scholarly journals Bootstrapping tourism post-COVID-19: A systems thinking approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 146735842110388
Author(s):  
Fernando Martin Y Roxas ◽  
John Paolo R Rivera ◽  
Eylla Laire M Gutierrez
Keyword(s):  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
Recovery Plan ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
Causal Loop ◽  
Causal Loop Diagrams ◽  
Systems Thinking Approach

The coronavirus pandemic has disturbed industries globally. Unlike agriculture and manufacturing, the services sector, particularly tourism, which primarily involves social activities requiring human interaction, is devastated. Against the backdrop of measures to contain the pandemic, travel behaviors have altered. Without an effective recovery plan, the effect of the pandemic on tourism may be felt over a prolonged period of time. With the objective of contributing to a better understanding of how tourism can recover, we use systems thinking to recommend interventions to help restart local tourism. Through causal loop diagrams, we argue that rebooting tourism is key to rebooting the economy. We propose insights for policy action well before the crisis deepens and permanently derails the tourism industry.

Complexity Theory and System Dynamics for Project Risk Management

2017 ◽  
pp. 152-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
System Dynamics ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Systems Dynamics ◽  
Risk And Uncertainty ◽  
Causal Loop ◽  
General Systems ◽  
Big Picture ◽  
Causal Loop Diagrams ◽  
Managing Risk

As a consequence of the consensus that projects are growing in complexity from ever ambitious goals there is a perpetual search for methods aimed at pinpointing and describing the source of complexity with the objective of subsequently reducing uncertainty, managing risk and improving project performance. An area of study that has engaged enquiring minds for over fifty years but has not yet been accepted into mainstream project management is the study and application of systems thinking and system dynamics. The purpose of this chapter is to promulgate the view that the mapping of projects as systems should be re-examined as a means of articulating and responding to complexity. The chapter examines general systems theory, systems thinking and systems dynamics with examples of causal loop diagrams as an aid to describe and respond to risk exposure. It includes simple causal loop diagrams as a means of illustrating how risks may be identified and addressed. The emphasis is on seeing the ‘big picture' to avoid gaps and omissions in the management of risk and uncertainty.

Using collaborative conceptual modelling as a tool for transdiscipinarity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Neely ◽  
Martin Bortz ◽  
Sara Bice
Keyword(s):  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Translation ◽  
Conceptual Modelling ◽  
Collaborative Approach ◽  
Energy Futures ◽  
Causal Loop ◽  
Contested Space ◽  
Causal Loop Diagrams ◽  
And Training

This article provides an appraisal of collaborative conceptual modelling (CCM) as a tool for research translation. First developed by Newell and Proust (2012), CCM draws on the tools and frameworks of systems thinking as a way of addressing transdisciplinary problems. We applied CCM in two separate workshops – one discussing ‘Digital Cities’, and the other on ‘Energy Futures’. The aim was to assess the value and limitations of CCM in an applied setting, as well as its value in producing transdisciplinary research outcomes. We found that CCM is a valuable tool for researchers interested in addressing complex or ‘wicked’ problems. At the same time, it has its own challenges. These barriers include recruiting workshop participants who are not researchers; assisting workshop participants in developing a truly collaborative approach; and training participants in how to draw some of the main CCM tools (particularly causal loop diagrams). Future research will explore how to address these challenges, and apply CCM in a contested space.<br />key messages<br />Collaborative conceptual modelling (CCM) applies systems thinking to address transdisciplinary problems.<br />Effective CCM requires strong facilitation to encourage collaboration between workshop participants.<br />Challenges of CCM include recruitment, drawing causal loop diagrams, and reporting on outcomes.<br />More research into and testing of CCM is necessary to address these challenges.<br />

scholarly journals A Systems Thinking Approach to Inform Coherent Policy Action for NCD Prevention Comment on "How Neoliberalism Is Shaping the Supply of Unhealthy Commodities and What This Means for NCD Prevention"

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope Milsom ◽  
Richard Smith ◽  
Helen Walls
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Prevention Policy ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
Causal Mechanisms ◽  
Linear Chains ◽  
Public Health Challenge ◽  
Systems Thinking Approach

Lencucha and Thow tackle the enormous public health challenge of developing non-communicable disease (NCD) policy coherence within a world structured and ruled by neoliberalism. Their work compliments scholarship on other causal mechanisms, including the commercial determinants of health, that have contributed to creating the risk commodity environment and barriers to NCD prevention policy coherence. However, there remain significant gaps in the understanding of how these causal mechanisms interact within a whole system. As such, public health researchers’ suggestions for how to effectively prevent NCDs through addressing the risk commodity environment tend to remain fragmented, incomplete and piecemeal. We suggest this is, in part, because conventional policy analysis methods tend to be reductionist, considering causal mechanisms in relative isolation and conceptualizing them as linear chains of cause and effect. This commentary discusses how a systems thinking approach offers methods that could help with better understanding the risk commodity environment problem, identifying a more comprehensive set of effective solutions across sectors and its utility more broadly for gaining insight into how to ensure recommended solutions are translated into policy, including though transformation at the paradigmatic level.

Complexity Theory and System Dynamics for Project Risk Management

2017 ◽  
pp. 401-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
System Dynamics ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Systems Dynamics ◽  
Risk And Uncertainty ◽  
Causal Loop ◽  
General Systems ◽  
Big Picture ◽  
Causal Loop Diagrams ◽  
Managing Risk

As a consequence of the consensus that projects are growing in complexity from ever ambitious goals there is a perpetual search for methods aimed at pinpointing and describing the source of complexity with the objective of subsequently reducing uncertainty, managing risk and improving project performance. An area of study that has engaged enquiring minds for over fifty years but has not yet been accepted into mainstream project management is the study and application of systems thinking and system dynamics. The purpose of this chapter is to promulgate the view that the mapping of projects as systems should be re-examined as a means of articulating and responding to complexity. The chapter examines general systems theory, systems thinking and systems dynamics with examples of causal loop diagrams as an aid to describe and respond to risk exposure. It includes simple causal loop diagrams as a means of illustrating how risks may be identified and addressed. The emphasis is on seeing the ‘big picture' to avoid gaps and omissions in the management of risk and uncertainty.

scholarly journals Using systems thinking and causal loop diagrams to identify cascading climate change impacts on bioenergy supply systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanny Groundstroem ◽  
Sirkku Juhola
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Wood Pellets ◽  
Causal Loop ◽  
Causal Loop Diagrams ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

AbstractIncreased use of bioenergy, driven by ambitious climate and energy policies, has led to an upsurge in international bioenergy trade. Simultaneously, it is evident that every node of the bioenergy supply chain, from cultivation of energy crops to production of electricity and heat, is vulnerable to climate change impacts. However, climate change assessments of bioenergy supply chains neither account for the global nature of the bioenergy market, nor the complexity and dynamic interconnectivity between and within different sub-systems in which the bioenergy supply chain is embedded, thereby neglecting potential compounding and cascading impacts of climate change. In this paper, systems thinking is utilised to develop an analytical framework to address this gap, and aided by causal loop diagrams, cascading impacts of climate change are identified for a case study concerning imports of wood pellets from the United States to the European Union. The findings illustrate how the complexity and interconnectivity of the wood pellet supply system predispose the supply chain to various cascading climate change impacts stemming from environmental, social, political and economic domains, and highlight the value of using system-based analysis tools for studying such complex and dynamic systems.

Applying the Theory of Constraints Principles to Tourism Supply Chain Management

2021 ◽  
pp. 109634802199679
Author(s):  
Xiaofeng Zhao ◽  
Jianrong Hou
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Supply Chain Coordination ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Theory Of Constraints ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Tourism Management ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Tourism Supply Chain

Tourism supply chain management has become an important research topic as individual firms no longer compete as isolated entities but rather as supply chains in the tourism industry. Despite the evidence that benefits can be gained to improve profitability, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction, the research on how to manage the tourism supply chain is very limited. This research contributes to the literature by applying the theory of constraints (TOC) with systems thinking to tourism supply chain management. It proposes that the key issue in tourism supply chain management is the coordination of business activities and the TOC with systems thinking can effectively support tourism supply chain coordination of the various links and processes. The article examines the TOC performance measures and the drum–buffer–rope model in the context of tourism management and applies the focusing process of the TOC as a continuous improvement approach for tourism supply chain management. The research findings suggest that, given modifications to the TOC terminology and the principles, the TOC principles can work as an excellent approach to facilitate the tourism supply chain management.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document