System Thinking in Business
Derse Ait Kontenjan:
12
Öğretim Elemanı:
Prof. Dr. Ufuk Türen
Derslik:
C01
Kursun Gün ve Saati:
Pazartesi-Salı 13:00-16:00
Ücreti (TL):
15000
Öğrenim Şekli:
Yüz yüze
Kurs Dili:
İngilizce
Toplam Ders Saati:
6
Kurs Başlangıç ve Bitiş Tarihleri:
13-14 Temmuz
İçerik
6 × 50-Minute Short Course: Systems Thinking in Business
Total duration: 6 sessions × 50 minutes = 300 minutes
Format: Lecture + case work + CLD exercises
Audience: Managers, SME owners, MBA/Bachelor students
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Session 1 — Introduction to Systems Thinking (50 min)
Key Topics:
- What is a system?
- Complexity, interdependence, and emergence
- Events → Patterns → System structures
- Mental models & organizational decision traps
Outcome:
- Participants gain a foundation in thinking beyond events to underlying structures.
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Session 2 — Feedback Loops & Dynamics (50 min)
Key Topics:
- Reinforcing loops (R): growth, decline, virtuous/vicious cycles
- Balancing loops (B): stabilization, goal-seeking
- Delays and oscillations
- Case examples:
- Customer satisfaction loop
- Workload → burnout → errors loop
Outcome:
- Participants learn to recognize dynamic behavior in business systems.
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Session 3 — Causal Loop Diagrams (CLD) Basics (50 min)
Key Topics:
- Variables, polarity (+/–), delays
- Good diagramming practices
- How to create and read a CLD
- Example model: “Service Quality Dynamics”
Outcome:
- Participants understand the mechanics of CLD creation.
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Session 4 — CLD Workshop: Map a Real Business Problem (50 min)
Activities:
- Small groups select a business issue:
- Sales decline
- Talent turnover
- Supply chain disruptions
- Startup scaling failures
- Each group draws a CLD
- Groups identify reinforcing and balancing loops
Outcome:
- Participants apply systems thinking tools to real problems.
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Session 5 — System Archetypes in Business (50 min)
Key Archetypes:
- Limits to Growth
- Fixes that Fail
- Shifting the Burden
- Tragedy of the Commons
- Escalation
Applications:
- HR, marketing, operations, competition, SME ecosystems
Outcome:
- Participants see recurring patterns that explain recurring business problems.
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Session 6 — Leverage Points & Strategic Solutions (50 min)
Key Topics:
- Meadows' Leverage Points
- Delays, information flows, rules, incentives
- Strategic redesign of Session 4 CLDs
- Group presentations (3–5 min each)
Outcome:
- Participants learn how to develop high-impact interventions for complex issues.
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Final Deliverables:
Each participant leaves with:
✔ A full CLD of a chosen business problem
✔ Identified system archetype(s) affecting the problem
✔ 2–3 leverage-point–based recommendations