Methodological Flexibility in Systems Thinking: Musings from the Standpoint of a Systems Consultant

Abstract

Systems thinking is armored with a range of methodologies to aid practitioners work in complex situations. However, systems methodologies are often associated with a niche research group in operations research, management science and systems engineering (OR/MS/SE) thereby making their popularity and acceptance in general management and engineering challenging. In such a situation, methodological flexibility can offer greater liberty to a practitioner to use systems methodologies in a more flexible and creative manner without having to be bound by the rigor of the methodology itself. This paper presents a discussion on methodological flexibility in systems thinking highlighting two consultancy case studies. An orientation to the development of systems thinking in OR/MS/SE is provided leading to the presentation of Holistic Flexibility, a recently developed conceptual lens in systems thinking that calls for a more egalitarian and democratic stance for the discipline. The case-studies presented are analyzed in light of Holistic Flexibility to articulate the benefits and practitioner limitations of methodological flexibility. Recommendations to address the limitations are provided. This paper has two main contributions: First, it presents the proposition that methodological flexibility can also mean that systems methodologies can influence the design and deployment of interventions in management consultancy, without directly deploying such methodologies. Second, the practitioner experience, drawing from the journey of the projects presented in the case-studies, will substantiate recent arguments that call for systems thinking to be a cognitive discipline without having to be methodologically bounded.