Topic > The importance of systems thinking in solving sustainability challenges on the example of homelessness in Australia

Systems thinking is fundamental in developing solutions to sustainability challenges Sustainability has attracted the attention of scholars and practitioners and has proven to be an important concept (Aras and Crowther, 2012). Sustainability can be defined as the adoption and incorporation of environmental and social principles into decision-making processes (Bodkin and Keller, 2004). Sustainability is used to prevent and mitigate unwarranted harms affecting people in society and the environment. Due to today's environmental and social challenges, there is a growing need for sustainability in every sector of the world. Therefore, it is important to implement systematic methods as a way to minimize negative environmental and social effects, especially by different organizations (Aras and Crowther, 2012). Systems thinking is a concept that can be used to solve sustainability problems. Systems thinking is a concept that has the ability to eliminate sustainability challenges if implemented effectively. Systems thinking can be described as the concept of seeing a problem in relation to other elements or issues with which it interacts. This paper will describe and justify the importance of systems thinking in solving sustainability challenges, particularly homelessness in Australia. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayToday's world faces many challenges when addressing the challenges of sustainability. Sustainability is influenced by many stakeholders and involves different factors and dimensions such as energy, biodiversity and oceans, among others (Lerner, 2015). Although the dimensions of sustainability are distant in time and space, they are interconnected and intertwined in a complex sphere. For this reason, it is impossible for a one-dimensional approach to solve sustainability challenges (Arnold and Wade, 2015). Sustainability interventions involve a huge number of complex feedback loops, long delays, and non-linear causes and effects that make outcomes unpredictable. Sustainability is a new challenge facing the world today and since new challenges require new solutions, old tools cannot solve sustainability challenges (World Bank, 2015). Because the world is dynamic and interconnected, decision makers tend to make decisions using reductionist and static mental models. Static and narrow solutions are not the answer as they could lead to unintended consequences. To successfully solve sustainability challenges, it is necessary to balance short- and long-term solutions (Bodkins and Keller, 2004). To develop a resilient solution for sustainability, integrated and systemic techniques are needed. Often a new way of thinking that challenges old models is needed. Sustainability encompasses diverse interests and divergent perspectives such as political governance, natural-environmental and socio-political domains (Kim, 2012). Decision making in this context is very difficult and complex and is accompanied by many uncertainties. Furthermore, long delays create a huge disconnect between decisions and expected outcomes and lead to unintended consequences. This is evident in the financial world, climate change and the environmental world. Conventional mechanism and narrow thinking are not sufficient as interventions for complex, multidimensional sustainability issues. No single paradigm can solve the challenges facing sustainability (Aras and Crowther, 2012). Systems thinking helps people see the world as acomplex system. It deals with complexity and mental models and helps decision makers understand the consequences of their actions, policies, and strategies (Cabrera, Colosi, & Lobdell, 2008). Systems thinking is more than just a mechanistic system as it recognizes the role of people as drivers of complexity and change. Systems thinking helps solve sustainability challenges as it looks at things from a macroscopic perspective rather than a shorter picture. There is a huge difference between systems thinking and traditional thinking (Stroh and Goodman, 2007). Traditional thinking focuses on contents already studied while systemic thinking focuses on the interrelationships between the components of a system. Sustainability is a new challenge and therefore traditional thinking is unable to deal with its complexity and novelty. As a new way of thinking, systems thinking has the ability to address these complex sustainability issues (Aras and Crowther, 2012). Furthermore, sustainability challenges are very complex due to technological progress and globalization. Therefore, it is impossible for decision makers to solve sustainability challenges using old methods and models (Gregory and Miller, 2014). Since sustainability challenges are very complicated and complex, the strategies used to solve them must be dynamic enough to use multiple approaches. Furthermore, the influence of different elements on sustainability issues makes it difficult to adapt a solitary problem-solving initiative. It is important that sustainability challenges are solved by different parties working collaboratively (Gregory and Miller, 2014). It is difficult for an organism to successfully deal with changes related to sustainability. Building collaborative relationships with non-governmental organizations, government, local community and other business organizations is important as it ensures a more competent pool of resources. For example, solving Australia's homelessness problem requires social change. However, this can be difficult to achieve since our behaviors and those of the entire community are linked to the behavior of the country system. Systems thinking is important because it gives people the ability to recognize and appreciate the meaning of a social system, so changing physical infrastructure alone will not create system-wide resilience (Soderquist and Overkkar, 2010). In solving Australia's homelessness problem, systems thinking develops a new language for communicating interrelationships and complexities (Australian Government, 2007). The challenge of solving homelessness relies on gaining knowledge of best practices and motivating people. Using systems thinking to solve Australia's homelessness problem involves several steps. The first step is to understand the problem (Arnold and Wade, 2015). You can understand the problem by looking at the entire system rather than individual parts. This can be achieved through meeting with different stakeholders to share insight into the situation. New relationships need to be established with government, the local community, and other business organizations to provide a more competent pool of resources in problem solving homelessness (Jackson, 2003). The next step involves identifying the structure to understand the problem at hand. Having a clear and defined vision of the challenge will make developing a solution easier. Next, systems thinking ensures that the challenge is fully identified by delving deeper into the problem (Hamid, 2009). This will allow you to identifythe purpose of the system, mental models and roles in the situation. Subsequently, the information collected is used to plan an intervention that attempts to achieve the intended outcome. Traditional thinking for solving homelessness is to provide more resources to reduce the number of people on the streets (Stroh and Goodman, 2007). In the long term, this does not mean that the problem will be completely solved as more and more people will also take to the streets due to other unresolved factors. As a result, the level of homelessness increases even after more and more resources are pumped into the system. Systems thinking suggests seeking a solution that reduces the causes and effects of homelessness in the long term without affecting the environmental balance (Stroh and Goodman, 2007). In solving Australia's homelessness problems, systems thinking supports the effort to discover why people leave the streets. Furthermore, it is also important to know what prevents people from seeking permanent housing (Stroh and Goodman, 2007). Based on these analyses, it will be easy to find different types of interventions that could solve the problem of homelessness. Systems thinking increases the precision of the scope of the challenge and the motivation of society to solve it permanently. In order for Australia's homelessness problem to be fully resolved, there should be greater collaboration between different providers in order to implement a permanent solution (Stroh and Goodman, 2007). Furthermore, measures should be taken to increase cooperation and the amount of community investments. This will help reduce competition for existing funds and support needed housing services. Reducing homelessness in Australia can also be achieved by increasing access to permanent, affordable housing (Stroh and Goodman, 2007). One of the main causes of homelessness in Australia is substance abuse and mental health problems. Therefore, solving these problems by offering services to reduce substance abuse can help eliminate homelessness (Stroh and Goodman, 2007). Furthermore, another solution for homelessness in Australia is to improve a country's economic development by increasing access to living wage jobs (Stroh and Goodman, 2007). This can only be implemented through the partnership of different governmental and non-governmental bodies. Ultimately, systems thinking ensures that interventions used to address homelessness are based on preventing people from becoming homeless in the first place (Stroh and Goodman, 2007). The systems thinking tool has the ability to challenge the inherent process of finding solutions to wicked problems like homelessness. Instead of simply reacting to challenges and problems that are outside our scope of thought and action, systems thinking teaches people how to adapt to the endogenous worldview in which people think about how their actions contribute to the very challenges we face today (Stroh and Goodman). , 2007). Therefore, collaboration between diverse stakeholders challenging each other can pave the way for a homelessness transformation agenda. The inherently complex nature of sustainability issues limits the ability to observe and interpret and therefore limits the ability of policy makers to develop and implement effective strategies and policies ( Stroh and Goodman, 2007 ). This can potentially lead to failure. Well-intentioned policies that address the symptoms of a challenge lead to short-term benefits that can be overwhelmed by the system's long-term reaction. It is therefore fair to conclude that systems thinking is an essential tool required by.