Abstract
As part of a consulting initiative to guide a workforce development board in the design of a strategic plan, the authors created instruction integrating systems thinking and design thinking for the board and staff. The purpose of this instruction was to foster participant engagement in a holistic approach to the development of a strategic plan for a local workforce development area. It was important to members of the board and their staff that the strategic plan integrate both compliance with the law and innovation in practice. The strategic plan would fulfill the mission of a federally funded workforce development initiative in a manner that emphasized innovative approaches to serving employers and jobseekers in the established geographic location. Systems thinking as a foundation for strategic planning within a complex, multi-sector system, integrates and connects otherwise silo-ed organizations and processes to fulfill one clear mission.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.References
Ackoff, R. L. (2001). A brief guide to interactive planning and idealized design. https://www.ida.liu.se/~steho87/und/htdd01/AckoffGuidetoIdealizedRedesign.pdf
Ackoff, R. L., & Gharajedaghi, J. (1996). Reflections on systems and their models. Systems Research, 13(1), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1735(199603)13:1<13::AID-SRES66>3.0.CO;2-O.
Adams, K. M., Hester, P. T., Bradley, J. M., Meyers, T. J., & Keating, C. B. (2014). Systems theory as the foundation for understanding systems. Systems Engineering, 17(1), 112–123. https://doi.org/10.1002/sys.21255.
Ateskan, A., & Lane, J. F. (2018, January). Assessing teachers’ systems thinking skills during a professional development program in Turkey. Journal of Cleaner Production, 172, 4348–4356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.05.094.
Bas, E., & Guillo, M. (2015). Participatory foresight for social innovation. FLUX-3D method (forward looking user experience), a tool for evaluating innovations. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 101, 275–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2015.06.016.
Beer, S. (1984). The viable system model: Its provenance, development, methodology, and pathology. The Journal of Operational Research Society, 35(1), 7–25 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2581927?seq=1.
Blonder, R., & Rosenfeld, S. (2019). Integrating the human element in the responsible research and innovation framework into systems thinking approaches for teachers’ professional development. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(12), 2700–2703. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00387.
Brown, A. H., & Green, T. D. (2017). Beyond teaching instructional design models: Exploring the design process to advance professional development and expertise. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 30(1), 176–186. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-017-9164-y.
Brown, T. L. (2010). The evolution of public sector strategy. Public Administration Review, 70(S1), S212–S214 https://www.jstor.org/stable/40984127.
Brown, T., & Wyatt, J. (2010). Design thinking for social innovation. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 8(1), 31-35. https://ojs.unbc.ca/index.php/ design/article/view file/1272/1089.
Fitch, D., Parker-Barua, L., & Watt, J. W. (2014). Envisioning public child welfare agencies as learning organizations: Applying Beer’s viable system model to title IV-E program evaluation. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 8(2), 119–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2013.879089.
Gharajedaghi, J. (2011). Systems thinking: Managing chaos and complexity: A platform for designing business architecture (3rd ed.). New York: Elsevier.
Greer, C. R., Lusch, R. F., & Hitt, M. A. (2017). A service perspective for human capital resources: A critical base for strategy implementation. Academy of Management Perspectives, 31(2), 137–158. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2016.0004.
Head, B. W., & Alford, J. (2015). Wicked problems: Implications for public policy and management. Administration & Society, 47(6), 711–739. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399713481601.
Holland, B. (2016). Both sides now: Toward the dual customer approach under the workforce innovation and opportunity act in the United States. Local Economy, 31(3), 424–441. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269094216640476.
Harwood, S. A. (2019). A question of interpretation: The viable system model (VSM). European Journal of Operational Research, 274(3), 1198–1201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2018.10.054.
Jaradat, R. M. (2014). An instrument to assess individual capacity for system thinking (Doctoral dissertation). http://proxy.lib.odu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/docview/1652469947?accountid=12967
Jaradat, R. M. (2015). Complex system governance requires systems thinking – How to find systems thinkers. International Journal of Systems Engineering, 6(1–2), 53–70. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSSE.2015.068813.
Jaradat, R. M., & Keating, C. B. (2016, May 21-24). An instrument to find systems thinkers [Paper presentation]. Industrial and systems engineering research conference, Anaheim, CA, United States. http://www.cavs.msstate.edu/publications/docs/2016/03/ 14950_An_instrument_to_find_ systems_thinkers.pdf.
Jones, P. H. (2014). Systemic design principles for complex social systems. In G. S. Metcalf (Ed.), Social Systems and Design (Vol. 1, pp. 91–128). Japan: Springer.
Keating, C. B. (2000). A systems-based methodology for structural analysis of health care operations. Journal of Management in Medicine, 14(3/4), 179–198. https://doi.org/10.1108/02689230010359183.
Keating, C., Peterson, W., & Rabadi, G. (2003). Framing of complex system of systems engineering problems. Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Management, St. Louis, MO, 8-15.
Li, Q., Clark, B., & Winchester, I. (2010). Instructional design and technology grounded in enactivism: A paradigm shift? British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(3), 403–419. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00954.x.
Mintzberg, H. (1994). The fall and rise of strategic planning. Harvard Business Review, 72(1), 107–114.
Moore, M. H. (1995). Creating public value: Strategic management in government. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Nelson, H. G., & Stolterman, E. (2003). The design way: Intentional change in an unpredictable world: Foundations and fundamentals of design competence. Englewood Cliffs: Educational Technology Publications.
Orengo, M. (2018). Theoretical notes regarding the practical application of Stafford Beer’s viable system model. Kybernetes, 47(2), 262–272. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-02-2017-0069.
Poister, T. H., Pitts, D. W., & Edwards, L. H. (2010). Strategic management research in the public sector: A review, synthesis, and future directions. The American Review of Public Administration, 40(5), 522–545. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074010370617.
Regenold, T. A. (2020). Local workforce development, federally legislated purposes, and a systemigram: A mixed-methods study [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Old Dominion University.
Rosas, S. R. (2017). Systems thinking and complexity: Considerations for health promoting schools. Health Promotion International, 32(2), 301–311. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dav109.
Skyttner, L. (2005). General systems theory: Problems, perspectives, practice (2nd ed.). Hackensack: World Scientific Publishing.
Vickers, G. (1983). Human systems are different. London: Harper & Row.
Whitney, K., Bradley, J. M., Baugh, D. E., & Chesterman, C. W., Jr. (2015). Systems theory as a foundation for governance of complex systems. International Journal of Systems Engineering, 6(1–2), 15–32. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSSE.2015.068805.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, 29 U.S.C. § § 3101–3361 (2018). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-113publ128/pdf/PLAW-113publ128.pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
Both authors did consulting for the primary organization described in this article.
Research Involving Human Subjects
Not applicable – there was no research conducted for this practitioner article.
Informed Consent
Not applicable – there was no research conducted for this practitioner article.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Regenold, T.A., Murphy, S.E. Designing Instruction for Strategic Planning in a Complex, Multi-sector System. TechTrends 64, 759–768 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-020-00537-w
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-020-00537-w