Applying Integrative Systems Methodology: The Case of Health Care Organizations

Abstract

Systems thinking has a lot to offer to the field of strategizing. Calls for a greater use of the Systems Approaches to management are increasingly being advanced in the world of organizations, public and private. Yet, practical implementation of such postulates is lagging. This article aims to demonstrate the potential of systems thinking in shaping strategy in management and organization. It builds on a framework known as Integrative Systems Methodology, a circular set of established components of strategic processes: all elements of the methodology are covered, from finding purpose and goals, modeling, and diagnosing to the design of strategies and change. Along this path, complementary methodologies are combined to cope with high environmental complexity. In the present case, these are the systems methodologies of Organizational Cybernetics (namely Viable System Model) and System Dynamics. The layout of the treatise is conceptual in nature. Nevertheless, long-term empirical evidence from a set of real-world organizations-one center and several peripheral healthcare entities-is presented to make the methodology tangible: theoretically grounded and experientially corroborated. The case study we are introducing is from health care, concretely: an oncological care system. Structural patterns are elicited, which are isomorphic, applicable to any health care system. From a conceptual-theoretical stance, crucial factors conducive to continuous organizational learning are elaborated. Professionals can benefit from acquiring new ways of coping with the ever-increasing complexity.