Systems Thinking Approach: Analyzing Woolworths' Business Issues

This report examines the issues faced by Woolworths, a business organization, focusing on its poor sales performance and outdated selling procedures. The report identifies the negative impacts of these issues on stakeholders such as shareholders, employees, and customers. To address these problems, the report recommends implementing a systems thinking approach, specifically a 7-stage representation of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), to analyze the current system, define the problem, identify root definitions, develop conceptual models, compare models, implement changes, and take action. The report emphasizes the importance of a holistic perspective in solving complex business problems and highlights how systems thinking can help Woolworths adapt to changing consumer behavior. The report includes references and peer reviews, showcasing a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and potential solutions for Woolworths.

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Issues faced by Woolworths and recommendations to overcome it
Introduction
Woolworths is a business organization with advanced technology and management tools.
However, it has been identified that the company has been facing problems and issues. The
purpose of this blog is to identify the issues faced and provides recommendations to overcome
the issues faced.
Issues faced by Woolworths
It has been identified that Woolworths has a poor sales performance due to its inadequate
selling efforts. It has been identified that the business organization incorporates out of date
selling procedures with inadequate sales information. Woolworths lacks effective sales
procedure to increase sales of the business. Further the business also has inadequate sales
management control which increases the problems faced by the company. In the highly
competitive business environment, the out dated sales procedure of the business organization is
out dated considering the competitive business environment in which it operates (Arnold &
Wade, 2015). This business issue faced by the organization affects major stakeholders of the
organization such as the shareholders, employees and the customers. Sales are directly linked
with the profitability and success of the business organization. Ineffective sales procedures affect
revenue generation which in turn negatively impacts the shareholders of the organization. The
reduced revenue and profitability of the business organization also negatively impacts the salary

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and wages of the workers and employees of the organization (Williams et al., 2017). This in turn
lowers the motivation level among the employees and creates discontentment among them. This
negatively impacts the operations of the business. The customers also gets disinterested in the
purchasing the products and services offered by Woolworths. Losing customers also affects the
reputation and profitability of the business organization. Therefore, it is recommended that the
business organization must incorporate systems thinking approach to overcome the problem.
Recommendations
It is recommended to implement 7 stage representation of SSM. In stage one, the business
organizations understands the problem situation analyzing the current system of organization and
the need to incorporate change (Williams et al., 2017). In the second stage, the business
organization needs to figure out and structure the problem. In stage three, the organizations
identify the root definition of relevant system activity. In stage four, the company needs to
identify different conceptual models (Kambiz, 2016). Then it compared different models and
identifies the most suitable model. It needs to compare conceptual models with the real situation.
After comparing the models, the business organization needs to implement feasible and desirable
changes in the organization; the people involved in the organization’s system and incorporate the
required changes. It must be ensured that the organization must consider appropriate changes
required to attain success and profitability. The organization needs to consider the feasibility,
priorities of the organization and analyze the risk associated with the change. Lastly, it needs to
take actions to implement the change (Young & Leveson, 2013). It needs to create a planning
including a set of incremental changes and the need for change. Systems thinking are highly
essential to solve complex problems in today’s business scenario. A holistic perspective is

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necessary for solving business complexities. Woolworths faces problems due to its fast changing
consumer purchasing behavior (Arnold & Wade, 2015). Systems thinking enable the business
organization to have a large view over the problem based on functional orientation.
Appendices
Description : 7 stage representation of SSM

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Source : (Arnold & Wade, 2015)
Description: Web design consultancy
Source: Monk and Howard

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References
Arnold, R. D., & Wade, J. P. (2015). A definition of systems thinking: A systems
approach. Procedia Computer Science, 44(2015), 669-678.
Williams, A., Kennedy, S., Philipp, F., & Whiteman, G. (2017). Systems thinking: A review of
sustainability management research. Journal of Cleaner Production, 148, 866-881.
Kambiz, M. (2016). Multi-stakeholder decision making for complex problems: A systems
thinking approach with cases. World Scientific.
Young, W., & Leveson, N. (2013, December). Systems thinking for safety and security.
In Proceedings of the 29th Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (pp. 1-8).

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PART B – Peer Review
Peer 1: Ahmed Azayezed
In your writings, you have identified a strained operational management in Sumo Salad,
which has adversely affected the organization. The issues and the problems identified in the
business organization have been very clearly addressed in this blog, which makes it very easy for
me to understand the issues faced by the firm. It has been rightly mentioned that with the help of
systems thinking approach they will be able to understand the root cause of the issue faced. They
will be able to understand the faulty inventory and operations management and the problems
faced in the quality of the food served by the people. You have mentioned about the CATWOE
model which will be truly beneficial for the business organization. The table provided to
understand the drivers and its effects are very helpful to understand the ways in which the firm
can overcome the problems faced. The pictures provided in the blog are really helpful to clearly
understand the problems and the areas in which changes are required. However, it believed that
the blog has very concise information without any elaborate description. This could enhance the
blog. You have also provided you own opinion about the consequences that might occur in the
business. Consumers might get diverted due to excessive price rates. I believe that this could be
addressed if the company can focuses on the quality of the food. The blog was really interesting
and this helped to widen my knowledge base. Thank you
Peer 2: MOHAMMED ABDUL SHUKOOR
I agree with the introductory statement of complex business environment and fast
technological developments and its impact on the operations of the business. It has been righted

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addressed that in the complex business environment and fast changing business environment, a
systems thinking approach can be really helpful for the companies as it provides a decision
making paradigm and helps them to cope up with any modifications and change. You have
provided a detailed description of the problems and issues faced by Telstra, which has helped me
to have a better understanding of the problems and challenging that can be faced by these
organizations in the actual business environment. I agree with the statement that systems
thinking approach can help the business organizations to enhance productivity, consistency and
inclusiveness. However, I would like to state that it is not clearly mentioned about the ways in
which this will help Telstra. I support the recommendations provided by you that is to introduce
a position of a specialist to handle calls and improve training in the organization. This would
help Telstra to improve the level of customer service. Additionally I would like to state that
Telstra can improve its customer survive by providing a help desk so that the customers can put
their queries and get their problems resolved. This will also increased customer satisfaction and
overcome challenges. The pictures provided by you clearly describe current issues faced by the
company and gives detailed understanding of the complex systems. I was an interesting read
throughout the writing. It has helped me to gain better understanding and knowledge about
systems thinking and its benefits to the organizations. Thank you