Facilitating Systemic Thinking in Business Classes

ABSTRACT This article identifies and describes three dimensions of systemic thinking—thinking holistically, thinking dynamically, and thinking in terms of feedback loops. We contend that within the field of business a significant amount of attention has been paid to holistic thinking, but relatively little to the other two dimensions. In addition, we present evidence that managers will need to more fully develop systemic thinking skills as business systems become even more interdependent in the 21st century. Tools are presented that can be used in any area of business to help students develop their systemic thinking skills and gain better insights in their respective fields of study. Examples of how to introduce and use these tools in the classroom are also provided.