BUS2SBY Sustainability Assessment 2022

Running Head: BUS2SBY Sustainability 0
BUS2SBY Sustainability
8/27/2019
Student’s Name

Assessment Task 2
1
Sustainability is a balancing act. This can be understood as a capacity to endure a defined
behavior indefinitely (Thwink.org, 2019). With the development of economies and globalization,
the issue of sustainable development is becoming more crucial. While achieving sustainable
development, a nation faces different issues, which are related to different aspects such as
economics, culture, and ecology and so on. Here to say that sustainability cannot be attained in
isolation as the same is affected by many of the factors and this is the reason that many of the
scholars have identified issues related to sustainable development as a wicked problem. The
identification has been made for various reasons. Firstly, there is always contradictory
knowledge related to the issue of sustainability. Different people have a different opinion and it
is a critical system in itself. It is a huge system that consists of many aspects, which are closely
connected to each other and in such a manner generate confusion.
To attain the decided sustainable development goals, there is a significant need to change the
way of thinking and methods of study and research. It is known to everyone that the solution to a
problem cannot be developed unless the problem is not defined properly. System thinking seems
to be a good option here. Professor Jay Forrester has founded the approach in 1956 (Bounfour,
2008). It seems to be valuable in developing the recommendations for different wicked problems
such as poverty, domestic violence, inequality, and so on (Wilkins, Tufte and Obregon, 2014).
The wicked problem selected for the preparation of this essay is Gender Inequality. This essay
would develop the understanding of the reader on a system thinking approach and the manner in
which the same can be used in the context of sustainable development.
Before moving the discussion on the manner of application, first, the meaning of system thinking
is required to be discussed here. As the name implies, system thinking is a holistic approach to

Assessment Task 2
2
assess the manner in which constituent parts of a system interrelates with each other and the way
in which a system works over time and within the space of a larger system (Rouse, 2019). This
system is expected to address the existed issues of sustainability at global as well as at the local
level. Due to increasing uncertainty, complexity, and velocity, environmental, social and
economic system have become more critical and crucial. This is the reason that a solution-based
approach is required to be there. If to talk about system thinking, this is to state that it is a trans-
disciplinary framework, which develops the focus on interrelationship instead of individual
things and aspects (Elsawah, McLucas, & Ryan, 2015). Further, it also observes patterns of
change and does not provide merely static snapshots. This is to believe that no wicked problem is
there which is not connected with other aspects or live in isolation. The same goes with issues,
which creates hurdle in achieving sustainable development goals. These issues are a part of the
interconnected system which is quite confusing and solution of which is difficult to generate.
The reason behind the same is that the solution cannot be granted considering one or two issues
where they influence other component and getting influenced by other elements of the system.
The situation can better understand with the help of an example. For instance, climate change is
an issue. Now the issue cannot be resolved in isolation as it is a part of a whole large economic
system and other elements also need to be addressed and consider while planning the elimination
of this issue. If the same would not be done then no solution developed by planners will be able
to work. It is no surprise that system thinking is not just a rocket science but also can be used in
practice.
Gender inequality is a big threat to the society and being a wicked problem the same does not
have a clear solution. Because of artificial intelligence, the issue is being more serious in nature
these days as representation of woman is getting low (Büchel, 2018). The problem is with not