Systems Thinking for Tackling Organizational Problems: A Healthcare Setting Case Study

This paper presents a conceptual framework for using systems thinking to solve cross-departmental problems in a healthcare setting. The General Electric Co. (GE) Work-Out methodology is adopted as an instance of systems engineering methodologies to coordinate the problem-solving journey by bringing all departments together to discuss the issue and generate solutions collectively. Two cases were examined: the period before applying the proposed framework (C1); and the period during the implementation of the framework (C2). The evaluation metrics were calculated for both cases and then compared. The results suggest that the proposed framework is powerful in reducing the resistance to the generated solutions because frontline employees were closely involved in the solution creation process. The estimated Acceptance of proposed solutions was 50% for C1 and 80% for C2. The estimated Resistance was 50% for C1 and 20% for C2. The number of meetings to generate solid solutions that can be implemented to solve the problem was three two-hour meetings in C2. C1 had many meetings scattered along a period of about five months. This paper focused on the solution generation process and the reduction of potential resistance among process stakeholders. However, to completely evaluate the approach, the implementation phase should be taken into consideration as well. This study demonstrated the role of systems thinking to effectively generate solutions for crossdepartmental problems while minimizing the resistance among process stakeholders. By implementing the Work-Out methodology, common solutions for most of the process stakeholders were reached and approved for implementation.