Case Study
Your task
Write
a
case study
in the form of a short conference paper
of
2
,000 words that
presents
a
syst
ems thinking investigation
that you have completed
about
a problematical situation
of your choice
within a
health
care
domain
.
Your case study should follow an acceptable format for an academic conference paper
that presents work in progress, i.e. not a
full conference paper but one that follows the
same academic conventions such as having an
abstract
, referencing appropriate
literature and following clearly explained methods.
Your
case study
should
begin with a
n
introduction
describing
the problemati
cal
situation, its scope
,
boundaries and key emergent properties
. It should also explain the
purpose of your case study and
why
it
is interesting and relevant.
Your
methods
should
include
a variety of different
systems thinking
techniques including
a Soft
Systems
Methodology enquiry and the
use of
Thinking Differently techniques
and/or other
approaches and ideas covered in the course
.
The techniques you select should
be
justified and
help you
to
explore the current situation and identify the challenges and
opportunities of taking a more holistic perspective on the situation.
The out
puts
from the
tools and techniques should be presented as the
results
.
Based on these, the
discussion
of your findings
should include a
critical,
reflective evaluation of your o
wn
analysis. Your
conclusion
should summarise the key points
,
consider whether the work
undertake
n fulfilled the stated purpose
and make recommendations for further action
research or investigation.
You
may present some of the output of your work as diagr
ams or tables within the paper
but
should
also be prepared to
reference
and make use of
appendices
to show the
detailed work.
Reports marked Confidential will be kept securely and seen only by those involved in
the University assessment process.
You ma
y also change the name of the organisation
to a fictional one provided you make this clear in the introduction.
Assessment Criteria
Your
case study
should demonstrate
that you
can
:
Apply a range of
systems thinking
techniques
, attitudes and approaches
to a
health
care context.
Use
appropriate
modelling
and techniques to surface
issues and opportunities
and new ways of thinking.
Critically
asses
s
the techniques that
you
have used
in terms of their
ap
p
ropriat
e
ness
, evidence base and
effectiveness
.
D
em
onstrate an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of
applying a
systems thinking approach
.
Demonstrate an ability to understand and work within healthcare domains
.
Your
case study
should:
?
Be l
ogical
ly
structure
d
with a coherent argument
.
?
Use e
vi
dence
from a
range of
relevant
sources to support your discussion
.
2
?
Use good English
with correct spelling and punctuation.
?
Include a
ccu
rate and consistent referencing
using the Harvard system
.
Word Count:
2
,000 words (exclu
ding
tables, graphs
,
abstract,
appendices
and
references)
Recommended reading
CHECKLAND, P. and J. POULTER. 2006.
Learning for action: a short definitive account of soft systems
methodology, and
its use for practitioners, teachers and students
. Wiley, UK
Top of page
Other interesti
ng reading
BEER, S. 1994.
The brain of the firm
. 2nd edition. Wiley, UK
BEYNON
DAVIES, P. 2010.
Significance : exploring the nature of information, systems and technology
.
Palgrave Macmillan, UK
CHECKLAND, P. 1999.
Systems thinking, systems practice
. Wiley, UK
DE BONO, E. 2009.
Lateral Thinking: A Textbook of Creativity
. Penguin, UK.
SENGE, P. 2006.
The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organisation
. Century Business
SWEENEY, L. 2010.
The systems thinking playbook : exercises to stretch and build learning and systems
thinking capabilities
. Chelsea
Green Publishing Company, Vermont USA.
A selection of journal papers will accompany this course.
Jermaine Byrant
Nicole Johnson
OVER
RATING
YEARS
