System Thinking Tools and Techniques for Project Managers: Texas City and Deepwater Horizon

This essay analyzes various system thinking tools and techniques that aid project managers in resolving issues, using the examples of Texas City and Deepwater Horizon. It also discusses the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling as a case study.

Running head: SYSTEM THINKING
System thinking
(Texas City and Deepwater Horizon)
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author Note

1SYSTEM THINKING
“System thinking tools and techniques for project managers to solve project
problems: Texas City and Deepwater Horizon”
The system thinking has been a holistic approach focusing on the way that the constituent
parts of a system have been interrelating. This has been also useful to determine how activities over
time and under the context of wider systems have been working. However, it has been contrasting
with conventional analysis. This has been studying systems through breaking down into distinct
systems. The process can be utilized in any sector of research (Yin, Hayworth & Clement, 2015).The
system thinking states that the behavior of system has been resulting from the impacts of balancing
and reinforcing processes. The reinforcing methods have been the leading to rise of system
component. (Bacosa et al., 2016). In the following essay various system thinking tools are analyzed
along with techniques that have been aiding project managers to resolve issues. Here the instances of
project on Texas City and Deep-water Horizon are considered. Besides, National Commission on the
BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling is chosen as the case study. It has included
the general systems management, organizational forms and cultures (Zengel et al., 2016).
Engineering risks and risk management, portfolio management, business values and portfolio
management process cycle and the organizational maturity.
Here attention feedback is vital element of system thinking. Here, for instance the prevailing
knowledge in project management has been prescribing the incorporation of workers to the project
that has been lagging. Besides, in practice, the tactics has been actually showing development at the
past. Moreover, attention to relevant feedback has been allowing management to look for various
solutions instead of wasting the resources on the approach that it has been shown to be
counterproductive. The system thinking has been using computer simulations and various graphs and
diagrams for modeling, illustrating and predicting the behavior of system. For example, within the

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effective system tools, the BOT or “Behavior Over Time” graph has been indicating the actions of
one or more variable around a certain time period. The CLD or Casual Loop Diagram has been
illustrating relationships between various system elements (Williams, Bacosa & Quigg, 2017). The
“management flight simulator” has been using the interactive program for simulating impacts of
management decisions. Moreover, the simulation model has been simulating interaction of system,
elements at time.
The general system management has lying on the basis of unification of management
science. Here the open system models have been stimulated through various conceptualizations
within management practice and organization theory (Wood et al., 2015). Besides, the experience to
use those concepts has been suggesting various unresolved dilemmas. Different contingency views
have been representing steps towards less abstractions and more explicit relationship patterns and
much applicable theory.
Moreover, sophistication has been coming as the business shave more better unders5tanding
of organizations as an overall system. In other works of denotes the configurations of subsystems. At
last the organization theory has been serving as the foundation of more efficient practice of
management. The business can be tempted to organize small business as per traditional hierarchical
structure (Roberts, Flin & Cleland, 2015).
The organizations are been established for meeting the needs. Here, for instance the services
and goods are provided. They have been taking various forms. All these have been influenced
through various factors like purpose, size and complexity of tasks it has been performing, external
environment and culture. The products, services and its location have been determining the structure
to best. Here, the chosen structure has been governing the way where the organizations has been
operating and have possessed positive and negative effects (Kanso & Nelson, 2017).

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As per the Organizational structures, forms and culture of “National Commission on the BP
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling” is considered, there has been inadequacies and
weaknesses of federal regulation and oversight. There have been concerns to look at the
effectiveness of the reactions to spill. Moreover, there have been remarkable examples of people
involved in cleanup and rescue. However because of hard work, the worst-case scenarios has been
not been coming to pass (Powers et al., 2017). However it has impossible to debate that the industry
has been prepared for disasters happening because of the high amount of Deepwater Horizon oil
spill.
As a business, BP has been undergoing through various changes for a shorter period of time.
They have moving from state owned to private company having a bureaucratic structure. This has
been characterized by long hierarchies and various narrow control spans. Restructuring and
downsizing has been taking place as the measure to mitigate problems (Vander Zanden et al., 2016).
As any decentralization occurs it has been helpful to quicken decision-making and spreading the
workload. This has been allowing top-level managers to focus on various strategic planning. Here,
the employees have been encouraging to undertake responsibilities and take decisions for the
outcomes. Apart from this empowering of mangers at the lower level has been emphasizing over
trusts and rising the motivation.
The complete incident has been coming down to the way of BP and various others have been
managing project risks. Here, the contexts have been higher than the risk management. This has been
helpful to tell the number of various other headers in the document. However, as it comes down to
project risk management, the “greenthink” or system think risks have been evaluated differently. As
the environmental factors are considered, that have been never been applied, the BP has been
recognized with risks to blowout the extremely low probability of occurrences. This has been based

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on previous experiences faith of blowout preventer and experiences and competitors and so on. With
this kind of lower probability, one can have high effect for product of impact and probability
providing the risk score worth pursuing (Ye & Ki, 2017). Moreover, it can be asserted that
considered probability has been zero and the effect has been tremendously undervalued. Apart from
considering environment aspect in project management process of risk management, the product has
been low enough that the risk response and mitigation has been inadequate. As noted above, the
“Green Project Management” has not been resulting from different decisions. Moreover, the event
has been disused due to the fact it has been depicting the significance to considering the environment
and assuring that every project-related risks are identified properly. These are to be addressed,
quantified, and identified with key stakeholders and sponsors.
As the oil rig has needed extra drills or changes in materials for creating drill or any oil
platform, there has been scope of change management process that has been needed to be invoked.
While invoking scope management, the environmental effect has been needed to considered, apart
from the effect of various project management processes. This has been including schedule cost
quality, procurement and risk. This has been evaluated by the integrated changes of control. The
change in material necessities has been resulting to procure materials from various vendors
(Robinson, 2014).
As far as project management plan with respect to environmental management plan
component is considered, the current BP environmental policies has been assuring BP has been high
in number. This is done through experience and size, the necessities to use the input to the
environmental project management plan. For requirement management, while collecting
requirements for oil rig, the company should review the defined project environment plan (Peterson,
Grubbs & Mickle, 2017). Moreover, they must make it clear that the linkage has existed in project

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team for reinforcing what ha been elemental to the behavior of team. However, at many times, it has
been slipping behind various priorities as not kept in forefront.
The corporate cultures are defined as the beliefs, values, ethos and the methods to do all the
things within any organization. To identify the engineering risks and risk management the safety
culture has been identified. The security culture is the corporate culture where safety has been the
top safety. Here, lays one the main problems of BP. Various CEOs has been focusing primarily on
the cost to reduce for neglecting the safety. Here the high profit target managers have been
encouraging them to provide priority to economic issues instead of safety. As that happened the high
productivity targets has been taking precedence over the safety culture positively. Moreover the
compensation schemes of staffs have been encouraging performances instead of safety. It has
developed the culture to produce rather than safety (Kerzner, 2013).
At the case of Texas City Refinery, it was reported by Baker Report that BP has been
emphasizing on personal security instead of process safety. The rates of injury have been taken as
the measure of safety. This has been encouraging manager to report accidents resulting from lack of
safety commitment. The company’s founders have been establishing engineering risk management
to adopt and reproduce. Moreover, Baker report has been providing clear indication of what the
employees of BP has perceived at the organization. It has been confirming why the “group values”
of BP has been mentioning safety. The BP leaders have been failing to communicate with the
significance of safety to employees and have possessed the impact on organization’s culture (Huettel
et al., 2018).
This process cycle occurs as the investor aids in meeting the investment goals. The processes are as
follows.

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The Creating policy statement that contains goals and constraints of the investors as it related
to the investments. Next, an investment strategy is to be developed. It has been entailing the creation
of strategy that has been assimilating investor’s goals and objectives with economic conditions. Then
the plan created is to be implemented. It has been entailing the putting of investment strategy to
work. Lastly, the updating and monitoring of the plan is to be done (Lin et al., 2016).
Though the gas and oil drilling has been drilling ice-free sectors as decision is curtailing
drilling at the area, around long term poses graving security to the world and the nation. As the long-
term forecasts has been proven to be wrong, this has been interesting to see that the fall over oil
process, projections for oil supplies by international oil companies continue to with project till 2040,
where oil demand will rise highly. At present with the collapse in oil process, everyone at the region
the production over placed over back burner. In addition to the above uncertainty, the fact with
collapsing oil prices and capital budgets for new production and exploration has been slashed highly
(Årstad & Aven, 2017). Since, the world would be demanding about 3 mmbd of new production to
replace the oil consumes every year the fall in expenditures has been a haunt to global demand for
climbing 1 mmbd per year. This would lead the world market in coming back in late 2018.
The above study helps in identifying that creation and implementation of national agency
policy has needed high political effort and leadership. However, they have not been demanding
much towards the nation to become a safer and sounder economy in future years. As the
reinforcement gets unchecked through balancing process, this leads to collapse. This process of
balancing has been one that has been tending sustain equilibrium within any specific system.
Besides, in the mean time, the decisions have been off shoring drilling that has been a vital element
for any analysis of energy supply that has been still controversial. The study analyzes that the
investigations of hazards must be done on different accidental risks at deepwater Horizon. They have

7SYSTEM THINKING
been highly relying on prompt and correcting manual intervention through rig crew for preventing
catastrophe. Here for instance, the diversion of flow of various flammable hydrocarbons has been
away from rig as there is any blowout. Moreover, there should be written policies regarding how to
conduct the primary negative pressure analysis. This must be conducted as the incident take place
and is needed to confirm the integrity of cement seal over the well. Moreover, the written criteria
should include safe limits that are defined to determine whether the test has been a success. Further,
system for controlling the process change safety has not been sufficient. Hence there should be
proper documentation of formal hazard analysis and change procedures that are needed to be
conducted.

8SYSTEM THINKING
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