Running head: SST

Impact of Soft System Thinking (SST) upon Intellectual Capital of the Organization [Module name and code] [Assessment name, e.g. Coursework] [Date of submission] [Tutor] [Student number]

SST Table of Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................................... 3 Soft System Thinking............................................................................................3 Skills and Soft System Thinking............................................................................5 Soft System Thinking............................................................................................5 Strategies to adopt Soft System Thinking..............................................................6 Implementation of Soft System Thinking ..............................................................8 Impact of Soft System Thinking towards Organizational Performance...................9 Influence of Soft Systems Thinking......................................................................10 Current Situation.................................................................................................12 Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 14 REFERENCES............................................................................................................. 15

SST Impact of Soft System Thinking (SST) upon Intellectual Capital of the Organization

Introduction In the world we see today, people have evolved and transformed completely from previously individuals and people would actually be. With the constantly changing dynamics of the world today, it becomes much more difficult to keep track of the current situation and project accurate and concise changes and abrupt movements of industries and businesses together. This posts a great of effort and understanding of the people who are being inducted in different corporations and organizations that we see and witness today. Human beings, by far, are the most difficult element of be integrated in the world we see today. People and human beings employed and inducted in the organizations are the most important, yet the most critical component, whose performance and compliance towards tasks assigned could actually guarantee the success or failure of the organization.

Soft System Thinking While companies and organizations have paved way for the development and understanding of improving employees, they tend to generally focus upon the technical approaches and attempts of understanding and comprehending the kind of issues and concerns, which were otherwise responsible and required for performing job tasks. Unfortunately, having technical knowledge and information regarding the organizational dynamics simply does not fulfill the requirement of the research known to us (Christopher, 2006, pp.40). This is because of the personality that makes human beings human, unlike the kind of machines that are of assistance. A company may hold outstanding infrastructure, state-of-the-art technology or even some of the best employees who seized to exist and make big in their academic

SST fields and key areas with which organizations enter an abyss of profitability and long-term sustainability. However, it wont last long if a defined set of traits, characteristics, qualities and attributes have either not been incorporated and injected into the employees, leading to a stagnant, or worst comes to worst, dead organization (Evenson, 2001). Soft system thinking is a combination of all those emotions, feelings and thoughts, which are being displayed and acted upon by employees within the organization. To be more specific, soft system thinking regard the emotional intelligence or related to a person EQ, which symbolizes the internal thought process and developing the kind of relationships people develop with themselves and with others around the organization (Ganzel, 2001). In the current environment, emotional intelligence is an important attribute for leaders to

successfully lead the transformation of work environments and often an area where cardiovascular programs fall short. Effective leadership requires that leaders value the perspective and input of each discipline. Many authors define what is emotional intelligence, among them are Peter Salovey, John Mayer and Daniel Harvard, the latter was the one who made known the term "Emotional Intelligence" which states that an emotionally intelligent person is able to through their feelings is able to positively influence their behavior and also that of others (Glenn, 2003, pp.9). Emotional Intelligence In addition Saloney summarizes five points explained later. These points are in essence, the author, key points to develop the ability to conduct their own emotions and to control depending on the situation where you are.

SST Skills and Soft System Thinking With reference to the kind of organizational requirements, which should actually exist

among individuals, the most prominent areas that could be covered and titled under the area of soft system thinking include emotional intelligence (EQ), the cluster of personality traits, communication, language, personal habits and various other attempts, steps, traits and characteristics, which aid the establishment, development and maintenance of the relationships among employees within the organization. Whenever it comes to incorporating and inculcating the kind of issues and concerns that revolve around the organization would actually make way for improving relationships and creating better rapport among employees in the organization. It must be acknowledged that these soft systems thinking individually tend to make way for the development and understanding of developing a better, healthier, team-oriented organization, which can actually produce synergetic performance results and close a better, much more fulfilling outcome. One must also understand that the kind of issues and concerns that are involved in the process of these internal changes to be incorporated, these, in the real sense, are amongst those changes, which are required as per the job specification (JS) and also the need to fully perform the job with complete understanding and better, improved performance.

Soft System Thinking It takes a great deal of understanding, practice and efforts, in order to better understand and comprehend the kind of issues and concerns regarding the adoption and practice of these skills in the context of organizational growth and individual development of employees. While the conventional methods of thinking limit our frame of comprehension regarding organizational

SST

needs and resolving problems and concerns occurring in the organization, soft system thinking can actually pave way for understanding the core of all issues involved in conflict resolution and problem dissolution, which may otherwise have not been a concern or issue involved in the organization.

Strategies to adopt Soft System Thinking Many of the points in common are that within the "Emotional Intelligence" mentioned that not only serves to have a self but it also must be a self-motivation that helps us achieve our goals more easily, point very important if we are referring to a leader (Glenn, 2008, pp.7). The development of "Emotional Intelligence" allows us to develop further the sense of empathy; a condition for a leader is very helpful because this way can easily anticipate possible reactions that may have our fans, especially if it is a planning case (James & James, 2004, pp.39). It is noteworthy that one of the factors that influence the "Emotional Intelligence" is the body language, verbal language is only a small percentage of the way humans communicate, is much more noticeable to others, you can have a good emotional control but if you have a good body control "emotional intelligence" is not complete. Within what is defined in emotional intelligence are other points as the self-consciousness refers to the ability to know that we have reason to react in a certain way, this emotional control as the ability to control our moods, motivation As mentioned above, the empathy and relationship management. All these points make the learning of emotional intelligence is more clear (Minium, King & Bear, 2003, pp.78). As mentioned, the leadership is very influential in the decisions of the followers and according to "Emotional Intelligence" you have, some authors have separated the lead in two

SST models, the lead female and male, both explained below and gives notice the real difference between a leader of one kind or another. This difference is explained in a case.

Exposure of cases is one way to implement everything that has been talked about emotional intelligence and how this affects the smooth running of leadership, for this reason are some cases that will give the reader a clearer idea the issue here exposed (Pedhazur & Schmelkin, 2001, pp.14). Among the functions of a supervisor is to manage the groups and individuals, there are no manuals or guides to teach us to be supervisors of this or that way, but several publications that give us the training to act in a certain way. This work is one of these training guidelines; The "Emotional Intelligence" is a very useful tool for success in leadership, in this work point out the differences that occur in an uncontrolled emotional leader and a leader that control, in addition to features that help you develop a good emotional intelligence (Perreault, 2004, pp.23). The reader will notice that emotional intelligence is not just the control character but has a lot to do with the treatment of people and ways to demonstrate and control our feelings. In the mid seventies, long before the term was coined Emotional Intelligence, began its development in the United States applied science called Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). This was a study, which was undertaken to analyze and identify how humans work and go about their daily routines, through which we put our attention and inner meaning and give to the reality around us, thus building subjective experiences, which then influence our behavior (Jackson, 2003, pp.11). The acronym NLP defines the three main elements with which this science works: Programming, Neurology and Language. Our own "programming" determines how we perceive what is happening around us and as a consequence how we feel and how we behave. Our

SST neurological system regulates how our minds and our bodies. The verbal and nonverbal language determines how we communicate with ourselves and with others (Redmann & Kotrlik, 2004, pp.76).

NLP allows, using simple and useful tool to develop our emotional self-management skills and improve in a very remarkable our communication and relationships. NLP helps us to easily develop new resources and capabilities to improve our emotional intelligence. The most valuable aspect of this discipline is that it can be learned and used easily and without prior knowledge by any person in their own benefit and that of others (Sutton, 2002, pp.16). In the 90's, American psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer coined the term emotional intelligence in order to define the use of it in the development and understanding of the organization (Timm, 2005, pp.55).

Implementation of Soft System Thinking Emotional Intelligence (EQ) was further divided into two broadly distinct categories known to us. These include Intrapersonal Intelligence and Interpersonal Intelligence. Psychologist Howard Gardner defines these two terms as follows: 1. Interpersonal Intelligence suggests the ability to understand others, which are the things that motivate them, how they work and the best how to cooperate with them". 2. Intrapersonal Intelligence, on the other hand, regards the ability of insight, which we allows an accurate and true to us same, allowing us to act in life in a more effective."

SST We say that a person is emotionally intelligent, when it is able to establish contact with their feelings (Wilhelm, 2004). Understanding and properly conducted, if emotions are properly aligned, they shall influence their behavior, ultimately improving their quality of life. In turn, it also fails to understand the emotions of others, you know put in place and responds appropriately to the moods, motivations and desires.

Impact of Soft System Thinking towards Organizational Performance To achieve a high degree of emotional intelligence, a person must develop 4 concepts (Competition ASK), according to Salovey, which are these: 1. 2. 3. 4. Knowledge of their own emotions and the ability to drive; Ability to motivate oneself; Being able to recognize the emotions of others; and A good control of their relationships.

1. The knowledge of their own emotions and the ability to drive It is the cornerstone of emotional intelligence, as individuals become aware of the workplace environment to recognize their own feelings, one being understood. Driving one's own emotions and adjust to what each situation demands are essential for a good emotional balance (Redmann & Kotrlik, 2004, pp.76).

2. Ability to motivate oneself Motivated people are always happier, productive and efficient in all tasks or activities they undertake. The actions to achieve a certain goal, generates enough energy to

SST overcome obstacles and setbacks that may arise. These individuals are in the position of

10

actually making way for the development and consideration of being able to recognize the emotions of others (James & James, 2004, pp.39). One common emotion which has generally been thought of the midst of the analyzing and improving EQ amongst employees is the practice of empathy. This will differentiate with respect subtle signals that other issue, depending on the emotional state in which they are, which if once practiced will understand better what they want or need and it will feel understood (Glenn, 2003, pp.9). This understanding will significantly improve a relationship.

3. A good control of their relationships It is an art based on the proper way to behave to the perceived emotional state of others. This ability is in order to leadership and personal influence. Those who excel in this area of maintaining relationships are usually social and professional success. All these skills are developed through education and personal experiences can be improved at any age (Evenson, 2001).

Influence of Soft Systems Thinking With soft systems and thinking processes now paving for to make progress, companies are now becoming much more aware of the understanding and comprehension that these individuals tend to make way for identifying major casualties and understanding of the research that has yielded the importance of these other neglected yet important systems. Management and Leadership today although have forgotten the importance of maintaining effective relationships, soft systems and thinking cells are generally undermined. Promotion and

SST employee relations can be the cement in the foundation for a growing business. Without community knowledge of what a business has to offer then the business will not know the full potential of taking risks and those risks could mean big business.

11

This is a way to see the other that we understand and respect (sensitivity and interest), but does not necessarily mean that we like how this person is, or we totally agree with what he does. Through this we have the other person feel confident and willing to cooperate. With reference to emotions, one can also match body posture, hand gestures, facial expressions, and breathing. All of which body, but it is also possible the Vowels (nonverbal) and rate of speech, voice volume, tone, emphasis. If the other person feels or perceives imitated exaggerate their gestures or movements do not generate tuning. For this to achieve this we must do it with subtlety (Perreault, 2004, pp.23). They are more subtle changes in the behavior of individuals and related how it does things. For example, changes in tone of voice, the same volume, respiratory rate, the skin color, etc. Changes in the behavior are the external expression, whereas cognitions and attitudes of a person, relate to their emotional state. If we can properly identify and assess these small changes, we'd be able to interpret and identify what is the emotional state of other people working within the organization and thereby create and show empathy to understand how an employee feels (Ganzel, 2001). Another way to match is called indirect or cross-tuning that is to mimic a type of conduct by an individual with other behavior different from ours. For example, adjusting the speed of our speech with following your breathing or blinking with small strokes of our fingers. To learn how to match it is to watch other people interact in a restaurant, meetings, parties, etc. It all depends on

SST

12

what happens to the quality of their communication when our emotional quotient is on equilibrium, changing with the passage of time, thus being volatile in nature (Redmann & Kotrlik, 2004, pp.76). The match effectively requires some time, because we must pay attention to some of our actions and that of others before we went unnoticed. In humans, this is done automatically. By setting the tune, it creates an energy field between the two beings, i.e. in both directions, otherwise you cannot achieve it. A sign of having established a good fit is when the other person begins to follow, to match our posture, movement, voice, etc. Finally, the ability to build rapport and create harmony is crucial to improving interpersonal intelligence (Sutton, 2002, pp.16). How do we feel if we see that the animal is directed toward us? Perhaps feel confident when we come to pass his hand over his back, stroking and playing with him or else feel fear and try to get away with care. What makes us feel confident or afraid? Our excitement and later behavior (trying to play with him or away) depend on how we represent in our mind that animal. Humans do not respond directly to the reality that surrounds us, but to the internal representation we make of it. This process is unconscious in most cases consists of three mechanisms that constitute the so-called universal process modeling.

Current Situation We all go through many different emotional states every day. At times we may feel happy and others sad. Sometimes we feel sure of ourselves and sometimes vulnerable. What happens to us for a specific situation to feel a certain emotion and behave as we do? Imagine that we came across a stray dog on the street (Christopher, 2006, pp.40).

SST The first phase is called whereby we focus on a specific part of reality that surrounds us, eliminating the rest. The object or person we place our attention is brought to life for us and the rest is like there. In the situation we discussed our attention to the dog you see, take the leaves from a nearby tree swaying in the wind or perhaps look at how the clouds move across the sky (Evenson, 2001). Suppose we pay attention to the dog that comes close. Then our mind makes another process called generalization, by which we evaluate external reality to which we have paid attention (the dog) based on our past experiences (Glenn, 2003, pp.9). Depending on what happened in those experiences we have been able to create generalizations or beliefs such as "dogs are friendly and playful" or, conversely, "dogs are dangerous animals". Therefore, based on these generalizations, people do a process of distortion of reality

13

external to internal representations. The dog in our internal representation can be either friendly or perhaps very dangerous depending on the level of distortion that we make. If we revive in our minds the images of what happened before with this type of animals that our mental representation of reality called dog will be very "real" for us. This internal process creates our emotional state (confidence or fear) and as a result of the excitement produced is chosen unconsciously in most cases, a type of conduct or other to react (Glenn, 2008, pp.7). These are situations that tend to alter the emotional state of most people considered normal taking them to the edge of their own physical and mental limits. The result is often emotional imbalance. This imbalance not only affects the intimate life of a person, it affects their work and professional development, because emotions play an important role in the workplace (Minium, King & Bear, 2003, pp.78).

SST

14

Conclusion Researchers found and identify those specific leadership characteristics (energy, appearance and height). Traits of intelligence and ability, personality traits (such as adaptability, enthusiasm, self security) From anger to excitement, from frustration to satisfaction, every day we face our own and others emotions. The key is to use emotions intelligently, to work for them, so to help us control our behavior and thoughts in pursuit of better results and at the same time, make room for more improvement on an emotional level amongst employees in the organization. Hence to conclude and summarize the otherwise learning field, soft systems can most definitely guarantee the development and establishment of a successful business. With soft systems, individual corporations and organizations can actually make way for outstanding progress or, in case of any issues and persisting problems, could also lead to failures.

SST REFERENCES

15

Checkland, P., & Checkland, P. (1999). Soft systems methodology: a 30-year retrospective ; and, Systems thinking, systems practice ([New ed.). Chichester: John Wiley.pp 76-97 Checkland, P., & Scholes, J. (1990). Soft systems methodology in action. Chichester, West Sussex, England: Wiley. pp. 33-45 Christopher, D. A. (2006). Building better communicators: Integrating writing into business communications courses. Business Education Forum,61(2): pp.40-43. Daellenbach, H. G., & McNickle, D. C. (2005). Management science: decision making through systems thinking. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Pp.66-81 Evenson, R. (2001). Soft skills, hard sell Techniques: Making Education & Career Connections, 74(3): pp.29-31. Retrieved February 2, 2006, from EBSCOhost http://web7.epnet.com.spot.lib.auburn.edu Glenn, J. L. (2003). Business success often depends on mastering the "sixth R -" relationship literacy. Business Education Forum, 58(1): pp.9-13. Glenn, J. L. (2008). The "new" customer service model: Customer advocate, company ambassador. Business Education Forum, 62(4): pp.7-13. Jackson, M (2003). Systems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers Wiley and Sons: Chichester Pp 11-18 James, R. F & James, M. L. (2004). Teaching career and technical skills in a "mini" business world. Business Education Forum, 59(2) pp.39-41. Minium, E. W, King, B., & Bear, G. (2003). Statistical reasoning in psychology and education (3rd ed.). New York; John Wiley & Sons: pp.78-87

SST Pedhazur, E. J., & Schmelkin, L. P. (2001). Measurement, design, and analysis: An integrated approach. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Psychology Press: pp.14-51 Perreault, H. (2004). Business educators can take a leadership role in character education. Business Education Forum, 59(1): pp.23-24. Redmann, D. H, & Kotrlik, J. W. (2004). Technology integration into the teaching-learning

16

process by business education teachers. The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, XLVI(2): pp.76-91. Sutton, N. (2002). Why can't we all just get along? Computing Canada (28): pp.16-20. Timm, J. A. (2005). Preparing students for the next employment revolution. Business Education Forum, 60(2): pp.55-59. Wilhelm, W J. (2004). Determinants of moral reasoning: Academic factors, gender, richness of life experiences, and religious preferences. The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, XLVI(2): pp.105121.