MGT603 Systems Thinking: Rich Picture, CATWOE, Root Definition Report

This report presents a systems thinking analysis of the sales management issues within the Woolworths company, utilizing the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) approach. The analysis begins with an introduction to systems thinking and its application in understanding complex business interrelationships. A rich picture is developed to visually represent the situation, followed by a detailed CATWOE analysis, which examines Customers, Actors, Transformation, Worldview, Owners, and Environmental constraints to gain a holistic view of the problem. The report identifies the improper sales management and lack of a proper sales management system as key issues, affecting customers, employees, and shareholders. The analysis recommends the implementation of an improved sales management system, suggesting vendors like HubSpot Sales and FreshSales. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of systems thinking in solving business problems and provides insights into stakeholder perspectives and effective strategies. The report aims to improve sales and revenue and improve customer retention.

Running head: SYSTEMS THINKING
SYSTEMS THINKING
Name of student
Name of university
Author’s note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
Discussion......................................................................................................................2
Rich picture................................................................................................................2
CATWOE analysis.....................................................................................................2
Recommendation............................................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................6
Reference........................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
The systems thinking approach of the SSM methodology is considered to be the
methods of thinking along, and the language to describe as well as comprehend, the main
interrelationships as well as the forces that helps in the shaping of the behaviour of the
systems. This particular discipline assists the individuals with viewing the methods by which
the changes could be introduced to the systems more effectively along with acting in the
consideration with various natural processes of the economic and the natural world. This
report intends to analyse the improper sales management in the Woolworths company using
the system thinking approach and then determine the most appropriate solution for the issues.
Discussion
Rich picture
CATWOE analysis
The main intention of the CATWOE is assisting with the thinking regarding the main
decisions that are required to be considered beforehand for any aspect (Lim, 2019). For the

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businesses, the appropriate business decisions are required to be taken earlier, so that any loss
of capital and reputation could be eliminated.
C or Customers: This is the most crucial factor when making any decision that would
affect the customers significantly. In the businesses when any individual makes the decisions,
the question is required to be asked is that whether or not the actions would affect the
customers of the business in any specific manner (Aithal, 2017). In the situation of the
Woolworths company, the major issues that are presently residing in the business is the
improper sales effort that is leading to the loss of the sales in the company. The other major
issue in the business is the lack of the proper sales management system that would help with
maintaining all the sales and marketing data and allow the company to make better decisions
regarding the sales department of the company (Sepehrirad et al., 2017). This affects the
customers significantly and does not allow the company to reach the increased number of
customers in the market. The solution for this issue that could be implemented in the
organisation is the improved sales management system that would help in improving the sales
management in the organisation and ensure that the sales of the product is being
appropriately. The customers would be provided with the proper knowledge regarding the
various products of the company and they could buy the products easily and the business
would gain increased revenue.
A or Actors: This denotes the analysis of all the individuals who are involved in any
particular situation. The actors could be considered as the crucial people that would be
included and the people who would be involved in the impact of decisions that are taken by
the company (Wardhana & Hariwibowo, 2020). In the situation of the Woolworths company,
it could be observed that the main actors in the situation are the customers, the employees of
the sales department, sales manager, the company owner and the shareholders. All the
individuals are affected equally as there is one improper system in the business that is not

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allowing the growth of the company extensively. The employees are not provided with the
proper data for functioning in the company. The manager is not able to improve the condition
of the department and the shareholders are losing significant amount of capital in the
company. With the introduction of the improved sales management system, all the actors
would be benefitted significantly (Nikhlis, Iriani & Hartomo, 2020). The customers would
gain the improved knowledge of the products and the services that are provided by the
company. The employees would be provided with the access to the real-time data of the
various transactions with the customers and it would be determined whether the products are
being accepted in the market of not.
T or Transformation: The transformation segment mainly considers the systems or the
processes that would be affected significantly by the introduction of the changes in the
organisation (Nordiawan, Prasodjo & Hardjosoekarto, 2017). In the situation of the
Woolworths company, it could be observed that the introduction of the improved sales
management system, the sales department and the marketing department would be primarily
affected and would be provided with all the required resources for functioning properly and
appropriately. The company manager would be provided with the real time data for tracking
the performance of the various products in the market.
W or Worldview: This segment of the CATWOE analysis mainly considers what
would be the long term affect of the changes that are being introduced in the business. In the
situation of the Woolworths company, it could be considered that the introduction of the
improved sales management system would allow the company to improve their customer
retention along with gaining the increased amount of customers in the business (Fatemi et al.,
2019). The business would be able to provide the specific products to the customers that
would be generated from the analysis of the sales data.

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O or Owner: The owner could be described as the individuals involved in the project
who would be provided with the main authority of making the major decisions in the project.
The owner of the improved sales management system in the company could be considered to
be the manager of the company and the project manager who would take the appropriate
decisions. The manager would consult with the major shareholders of the company and then
appropriate decisions would be taken through the course of the project (Ameyaw & Alfen,
2018). The decisions would lead to the proper implementation of the sales management
system in the Woolworths company and all the required improvements would be gained.
E or Environmental constraints: This segment of the CATWOE analysis mainly
considers all the restrictions that could be faced by the project in the company. While
implementing the improved sales management system in the Woolworths company, it could
be analysed there the various governmental regulations regarding the proper use of the
information system that are required to be considered (Hawari, 2018). The resistance to
changes among the employees is required to be managed properly by providing all the
information regarding the proposed changes to the employees. It would help the company to
ensure the proper implementation of the changes in the organisation.
Recommendation
It is recommended to the organisation that the implementation of the improved sales
management system should be done for eliminating the issues of the improper sales and the
improper sales management in the organisation. The most appropriate vendors who could be
considered for gaining the sales management system are the HubSpot sales and the
FreshSales. Both the systems should be properly analysed by the company and the most
appropriate suite should be installed by the company that would help with the improvement
of the sales in the company.

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Conclusion
Therefore, it could be concluded that with the help of the systems thinking approach,
the issue of the Woolworths company has been analysed and the most appropriate solution
for the company is the introduction of the improved sales management system. The
customers would be provided with the proper knowledge regarding the various products of
the company and they could buy the products easily and the business would gain increased
revenue. The business would be able to provide the specific products to the customers that
would be generated from the analysis of the sales data.

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Reference
Aithal, P. S. (2017). ABCD Analysis as Research Methodology in Company Case
Studies. International Journal of Management, Technology, and Social Sciences
(IJMTS), 2(2), 40-54.
Ameyaw, C., & Alfen, H. W. (2018). Two Strands Model of the Soft System Methodology
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Fatemi, S. Z., AZAR, A., MOGHBEL, B. A., & KHADIVAR, A. (2019). Exploring the
Concept of Strategic Renewal with Soft System Methodology.
Hawari, N. N. (2018). Integration of Soft Systems Methodology and System Dynamics
Modelling for Supply and Demand Analysis of the Rising Cost in Higher
Education. Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol, 7(4), 234.
Lim, E. X. Q. (2019). A systems approach to holistic assessment of students in higher
education in relation to recruitment.
Nikhlis, N., Iriani, A., & Hartomo, K. D. (2020). Soft System Methodology (SSM) Analysis
to Increase the Number of Prospective Students. INTENSIF: Jurnal Ilmiah Penelitian
dan Penerapan Teknologi Sistem Informasi, 4(1), 63-74.
Nordiawan, D., Prasodjo, E., & Hardjosoekarto, S. (2017, January). Reconstruction of
performance-driven culture: application of soft systems methodology at East Java
Province, Indonesia. In Proceedings of the 16th European Conference on Research
Methodology for Business and Management Studies, Dublin: Academic Conferences
and Publishing International Limited (pp. 277-287).

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Sepehrirad, R., Rajabzadeh, A., Azar, A., & Zarei, B. (2017). A soft systems methodology
approach to occupational Cancer control problem: a case study of the Ministry of
Petroleum of Iran. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 30(6), 609-626.
Wardhana, D. Y., & Hariwibowo, I. N. (2020). Sustainability Analysis of Family Based
Culinary Industry in Indonesia. Review of Integrative Business and Economics
Research, 9, 465-479.