The learning opportunity in the balancing loop is the action the company took to enable it to buy products from local farmers. Employees and managers gave their suggestions for possible solutions to the existing problem. Managers tested these suggestions and picked the best one among them. Precisely, the company decided to teach farmers the ways of growing and breeding natural plants and animals.
When they took this action, the company bought very many products from local markets and reduced the number of products it bought from other countries by a very big percentage. This increase in the amount of the products the company bought from local farmers was a learning opportunity for the employees. One employee of the company formulated this idea and shared it with others. Eventually, everyone in the company endorsed it as the solution to their problem.
The company can create further organizational learning through organizing more sessions for their employees to interact. Such sessions usually provide opportunities for employees to exchange perspectives about the methods of running the company. Managers should also be present during some of the sessions and learn from other employees. Companies whose employees share visions witness few cases of disagreements. Therefore, they get more outputs than their competitors. These interactions align with the perspectives of all the employees in the organization.
References
Bellinger, G. (2004). Modeling & Simulation: An Introduction to Systems Thinking. Web.
Forrester, J. W. (2009). Some basic concepts in system dynamics. Web.
Larsen, K., McInerney, C., Nyquist, C., Santos, A., & Silsbee, D. (1996). Learning organizations. Web.