“Systems thinking can be thought of as a language for communicating about complexities and interdependencies.” [Goodman, Michael, Systems Thinking as a Language, in: The Systems Thinker, Vol. 2, No. 3, April 1991, p. 1 <http://www.appliedsystemsthinking.com/supporting_documents/IntroLanguage.pdf> (accessed 14 August 2009)]

“It’s important to remember that the term “systems thinking” can mean different things to different people. The discipline of systems thinking is more than just a collection of tools and methods - it’s also an underlying philosophy. (…) systems thinking is a sensitivity to the circular nature of the world we live in; an awareness of the role of the structure in creating the conditions we face; a recognition that there are powerful laws of systems operating that we are unaware of, a realization that there are consequences to our actions that we are oblivious to. Systems thinking is also a diagnostic tool. (…) a disciplined approach for examining problems more completely and accurately before acting.” [Goodman, Michael, Systems Thinking: What, Why, When, Where, and How?, in: The Systems Thinker, Vol. 8., No. 2, March 1997, p. 6. <http://www.appliedsystemsthinking.com/supporting_documents/Intro4WsandHow.pdf> (accessed 14 August 2009)]

“Systems thinking is, more than anything else, a mindset for understanding how things work. It is a perspective for going beyond events, looking at patterns for behavior, to seeking underlying systemic interrelationships which are responsible for the patterns of behavior and the events. Systems thinking embodies a world-view. A world-view which implies that the foundation for understanding lies in interpreting interrelationships within systems. Interrelationships which are responsible for the manner in which systems operate. Interrelationships which result in the patterns of behavior and events we perceive.” [Bellinger, Gene, Systems Thinking. An Operational Perspective of the Universe, 2004 <www.systems-thinking.org/systhink/systhink.htm> (accessed 30 July 2009)]

“Systems thinking is an approach for developing models to promote our understanding of events, patterns of behavior resulting in the events, and even more importantly, the underlying structure responsible for the patterns of behavior. If we are interested in addressing a particular situation it is only through our understanding of the underlying structure that we will be able to identify the most appropriate leverage points to effect change within the system.” [Bellinger, Systems Thinking. A Disciplined Approach, 2004. <http://www.systems-thinking.org/stada/stada.htm> (accessed 20 August 2009).]

“Systems Thinking is the art and science of making reliable inferences about behavior by developing an increasingly deep understanding of underlying structure.” [Richmond, Barry, Systems Dynamics/Systems Thinking: Let’s Just Get on With It, delivered at the 1994 International Systems Dynamics Conference in Sterling, Scotland. <http://www.iseesystems.com/resources/Articles/SDSTletsjustgetonwithit.pdf> (accessed 13 August 2009)]

“Systems thinking is a way of understanding reality that emphasizes the relationships among a system’s parts, rather than the parts themselves.” [What is Systems Thinking <www.thesystemsthinker.com/systemsthinkinglearn.html> (accessed 12 August 2009)]

“Systems thinking is a framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the context of relationships with each other and other systems, rather than in isolation.” [Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking> (accessed 14 August 2009)]

Systems thinking or System Dynamics? In some cases, the expression system dynamics is used interchangeably with systems thinking, in other cases these terms are used to refer to two different disciplines. How these two disciplines relate to each other and what the key difference is between them is contended. While some consider system dynamics as the more rigorous, academic field that lays the basis for systems thinking, which is more practical in orientation and applies principles of system behavior discovered by system dynamics to organizational life (see for instance <http://www.thesystemsthinker.com/tstaboutsd.html>), others consider systems thinking as a small part of system dynamics used for creating an initial description and understanding of the system (Forrester, Jay W., System Dynamics, Systems Thinking, and Soft OR, in: System Dynamics Review, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Summer 1994), p. 6.), and again others point out that there is a huge overlap between the two, but see a difference in “spirit”, i.e. systems thinking is for everyone, and meant for people to generate insights for themselves (see Richmond, Barry, System Dynamics/Systems Thinking. Let’s Just Get On With It,1994.) For the sake of simplicity, in this resource kit the term systems thinking is used.

• Systems thinking is a way of looking at the world, a lens.
• The world is composed of systems (systems are everywhere around us) and systems are made up of elements and their relations. Systems thinking turns its eye on the interrelations between parts and not the parts themselves.
• Inherent to systems thinking is as well the view that systems – the interrelationships of parts – produce behavior. Therefore, “problematic” behavior can be dealt with by understanding how the system produces it. Systems thinking is an approach to problem solving. While it lies on a thorough theoretical foundation, it is an action-oriented approach.
• The systems thinking approach takes on a circular – as opposed to a linear – perspective. It doubts that the world’s complexity can be understood by simple cause and effect relationships (A causing B, B causing C, C causing D), but instead believes in the interconnectedness of factors (A leads to B and B to C which again influences A, etc.).
• Systems thinking – by laying emphasis on the complexity of interactions in the system and not the parts – is a holistic approach.