Applying System Thinking to Solve Australia's Work Ageing Problem

This essay explores the application of system thinking in addressing sustainability challenges in Australia, with a specific focus on the country's ageing workforce. It discusses the economic implications of an ageing population and how traditional approaches struggle to solve this 'wicked problem.' The essay highlights the principles of system thinking, emphasizing its ability to break down complex issues into manageable components and identify interrelationships. It suggests that by applying system thinking, Australia can develop innovative strategies to support older workers, promote lifelong learning, and mitigate the negative impacts of an ageing workforce on the economy. The essay concludes that system thinking offers a promising framework for tackling complex sustainability problems and fostering a more resilient and inclusive society in Australia. Desklib offers this essay as a valuable resource for students studying business development and sustainability, providing insights into real-world problem-solving methodologies.

Running head:SYSTEM THINKING IN FINDING SOLUTION TO SUSTAINABILITY PROBLEM
SYSTEM THINKING IN FINDING SOLUTION TO SUSTAINABILITY
PROBLEM

SYSTEM THINKING IN FINDING SOLUTION TO SUSTAINABILITY PROBLEM
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Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Discussion over current wicked problem or issue 3
Critical Discussion over how system thinking has been helping in developing solution for
sustainability problems 5
Critical discussion over how system thinking has been helping in developing solutions for
sustainability problems. 6
Discussion over how system thinking will help in eradicating the wicked problem of
Australia's work ageing problem 7
Conclusion 8

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Introduction
Australia is suffering from a major problem regarding ageing work force which is affecting
the economic stability of the country. The population of the country is getting older day by
day and this has become a serious issue all over the country. This sustainability issue has
become one of the wicked problems and it is becoming indeed difficult to solve. The
assignment also discusses about how with the help of system thinking one can eliminate the
present problem related to work ageing force of Australia, as it has become an issue which is
degrading the economic condition of the country. The assignment also discuss about the
achievement of the system thinking that is helping in developing problems related to
sustainability. A detailed guideline has been provided in this assignment by which one can
understand the problem its cause and its future consequences. At the end of this assignment
the reader will be aware of one of the most critical issue of Australia regarding work ageing
problem and will also be aware of the methods used by system thinking can eradicate the
entire problem of the country.
Discussion over current wicked problem or issue
Every country has some issues related to their social, political etc. and these problems can be
easily solved by changing the perception of both the government and the citizens. In
Australia the problem is much weird and rather a critical one. A country which has 80%
youngster will be more economically stronger than a country which has 80% of old age
people. They cannot work for a long period of time due to their age. This is decreasing the
labour force of Australia and the minimum labours cannot help in the growth of country’s
economy. The ageing problem will affect all the sectors regarding health, and others. The
companies cannot hire old people as they are not so much of agility not so much of stamina.
The people for Australia are marrying in an older age and giving birth in old age (Mutale et
al. 2016). They are producing few children in old age which is the reason for work force
ageing. The employees face various challenges regarding this particular problem. It becomes
difficult for the companies to fulfil their target in a limited amount of time. The company
cannot put pressure on aged people as it will be of no use so for this reason the companies
does not able hold a good market place. In some discussion it has been seen that many critics

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says that it’s a privilege for young employees to work with old age people as they are
working with experienced people and they will be able to learn things from them. But the
majority consider it as a problem. Though, it is true that with the increase of aged people it is
a kind of threat to then country.
It is true that ageing has become a threat for the country because the aged people are different
from the youth and the existing institutions cannot fulfil the demands of the old people
specially who are not physically fit. In the recent years it has been seen that the ageing has
increased much in the country and stability has been destroyed. Any company has its goals
and objectives and it is the responsibility of the company and its owner to fulfil its
achievement. The labourer or the workers of the company play a very significant role to help
the company achieve its goal and if the employee are not physical weak then it becomes
difficult for the company to achieve its goal. This thing has become major in Australia as the
Australian company cannot recruit much young people in their company as the population of
the company is filling with the maximum amount of aged people. The Reserve Bank of
Australia has some of its plan regarding the country’s economic growth. For that labour
supply is necessary but because of this problem the economic condition off the company is
decreasing. This is the reason why Australia is considering ageing workforce as a wicked
problem which means a problem which is impossible to solve.
People are taking retirement very soon as they are becoming old and they are giving birth to
their child in old age. This is the reason why the country is facing labour shortage. The
government of Australia is still searching solutions for this problem but still they are failing
to take any step for this. Because of this ageing problem in Australia the country is recruiting
employees from different parts of the world with high rate. In every field they have to choose
different skilled based person and their demand are higher. Investing more on the foreigners
is affecting the overall economy of the country as the country is helpless and bound to face
this issue. Thus the ageing work force is creating a barrier for the growth of the country’s
economy. Not only this, the ageing workforce is creating a pressure on companies for which
labour shortage is increasing and people are facing financial issues.

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Critical discussion over how system thinking has been helping in
developing solutions for sustainability problems.
System thinking or system analysis is basically a modern way of sorting out complexities of a
problem by laying stress on various parts of a complexity and finding out the interrelationship
between those parts to find a solution. This method various problem solving effects and has
been used practically in educational method and corporate sectors to solve a great deal of
complexities. This methodology was developed by Professor Jay Forrestor in 1956. This
method actually realises that there is a significant difference in traditional way of thinking
and systematical and modern way of thinking. Moving on to sustainability issues it is
reasonable to say that system thinking can help to find out solutions for various sustainability
problems. The problem of sustainability in a modern world is a major issue and an economic
sustainability means satisfying human needs but keeping in mind the resources that has to be
preserved for future generations. Resources being limited and population and other growth
being maximum there is an urgent need for a systematic thinking by which things can come
to a rescue (Kavanagh et al. 2015).
Systematic thinking in the case of sustainability problems can mean a way of thinking and
interrelating things with each other and looking at things from a macroscopic view. For
dealing with various sustainability issues the purpose of the methodology along with the
various elements of the plans and not forgetting to keep in mind the functions of various parts
and how they react with each other shall be helpful in solving any sustainability issues
(Keynan, Assaraf and Goldman, 2014).
The best thing about system thinking is that it has no fixed procedure for dealing with issues.
The methodology is flexible yet rigid. There are various sustainability issues like the
population explosion, obesity, Australia’s work aging problem etc. System thinking has its
own way of dealing with various problems. Taking an example of Obesity which is a major
concern of the world rather a wicked problem if solved introspectively by system thinking,
then it can do wonders. System thinking as it is mentioned earlier, dismantles a problem and
breaks it and finds reasonable solutions, so in this case, the patients can be advised to keep a
check on their daily food habits. Most importantly doctors shall be given modern methods
and remedies and problem solving techniques, which most of the doctors are not aware of.

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They do not give emphasis on the complexities, because they hardly know about it (Twisk et
al. 2015).
System thinking finds out the source of complexities of a given situation and in the case of
sustainable living it deals with the smallest of problems. Environmental degradation being
another major sustainability issues can be looked through modern way by this methodology.
Modern and practical methods of protecting environment can be implanted and explained to
people worldwide. Various activities with the local communities can be helpful in
understanding the problems of natural degradation of a particular area. Thus these are various
ways by which system thinking/system analogy can be helpful in dealing with sustainability
issues (Termeer et al. 2015).
Discussion over how system thinking will help in eradicating the wicked
problem of Australia's work ageing problem
System thinking is a new way of innovative technology. In the world of modernisation
science has been developed and is still developing in a tremendous speed. With the help of
technology everything has become easy and available for people. With the inventions of new
gadgets and tools human life has been changed. One of them is system thinking. System
thinking is the way of thinking everything in a different and rather in a much broader way.
The theory helps people to see things in a wider perspective. With the help of system thinking
the workforce ageing can be controlled in Australia (Nordby et al. 2016). Previously the
retirement of Australia was 65 years but now the people choose to retire at the age of 55 years
and it has also being predicted that in future the retirement age will fall down in a massive
speed.
With the help of system thinking the companies will be able to record a personal detail of the
employees who are old. The old age people lose its strength, agility and stamina so the
company will provide skilled based training to them with is both mentally and physically.
The companies and the government will monitor details of individuals regarding their age,
name, address indifferent areas and will able to plan beforehand about what they will need in
future (Gahan et al. 2017). This will help in becoming aware of the old age people problem

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beforehand. Providing basic training to the seniors of the company will help the aged people
to fight with difficulties related to work and will make them more active (Ryan et al. 2018).
Organising any kind of competition or programmes between the young age people and the
old age people will be beneficial for the old age people as they will feel much better and will
gain more confident. With the help of system thinking opportunities will be provided to the
old age people who will also help to boost them up. Some extra education regarding
technology based for work can be also beneficial for the aged people (Reinecke and Ansari,
2016). The system training has the power to eradicate this stubborn wicked problem of the
country of Australia. The increasing level of aged people is becoming a cause of country’s
major loss. The idea of system thinking will put a light of the problem and will open a wide
range of opportunities for both the country and its citizen. The system thinking helps in
breaking complex things into smaller and simple division which encourage a person to think
and accept the broader perspective (Davey, 2015). By breaking complex things into simple
things it becomes easier to understand the problem from various perspectives especially with
the broad concept. Ageing workforce is a complex situation and difficult to understand and
solve so over here system thinking performs important role for both understanding and
solving the problem. So in order to eradicate the wicked problem of ageing workforce,
system thinking method is the only way that the country can choose because this helps to
understand problem in a more detailed and broader way and also helps in solving it (Head
and Alford, 2015).
Conclusion
From the above content it is concluded that the assignment is based on the workforce ageing
problem in Australia. In the above a detailed study has been made regarding the assignment
and it has been found that the workforce ageing is affecting the economy of the country. It is
also concluded from the above context that with the help of system thing which is a new
innovation in today’s world, this problem can be solved as system thinking is already helping
to remove and also developing new ideas related to sustainability problems of the country.
The assignment shows that once again with the help of advance technology everything is
possible.

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