21 In systems thinking, important concepts include: a) Structure determines beha

Question

21 In systems thinking, important concepts include:

a) Structure determines behavior

b) Behavior determines mental models

c) People are individually and exclusively at fault when things go wrong

d) There is no unique perspective offered by “systems thinking”

e) None of the above

22 An archetype is a behavior/structure that is commonly found in various systems that would ordinarily be seen as unconnected. An example is “limits to growth”:

True                                  False

23 An insight from the “beer game” was that the results depended on what country and culture the players came from:

True                                  False

24 The “beer game” was a good example of incapable people making bad decisions ?

True                                  False

25 Key reasons why manager’s fail to see system structures within their organizations and their work processes include (circle all that apply):

a) They are prone to the “blame game” where they blame the work process/tool (i.e. TQM) or the people

b) People tend to see cause and effect relationships only when they occur closely in time

c) There are gaps in their Maslow’s needs

d) The cost structure is too high

e) Competition is too great

26 Continuous improvement is an example of a virtuous cycle a company can hope to create in its organization:

true                          false

27 A vicious cycle is one where things get worse and worse and it can be unknowingly fostered by managers. An example is hitting performance targets by pressing people to work harder while also sacrificing building capability:

                                    True                             False

28 One reason why managers can miss the vicious cycle of working harder and sacrificing capability is the things can get better before they get worse:

                                    True                             False

29 A characteristic of the phase plot we looked at was (circle all that apply):

a) There were 2 stable states

b) There were 3 stable states

c) It showed that there was a critical point for FEL on the portfolio of projects below which you fell behind and never recover

d) Phase plots are always useful in system’s analysis

e) None of the above

30 A key lesson of the firefighting lecture was that resources had to be managed carefully and also that you need to avoid creating future situations where you are forced to move them from project to project to “save the day” when one of them falls behind:

true                    false

Explanation / Answer

21. b) Behavior determines mental models

22. False

23. True

24. True

25. a and b

26. true

27. false

28. True

29.c and d

30. True

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