Advanced Systems Thinking

Cut through complexity to develop more effective business systems

Break free from linear cause-and-effect thinking by delving deeper into the underlying roots of problems to develop more effective business systems.

Join us with renowned systems thinking scholar and Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering & Innovation, Dr Martin Reynolds from Open University (UK).

With the knowledge and skills imparted in this workshop, you will learn to take into account the multiple layers of complexity that can exist in a system, including social, economic, political, and environmental factors.

1-Day Programme | Networking | Delicious lunch

This workshop is for people who already have a more advanced understanding of systems thinking and will benefit team members in a business or organisation who wish to optimise their performance by understanding how their own contribution fits into the bigger picture. Deepen your knowledge with Dr Reynolds, a leading expert in systems thinking.

This event will be of immense value to:

Henley's Postgraduate in Management Practice graduates and MBA students and graduates.
Senior managers and directors who want to create a shared understanding of complex issues and align team efforts towards resolving the problem.

If that's you, save this date and register today. Limited seats available!

Advanced Systems Thinking requires a holistic perspective and the ability to see patterns and relationships that may not be immediately apparent. Here are just some of the benefits:

Systems thinking can assist you in reimagining your company to find areas that need improvement and forecast the results of your suggested changes.
Gain a greater awareness of the complexity and messiness of a system and the factors that drive the same.
Apply Systems Thinking in Practice (STIP) to understand and manage complex / messy situations.
Approach challenges differently by using mental models for mapping interactions and results.
Become a more valuable asset to your company by having a solid understanding of advanced systems thinking.

MEET YOUR EXPERT HOST

Dr Martin Reynolds

Your host will be Dr Martin Reynolds, a renowned systems thinking scholar and Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering & Innovation at the Open University in the United Kingdom. This workshop is a collaboration between Systems Thinking Africa (STA) and Henley Africa and he is one of our associates from STA. Dr Reynolds has extensive work on systems thinking and rural appraisal from when he lived and worked in Botswana. Together with his colleagues at the OU, they developed this teaching methodology. He has a particular appreciation for West Churchman’s ideas around a systems approach and its enemies.

As a 15 year old student doing equivalent of GCSEs at my ‘comprehensive’ School in South London during the early 1970s, I was fortunate to have Farrukh Dhondy as my English Literature teacher. Farrukh later became a celebrated writer, playwright, screenwriter and left-wing activist. On one memorable occasion at a time of mounting south London racial tensions, Farrukh decided to side line the scheduled lesson on Midsummers Night Dream to invite questions about the meaning of ‘communism’ in context of events. Aside from having a great and enlightening discussion, it seeded the value of not following and/or adapting prescribed curriculum in response to changing circumstances.

In the late 1980s whilst working as Head of Science in a large government secondary school in Botswana, I increasingly witnessed and experienced the machinations of international development agencies around me – particularly NGOs. There was a disjunction between the seemingly good intentions of NGO-led interventions and the actualities, surfacing the tension in what Chris Argyris expressed between ‘espoused theories’ (rhetoric, particularly around participatory development) and ‘theories-in-use’ (what I might call the development-industrial complex).

KEYNOTE INTRODUCTION

Jon Foster-Pedley

Henley Africa's dean and director, Jon Foster-Pedley, will elucidate how Henley teaches and approaches systems thinking. He is also a strategist, activist, speaker, writer, educator and marketer who has spent 12 years building Henley Business School, Africa. He is Chair of the Association of African Business Schools (AABS) and of the British Chamber of Business in Southern Africa, the former vice chair of the South African Business Schools Association and board member of the Alliance of Management Development Organisations in Rising Economies.

"In Africa the Henley brand of education sets out to serve a greater purpose: to change the future of the continent by changing the futures of the people of the continent. We do this by helping people get better at building, leading and managing businesses and organisations that in one way or another make people’s lives better and contribute to growing economies.”

09:00

Introduction

A reflection on why good intentions often produce undesirable and unintended consequences.
09:30

Real-World Assessment

A discussion around some of the systemic failures we see around us.
10:30

Drivers & Solutions to System Failures

Discuss the drivers of these failures and how the attempted solutions often lead to more unintended and undesirable consequences.
13:00

Delicious Lunch!

Time to reflect, connect and relax with fellow colleagues.
14:00

Systems Thinking in Practice (STIP)

An approach that can use to understand and manage complex and messy situations.
15:30

Wrap up - some reflections and summary

The challenge facing future leaders is the need to solve dilemmas through making choices.

True to the international status and mission of Henley Business School Africa – we build the people, who build the businesses, that build Africa – our diverse body of academics and practitioners are working at the forefront of business and management practice to foster sense-making capabilities that benefit our students, clients, partners, and broader society.

At the core of Henley’s philosophy is the belief that we need to develop managers and leaders for the future. We work with both individuals and organisations to create the appropriate learning environment to facilitate the critical thinking skills to prepare for the future.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Systems Thinking Africa

Systems Thinking Africa is a vibrant women-led initiative with a global reach organisation which specializes in process facilitation and especially in areas of leadership and organizational development using systems thinking methodologies and approaches. We facilitate transformative processes that enable individuals and organisations understand and manage the complex situations they face.

The investment per delegate is R600. Complete the registration form below...

You will receive an email confirmation and invoice for EFT payment...

Please ensure you use the reference code provided in the invoice when making payment.

Complete the payment process and your tickets will be sent via email.

Cut through complexity to develop more effective business systems

Break free from linear cause-and-effect thinking by delving deeper into the underlying roots of problems to develop more effective business systems.

Join us with renowned systems thinking scholar and Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering & Innovation, Dr Martin Reynolds from Open University (UK).

With the knowledge and skills imparted in this workshop, you will learn to take into account the multiple layers of complexity that can exist in a system, including social, economic, political, and environmental factors.

Who should attend this 1-day programme?

Why should I advance my knowledge of Systems Thinking?

Agenda

Booking Process

Register Here