1. Management and Coordination of Training and Development
HPO’s & HRD
Organizations as Systems
Systems Thinking

2. The Process of Systems Thinking
Look at a problem from a holistic perspective
Identify & respond to changes quickly
Resource: “Systems Thinking” ASTD; Info-line, March Issue 9703.
Similar to HPO’s, High Performing Work Systems imply that all parts of an organization must work together as a whole to reach goals of an organization.
Senge defines Organizational Learning as a process people of all levels individually and collectively are continually increasing their capacity to learn and produce results they care about.
Brinkerhoff & Gill: Discuss issues related to today’s org structures that compatmentalize depts (admin, mkt, sales, pr, r&d) – Specializing of work and comparmentalizing business units separates work from the learning process.
“People make things at work, learn things at school”
Departmental structure of the Training function has the effect of seperating learning from work

3. Benefits of Systems Thinking
Improves decision making through keen assessment
Keen assessment leads to effective interventions
These benefits have been attributed to systems thinking:
Ask the right questions
Involve stakeholders – implies an internal and external changing of goals and needs
Shared understanding of the problem
Big picture provides a competitive advantage

4. Characteristics of Systems Thinking
Complex relationships and interdependencies
Reframe an issue or problem
See the entirety
Discern patterns
Question all underlying assumptions
You are able to understand complex relationships and how they are interdependent upon each other (examples?)
Application of Systems Thinking:
No final or right answers – best place, highest leverage point
Solutions require thoughtful consideration
Behavior gets worse before it gets better
There are limits in every system
Foresight will benefit us in the long run

5. Perspectives of Systems Thinking
Events
Patterns
Structures
Moving from Events to Structures…
Ways to view a problem – events (simply reacting to something), patterns – deeper into the problem
Event: 3 trainers quit
Patterns: how many times has something happened? In addition to trainers other employees have quit
Structures – what underlying structures are producing patterns of behavior that we are seeing with this problem?
Answer – key organizational decision made earlier was company was experiencing a decrease in financial returns and ceased publication of weekly performance update for employees. Stopped information flow and employees feared company was failing and as a result left.
Now what are your thoughts about solutions?
Once you decide to take action what ramifications will they have on an organization? (pg 4 of HO provides great questions).

6. Implementing Systems Thinking
Group #1 – Stating the Problem, Telling the Story, identifying the key variables & ways to visualize a problem
Group #2 – Creating loops (balancing, reinforcing, archetypes)
Group #3 – Effective interventions & relevance to HRD
Group #1: Chris, Sue
Group #2 – Rick, et all
Group 3: Stef, Matt & Kelly
Walk through job aid

7. Tying it all together
With your knowledge of systems thinking, high performing organizations, and HRD competencies develop a strategy and present it to key management
Case study – hand out to each group

8. Best Team… Recall the “best team” experience Describe your experience
Consensus
Acknowledge
Individually recall the best team experience you have ever been a part of (what was it about yourself, the situation, the task and others who made this a peak experience? Silently jot down thoughts about this. Maybe a sports team, work team, family / church etc.
Each group member describes their experience – remainder of group asks ?’s of the focal person
On basis of what you’ve just discussed, list and develop a consensus on the attributes of highly effective groups
As a member of this newly formed group publicly acknowledge anything you saw others in your group that helped your group be more like the attributes…