IE 398 Systems Thinking
Department of Industrial Engineering
METU
- February 2011
a course
on the methods and practice
of OR/IE
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• instructor: Çağlar Güven
• assistants: Ceren Şakar, Bilge Çelik
• textbook:
Management Science
Decision making through systems thinking
HG Dällenbach & DC McNickle
Palgrave 2005
• course site https://online.metu.edu.tr/
lecture files, extra material etc.
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course objective
• the aim of this course is
– to achieve competency and understanding of
systemic inquiry
• by studying systems thinking
• which complements disciplinary inquiry and
quantitative analysis
– in order to enable effective application of OR/IE
knowledge
• success in OR/IE cannot be achieved without
systems thinking
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justification for the course
• IE addresses sociotechnical issues in human
organisations which involve choice and trade-offs that
are difficult to resolve
• IE aims to bring the power of abstraction and analysis
to deal with such trade-offs so that managerial action
can produce improvement
• this aim generates dual objectives in IE education:
(i) acquiring sufficient command of quantitative
analysis and mathematical modelling
(ii) building systems thinking skills needed to put this
knowledge into practice
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conduct and evaluation
• lectures
– the textbook will be followed as far as possible
– extra material and readings will be posted at the website
– advance preparation and attendance required
• evaluation
– assignments
• term project (15%)
• quizzes and classwork (20%)
– midterm examination (30%)
– final examination (35%)
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short syllabus
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Introduction
Problem Situation
Systems
Complexity
System Models
Hard OR
Costs
Soft OR Methods
Soft Systems Methodology-1
Soft Systems Methodology-2
Soft System Case Studies
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tentative outline:
LECTURES
0+1: Introduction
2: Problem Situation
3: Systems
4: Complexity
5: System Models
6: Hard OR
7: Costs
8: Soft OR Methods
BOOK CHAPTERS
& REFERENCES
1+2
Ackoff: The nature of systems
2+3
lecture notes
Baranger: Chaos,complexity and entropy
Seel: Complexity and OD
5
6
6
9
9: Soft Systems Methodology-1
10: Soft Systems Methodology-2
Checkland
lecture
Spring 2011 - ÇG
Ackoff:Our changing concept of the world
4
7
Checkland
lecture
Soft System Case Studies
ARTICLES ASSIGNED FOR READING
to be announced
Ackoff: Systems thinking & thinking systems
Checkland & Holwell: Classic OR and Soft OR
Proceedings of ICE : Soft systems: a fresh perspective
for project management
To be announced
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other books
• Pidd, M.,Tools for thinking, Wiley 2003
• Pidd, M., Systems modelling, Wiley 2004
• Checkland, P., Systems Thinking, Systems
Practice ,Wiley, 1981
• Checkland, P. & J. Scholes, Soft Systems
Methodology in Action, Wiley 1990
• Chekland. P & J. Poulter Learning for Action,
Wiley 2006
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