Mental Models and Theory of Constraints in Perception Paper Example

Introduction

Perception is the ability to identify and interpret the sensory stimuli to be able to create a meaningful understanding of the provided data. Perception towards different things varies from one individual to another vary due to the differences in the mental models of the people. A mental model according to Senge is the mental models are used to understand different phenomena. The mental model frameworks are created by assumptions and generalizations which help to conceptualize situations and make a decision. Mental models have the ability to decrease new learning, and mental models vary from one individual to another. Mental models can be further understood through the use of the theory of constraints which help to identify the possible limiting factors (Senge, 2006).

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The theory of constraints can explain why people have different perspectives based on the fact that constraints play a significant role in the creation of perceptions. Different mental models and perceptions are caused by differing interests, company roles, and education or training. While growing up, I had different perception against walking around at night because in my perception and mental model it was at night that bad things happen. On the contrary, my siblings liked the outside when it was dark because they loved to see the stars. From this, Senge's mental models can be identified as their cause of perception with fear being the constraint in the question.

Card Deck Activity

Impact of Focus on Decision Making

Round One

Diamonds, Spades, Kick back (spades), Diamonds, Hearts, A Clubs, Spades, kick back, Diamonds (10), Spades, Hearts (7), Jump, Clubs, Diamonds.

Round Two

2 Diamonds, 6 clubs, Kick Back Spades, 3 Diamonds, 9 Hearts, A Clubs, 6 Spades, K Diamonds, 10 Diamonds, Passed, 7 Hearts, J Hearts, 10 Spades, 6 Diamonds. Discussion

From the card deck activity, focus plays a significant role in the results of the first round and the second round. Whereas the first round the results are not that detailed in the second round they are more detailed due to the difference in focus when carrying out the activity. As a result, it can be confirmed that focus varies from one individual to another and also based on the time the activity is taken. In the first activity, the focus was low due to fatigue since the activity was carried out in the evening after a busy day. On the second activity, the focus on the activity and also the improved results are because the activity was carried out in the morning when the mind was free from fatigue and focus was also high at the time. Therefore, focus unconsciously play a significant role in decision making. When the focus is high, the results from any activity are high due to proper judgment, and when the focus is poor, the results are also inconsistent.

Final Submission of Systems Analysis Portfolio

Week 2 Summary

Creating System Diagrams "Opportunity Consultants, Inc., 2007"

A system diagram is a model that visualizes the components and interactions within an organization and identifies the different processes within the business and how they are related. Creating a business system diagram is very important for the management and facilitation of decision making on the organization processes which can be used to increase efficiency. A system diagram is a practical approach of increasing business or project productivity and can significantly improve in business cost efficiency. In this case, Opportunity Consultants, Inc. (OCI) lacks a proper system diagram for the organization activities which has been detrimental in understanding the organization processes and how they interact for decision making. OCI has been performing poorly, and the organization has severely destroyed its customer reputation due to poor performance. As a result, the organization has been losing grip on its market and Darden Graduate School is increasingly becoming concerned due to the club's negative reputation. Being an organization run by the Darden Graduate University, the school is worried that the club reputation will negatively impact the school and there is the need for a turnaround team to assess the club problems and the possible solutions.

The club's poor performance emanates from the poor organization leadership and management, poor representation, inadequate resources, poor project decision making, members poor experience, and unclear organization processes. Besides, it is noted that the club lacks an efficient organizational structure and its advertisement programs also are not able to target and attract customers. Marred organization reputation has resulted in a chain of activities which makes it even more difficult for the organization to get high profile projects with the school faculty shying off from helping the organization get access to clients due to its poor reputation. Due to these factors, OCI has been consistently performing poorly which can only be salvaged by creating a proper system diagram that shows the problems and their interactions (Meadows, 2008). The system diagram will seek to identify the relationship between the interacting problems systems which can help in solution derivation to create informed solutions that will help turn around the club reputation.

Discussion

From the above system diagram, it is evident that the organization is faced with multiple interacting problems in a system that has resulted in poor organization performance. The above system diagram can improve the ability of the turnaround team to focus on critical problems such as poor organization resources and also identify how the different problem systems relate to each other. Addressing a single problem in system thinking cannot eliminate the problems faced by the club, and only a systems approach can help to solve all the problem (Meadows, 2008). In this case, the turnaround team should use the system thinking diagram to identify interactions and how they can be solved. The most productive approach to help OCI to increase the number of projects and satisfied customers which will increase the organization reputation is through increased resources investment in the club. The club is short on resources which have made it difficult to carry out advertisements, market research, and attraction of qualified members. The poor attraction of experienced members or education of the current members makes it difficult for the club to select better projects that can raise the club reputation. Therefore, system thinking is an important approach that can be used in problem-solving by creating more efficient problems that are informed by the interactions between the systems.

Week 3

Fixing the Sales Process "Baria Planning Solutions, Inc"

Baria Planning Solutions, Inc. (BPS) is an organization that offers spending analysis services for businesses to be able to pursue cost-saving measures and improves supplier performance. However, the organization has been failing to attract new customers which have been detrimental to the organization sales and sustainability. The inability of getting new customers or retaining the existing customers in BPS is blamed on the sales team but from a close look at the organization, the problem being experienced is caused by different interacting processes and lack of collaboration between the different stakeholders involved in BPS sales. Fixing the BPS sales process is crucial for Christy Connor due to the growth of competition. To be able to solve the sales problem the organization should be able to determine the cause of the problem to be able to solve the sales problem. Through the assessment of different interacting problems and stakeholders in the organization BPS can be able to create an informed and sustainable solution to the problem facing the organization ability to attract and retain customers.

The best approach to visualize the organization sales problem is through the creation of a system diagram that assesses the different interacting variables that can affect the organization sales. As such, Senge notes in system thinking that organizations should be viewed as systems that interact at different levels and the interactions of the systems can significantly magnify the problem within the system. Therefore, the sales problem should not be viewed as an isolated case but a problem caused by the interaction of different BPS systems. As such system diagrams can be used to visualize BPS sales problem to be able to create informed system solutions. A system diagram can help in the identification of the relationship between different systems and can help in creating an informed solution to BPS sales problem.

Problem System Diagram Discussion

The below system diagram shows that BPS sales problem is caused by different interacting factors within the organization. The poor support of the salespeople to increase BPS sales is due to the failure to adopt new technology, poor communication, high competition and the diversified consumer market. The common variable in all the systems is poor communication channels which hinders the availability of necessary information by the sales department to make critical decisions.

Solutions for BPS Sales Problem

Increasing Sales Staff

BPS should increase the sales department efficiency by increasing the number of sales people which can ensure that all the activities pertaining sales have the qualified and resourceful personnel. However, it is important to note that increasing the number of sales employees cannot solve the sales problem because based on system thinking different interacting factors are the problem behind low sales in BPS.

Training and Creation of Communication Synergy

Training the existing employees can help increase sales by exposing employees to modern sales and marketing methods that can help reach further into the markets. The time and project constraints experienced in BPS can be solved by equipping the salespeople with sales knowledge and practices. On the other hand, BPS should invest in technology to improve synergy between different organization areas that will improve productivity by promoting easy access to information for decision making both within the organization and the market as a whole.

Week 4

Analyzing Stall Points - "Bayonne Packaging, Inc.

Stall points refer to the decline in business growth due to the reduction in production efficiency, poor decision making, competition and the high cost of operation. The success of every organization depends on the ability of the management to differentiate between different interdependencies and system relationships between different business components. In an organization detail complexity, there are many variables which make business forecasting a difficult thing to achieve and the failure of business strategic plans. On the other hand, dynamic complexity originates in the existence of the cause and effect situations in the business interventions which cannot be resolved by planning and existing analysis methods (Senge, 2006). This paper will assess the impacts of detail and dynamic complexity on Bayonne Packaging Inc. and establish measures of overcoming complexity to improve performance.

Bayonne Packaging business is built upon systems such as information technology and protocols that are complex to discern due to the interdependencies between different areas of the business. Business protocol and information systems are critical to the efficiency of an organization, but in Bayonne Packaging Inc. they are causing production stalls. Dynamic complexity is the changes within organization systems, information infrastructure and processes as depicted in Bayonne Packaging from...