Systems Thinking Report: Analysis of Vendor Management Issues

This report applies systems thinking principles to address vendor management issues within a mining organization. It begins with an introduction to systems thinking and its application to the problem of vendor non-compliance, which leads to financial losses for the company. The report includes a rich picture to visually represent the complex situation and the various stakeholders involved. A CATWOE analysis is conducted to examine the Clients, Actors, Transformations, Worldview, Owners, and Environmental constraints related to the vendor management system. The analysis identifies key stakeholders, the transformation of data, the worldview of the system, and the environmental factors impacting the system's functionality. Based on the analysis, the report recommends implementing an improved vendor management system to ensure compliance, transparency, and fair pricing. The conclusion emphasizes the benefits of the proposed system and how systems thinking facilitates effective problem-solving. The report references relevant literature to support its findings.

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.....................................................................................................3
Recommendation............................................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................6
References......................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Systems thinking could be described as the holistic approach for conducting the
analysis that emphasises on the methods that are the constituent parts of any system and how
the parts are interrelated and the methods by which the systems works over time within
context of the larger systems. The approach of systems thinking approach mainly contrasts
with the conventional analysis that conducts the analysis on the system by dividing them into
the distinct elements. The known mining organisation is presently facing various issues with
the supplier management and it leads to the extensive spending of the company capital. With
the help of systems thinking approach, the supplier management would be improved and
additional processes would be implemented for ensuring that the suppliers are complying
with the business standards.
Discussion
Rich picture

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CATWOE analysis
With the application of the approach of the CATWOE analysis in the systems
thinking, the focus could be placed on the present processes or the systems that are occurring
in any organisation and it entails the studying the methods by which the features of various
elements within any process or system interacts internally as well as the externally (Lim,
2019).
Clients: The Clients or the customers could be described as the stakeholders who are
the intended users of the system or even the individuals in receiving end of the main
functions of the system and the individuals who are significantly benefitted from the
processes or the system (Aithal, 2017). In the situation of the mining organisation, it could be
observed that the customers mining organisation are mostly affected by the suppliers non-
compliance. The intended improved vendor management system would ensure that the
vendors are charging the correct amount for any of the services or products that are provided
to the company and ensure that all the details of the transactions are correctly handled. The
vendor management system would ensure that all the details of the transactions with the
vendors is stored in the central database that is viewed by the manager of the organisation
(Mayoza et al., 2018).
Actors: In this section of the CATWOE analysis, the focus is placed on the major
stakeholders of the processes or the system that are helping in the implementation of the
changes or the improvements (Sepehrirad et al., 2018). In the situation of the mining
organisation, it could be observed that the main stakeholders of the changes are the vendors,
customers, manager, and the employees. All the stakeholders of the company are directly
affected by the intended changes in the organisation. The improved vendor management
system in the organisation would be directly affecting the methods by which the stakeholders

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are interacting with the system. The improved system would provide several benefits to the
stakeholders.
Transformation: In this section of the CATWOE analysis, the analysis of the changes
are conducted by analysing the inputs in the system and determining how the system is
leading to the changes in the inputs (Wardhana & Hariwibowo, 2020). The inputs in the
improved vendor management system is the data of the transactions of the company with the
vendors that would be later analysed for determining how the vendors are complying with the
existing processes of the organisation. The company would place any order to the vendors
using the vendor management system and the invoice of the purchase order would be stored
in the system that would be only accessed by the manager of the organisation. When the
vendors provide any complete supplies of the goods according to any purchase order, the
purchase order would be transferred to the completed section and the payment would be done
according the determined invoice by the system.
Worldview: The worldview of the CATWOE analysis mainly deals with the
justification of the transformation that is being intended to introduce (Nikhlis, Iriani &
Hartomo, 2020). The stage mainly entails the placing of any system or process under the
analysis in the wider context for highlighting the major consequences of the process to the
complete system. In the situation of the mining organisation, it could be observed that the
process of the compliance of the vendors is being analysed and it is placed for analysis. The
intended change that is being introduced in the organisation of vendor management system,
the system would ensure that the vendors are provided with the payment of the goods and the
services according to the generate invoice of the supplies and the vendor would also be
provided with the invoice of the supplies. No additional money would be charged by the
vendors of the company and it would ensure that there is no additional loss of the money in
the company. The prices of the various products and the services of the mining organisation

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would be maintained at the steady and no fluctuations of prices would occur in the company.
The customers would not be required to pay any additional for the services or products that
are being bought by them.
Owner: This section of the CATWOE analysis mainly deals with the identification of
owner, commonly the investor or any entrepreneur who possess the main authority of the
ensuring that the intended changes are introduced in the organisation, take the decision of
stopping the project, or even make the decision of feasibility of the changes in the
organisation (Nordiawan, Prasodjo & Hardjosoekarto, 2017). The owner of the improved
vendor management system in the organisation are the project manager, the owner of the
company and the various investors in the company.
Environmental constraints: The most crucial element of conducting any CATWOE
analysis is the analysis of the various external constraints using which the system is working,
and that might hamper or even restrict the implementation of the changes in the existing
system (Fatemi et al., 2019). The main environment constraints in the improved vendor
management system in the organisation are the ethical limits, the regulations of the
government of using any information, the financial constraints, the limitations of various
resources, the limitations of the project scope as well as the restrictions of time that is
required for implementing this project in the organisation.
Recommendation
It is suggested to the organisation that the improved vendor management system
should be implemented in the organisation for ensuring that all the vendors are complying
with the organisation and the payment for the goods and services is being done according to
the pre-determined value and no additional prices are taken. The various ethical
considerations are required to be considered and depending on that the implementation of the

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improved vendor management system should be done in the organisation. The vendor
management system would ensure that the organisation and the vendor are working on the
common platform and all the information of the vendors and the company are shared in the
real time.
Conclusion
Therefore, it could be concluded from the above discussion that the introduction of
the improved vendor management system would ensure the extensive compliance of the
company and the vendors of the company. With the extensive help of the systems thinking
approach, the implementation of the vendor management system would be done easily and all
the issues of the company with the vendors would be eliminated.

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References
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.
Fatemi, S. Z., AZAR, A., MOGHBEL, B. A., & KHADIVAR, A. (2019). Exploring the
Concept of Strategic Renewal with Soft System Methodology.
Lim, E. X. Q. (2019). A systems approach to holistic assessment of students in higher
education in relation to recruitment.
Mayoza, L., Agus, A., Lili, W., & Rizal, A. (2018). ANALYTICAL BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT ON NEON TETRA (PARACHEIRODON INNESI)
ORNAMENTAL FISH CULTIVATION. GSJ, 6(7), 938.
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).
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.

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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.