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The Open University

Systems thinking and practice

The Open University via OpenLearn

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Overview

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What is systems thinking and practice? The essence of systems thinking and practice is in 'seeing' the world in a particular way, because how you 'see' things affects the way you approach situations or undertake specific tasks. This free course will help you to learn about the problems of defining a system and meet some of the key concepts used in systems theory: boundary, environment, positive and negative feedback, etc.

Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Learning outcomes
  • 1 How to use this course
  • 1 How to use this course
  • 2 What is this systems thing about?
  • 2 What is this systems thing about?
  • 3 Ways of thinking
  • 3 Ways of thinking
  • 3.1 Logical thinking
  • 3.2 Causal thinking
  • 3.3 Reductionist thinking
  • 3.4 Holistic thinking
  • 3.5 Multiple partial views
  • 3.6 Perspectives
  • 3.7 Distinguishing worldview from perspective
  • 3.8 Summary
  • 4 Systems thinking
  • 4 Systems thinking
  • 4.1 Thinking in systems
  • 4.2 Summary
  • 5 Types of systems
  • 5 Types of systems
  • 5.1 Definition of a system
  • 5.2 The language of systems
  • 5.3 Summary
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Acknowledgements

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Reviews

4.2 rating at OpenLearn based on 24 ratings

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