BUS2SBY: An Analysis of Sustainability Issues Using System Thinking

This report, prepared for the BUS2SBY Sustainability course, delves into the concept of sustainability as a balancing act, especially in the context of globalization and economic development. The report emphasizes the importance of system thinking in addressing "wicked problems" such as gender inequality, which are characterized by contradictory knowledge and interconnectedness. It outlines the six steps of the system thinking approach, including defining the problem, analyzing behavior over time, creating a focusing statement, identifying the system's structure, exploring the issue in depth, and planning interventions. The report uses gender inequality as a case study, examining how artificial intelligence exacerbates the issue and highlighting the need for a holistic approach to achieve sustainable development goals. It also stresses the limitations of traditional solutions and the advantages of system thinking in diagnosing and implementing permanent solutions for sustainability issues, with references to relevant literature and academic sources. The report concludes by underscoring the critical role of system thinking in addressing interconnected sustainability challenges.

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

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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

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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

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only developing countries but also developed countries are suffering with the issue. System
thinking provides different ways to deal with the issue and it will be new beginning for the
sustainability thinkers. It stipulates that even a small change in one element can lead big impact
to other elements. To reduce the issue of gender inequality, the opinion of people are required to
change in respect to status of women in society. Many other reasons are also there behind gender
inequality and therefore the needs to study. It is to believe that the sustainability wicked problem
is gender inequality rather than gender inequality because of artificial intelligence. In such a
situation, reasons behind the issue seem to be more significant to check rather than the solutions
because by this way only, problem can be address and solve permanently (Acaroglu, 2016). In
the past, many efforts have been made to balance the equality between man and woman but the
same have proven short-term solutions. The situation is same in case of every sustainability issue
and therefore the need of a different approach has realized. System thinking approach mainly
involves six steps to generate the solution of any issue. As the selected issue for this essay is
gender inequality, hence these steps are presented here connecting the same as below:-
Step 1 Tell the story: - The first step in system thinking approach focuses on understanding the
case. It involves evaluating the whole system rather than focusing on a single issue (Sweeney &
Meadows, 2010). As mentioned earlier, issues do not exist in isolation but exist as a small part of
the whole big system. At this step, the issue will be identified that is gender inequality and the
reason behind it, where artificial intelligence is one the reason. It will check what is the issue of
gender inequality, why it is an issue and what are the lead reasons behind the same.
Step 2 Draw Behavior Over Time Graphs:- In general, while thinking or analyzing an issue,
people are only influenced by the current situation. Nevertheless, in actual, the problem consists
of a time dimension. Every problem gets developed over a period and system thinking approach

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emphasis on a time graph (Goodman & Karash, 2019). As per the principles and beliefs of
system thinking approach, every by following and studying time graph associated with an issue,
one may check the development behavior. Therefore, the graph is named as behavior Over Time
(BOT) Graph. The main motive of this step is to check whether the issue if effective or not or
whether there are chances of increment in the future.
If to discuss this step in consideration of the selected wicked problem, then the manner in which
artificial intelligence and other causes started creating gender inequality will be checked. The
situation will be studied over a period.
Step 3 Create a Focusing statement:- This step states that there must be a clear thought about the
problem-solving process and a clear statement should be developed with respect to the target.
For instance at this step, one would determine what should be the condition with respect to the
selected wicked problem or what is the ultimate vision. This can be understood that this step set
goals to achieve.
Step 4 Identify the structure: - As the name implies, the step demands to describe systematic
structure. Here one understands the manner in which things are happening in a system. The step
includes a review of graphs, story and focusing statement to known whether they follow the
storyline of an archetype. Different issues may follow different storylines.
Step 5 Going deeper into the issue: - Once when it becomes clear that what is happening, the
other step to follow is taking a deeper look at the issue to move the focus from understanding to
action. The steps involve deep thinking such as in the large system, what exactly is wanted.
Further, this step also includes other items such as the mental models, relationship in a large
system and personal role in the situation. It means this step somewhere emphasis on solutions.

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For instance, in consideration of the chosen wicked problem, this step would outline the desired
solution such as the desired ration of gender equality.
Step 6 Plan an intervention: - This is the last step of system thinking model. Here person who
uses this model needs to use his/her knowledge related to the system to design solutions under
this step. These solutions are expected to produce the desired result (Schaveling & Bryan, 2017).
This can include adding some new links or breaking an existing link or combination of both. One
of the most powerful interventions is to change the thinking of people who are involved in the
system. This is an example but in reality, different interventions can exist there.
After the study of above-mentioned six steps, it is clear that in which way system-thinking model
works. It seems to be a very logical approach as it identifies the route cause of the problem and
also analysis the development pattern of issues. By using this model, the reason behind gender
inequality may be checked. Artificial intelligence increases the risk of gender inequality that is a
big threat to sustainability. Gender equality is one of the global sustainable development goals
(Miotto, Polo López and Rom Rodríguez, 2019). Using system-thinking model, different
solutions to this problem can be checked. One of the greatest advancement of this model is that it
provides a permanent solution to the problems and not the temporary ones. Not only the selected
wicked problem but also other sustainability issues such as water scarcity, climate change, and
Geopolitical instability can be addressed through system thinking. It diagnoses the sustainability
problem in order to know how to fix it and secondly it implements solutions with known
outcomes
System thinking seems to be critical in providing a solution to the issue of sustainability for
many reasons. There is an assumption that this approach is too fundamentalist. The approach of
system thinking challenges the traditional process where one finds a solution. Instead of reacting

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the problems, it helps to understand how one's action contributes to the issue (Kim, 2012). It
teaches that how human activities have to influence the development of the issue. Every business
has a sustainability strategy and the same is using various innovative tools to address their
sustainability challenges. No matter how effective strategy a business has yet the same still faces
limitations in the identification of issues and implementation of solutions. The subjective
approaches look at the things from a macroscopic rather than seeing a shorter picture (Pandey
and Kumar, 2016). When the relationship between two or more reasons will be describe then the
selected wicked problem shall be easy to understand.
In a conclusive way, this is to state that although it is difficult to understand a system while
living in the same, yet the same becomes necessary sometimes. Problems are being crucial these
days and demand a permanent solution. When it comes to sustainability issues, a single solution
cannot be enough to resolve the same. System thinking outlines the reasons of issue and provides
alternatives for the same. The traditional solutions for sustainability challenges does not seems
able to provide effective results as they are not problem oriented. In the presented essay, the
manner of working of system thinking approach has been understood in conjunction with
significance of the same. Conclusively to say that sustainability consist a large system where
different elements are connected to each other and therefore system thinking is way critical in
providing solutions for these issues.

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References
Acaroglu, L. (2016) Problem Solving Desperately Needs Systems Thinking. [online] Available
from: https://medium.com/disruptive-design/problem-solving-desperately-needs-systems-
thinking-607d34e4fc80 [Accessed on 30/08/2019]
Bounfour, A. (2008) Organisational Capital: Modelling, Measuring and Contextualising. Oxon:
Routledge.
Büchel, B. (2018) Artificial intelligence could reinforce society’s gender equality problems.
[online] Available from: https://theconversation.com/artificial-intelligence-could-reinforce-
societys-gender-equality-problems-92631 [Accessed on 30/08/2019]
Elsawah, S., McLucas, A. and Ryan, M., 2015. Beyond why to what and how: the use of systems
thinking to support problem formulation in systems engineering applications. In 21st
International Congress on Modelling and Simulation.
Goodman, M., & Karash, R. (2019). Six Steps To Thinking Systemically. [online] Available from:
https://thesystemsthinker.com/six-steps-to-thinking-systemically/ [Accessed on 08/10/2018]
Kim, S. (2012) Can Systems Thinking Actually Solve Sustainability Challenges? Part 2, The
Solution. [online] Available from: https://erb.umich.edu/2012/06/25/can-systems-thinking-
actually-solve-sustainability-challenges-part-2-the-solution/ [Accessed on 30/08/2019]

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Miotto, G., Polo López, M. and Rom Rodríguez, J., 2019. Gender Equality and UN Sustainable
Development Goals: Priorities and Correlations in the Top Business Schools’ Communication
and Legitimation Strategies. Sustainability, 11(2), p.302.
Pandey, A. and Kumar, A. (2016) System Thinking Approach to Deal with Sustainability
Challenges. [online] Available from: https://socrd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/17BKK125-
System-Thinking-Approach-to-Deal-with-Sustainability-Challenges.pdf [Accessed on
30/08/2019]
Rouse, M. (2019) Systems thinking. [online] Available from:
https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/systems-thinking [Accessed on 30/08/2019]
Schaveling, J., & Bryan, B. (2017). Making Better Decisions Using Systems Thinking: How to
stop firefighting, deal with root causes and deliver permanent solutions. Switzerland: Springer.
Sweeney, L., B. and Meadows, D. (2010) The Systems Thinking Playbook: Exercises to Stretch
and Build Learning and Systems Thinking Capabilities. Chelsea Green Publishing.
Thwink.org. (2019) Sustainability. [online] Available from:
https://www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/Sustainability.htm [Accessed on 30/08/2019]
Wilkins, K., G., Tufte, T., and Obregon, R. (2014) The Handbook of Development
Communication and Social Change. USA: John Wiley & Sons.