The Dynamics of Systems and Theories in Business (Essay Sample)

The Dynamics of Systems and Theories in Business
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Introduction
The dynamism in the job market is adversely affecting the job market. There is an outcry from the public and private sectors among other stakeholders concerning the quality of young graduates in the job market. Managers are complaining about the mismatch between the skills needed in the field and the technical expertise and knowledge learned in school. The wall street journal recorded that small business owners are crying foul concerning the lack of competent persons to fill in vacant positions (BURTLESS 2014).
The mismatch between the skills needed in the job market and the knowledge learned in colleges has resulted in higher unemployment rates (BURTLESS 2014). Graduates cannot simply get direct jobs immediately after graduating from school because they do not possess the required skills. This situation has largely been blamed on the students. Most of them do not want to take up part-time jobs while t in college. Many students wish to concentrate on their studies without thinking about their future careers once they get their degrees (BURTLESS 2014). While not taking up part time jobs gives students enough time to study, the same denies them a chance to gain practical knowledge or even put the knowledge they have acquired in class into practice. The most affected students are those who come from affluent families. A student with rich background has a negative perception of taking up part time job while studying. They see no reason for working while studying when they have enough money to spend.
Understanding the dynamism of the systems is necessary for one to succeed in his/her career development (MYERS & SHULTZ, p.45). Students should understand that theoretical knowledge gained in class is not sufficient.
The Dynamics of Systems
The lack of fundamental skills in the job market can be solved through the understanding of how various systems work. These systems include the learning institutions and the job market. Even though the two systems are expected to work together, the dynamism that comes with each independent system has widened the gap between the two. System thinking is the understanding of how various factors influence one another within a given system (SENGE, p.62). For this case, therefore, students must first understand how to relate the technical knowledge learned in school and their applicability in the job market.
The application of systems thinking in solving the unemployment crisis involves the study of every individual element that shapes the reasoning of young job seekers. The first step in the study of the dynamism is the understanding of the employee behavior. Understanding what causes the behavior associated with employees is critical (SENGE 1994, p.48). For instance, most managers have realized that employees who come from low-income parents are very committed to their job. They do not need much supervision for them to work effectively. On the other hand, employers see those employees who come from wealthy end families as a burden in the workplace. They are not concerned about their jobs. These are the type of workers who did not take even take part-time jobs while in school to sharpen their skills. They come into the job market expecting to gain the necessary skills while working. Moreover, managers also find it difficult to maintain employees who have a rich background because these employees lack commitment. Rather than build their competencies through experience in one job, they are bound to leave one job easily expecting to get another job and move on.
The second step after understanding the employee behavior is to formulate ways of dealing with the behavior. This step involves the making considerations on the short and long term implications of the identified behavior. A bigger picture of these implications is then made. This will involve analyzing the impacts of the behavior on the job market. The analysis will include the identification of the causes of the behavior. It is critical to understand the causes so as to formulate the trends and the patterns to be followed.
Another significant point is to study the circular nature of the causes and the effects of the identified behavior (SENGE, p.28). It is vital to understand the strength of the relationship between the causes of the behavior its impacts in the job market. For this case, the reasons for the behavior of young graduates to lack the fundamental skills required in the job market is identified as the financial background. The graduates from affluent backgrounds do not possess employment skills because most of them do not take up part-time jobs while in college. The effect of this behavior is that graduates end becoming unemployed because their skills do not match the skills needed in the field.
To effectively deal with the problem, a system thinker should always see solutions to problems rather than blame it on others (SENGE, p.32). Therefore, rather than blame the problem of lack of skills on the colleges and universities, managers should consider ways of ensuring that employees are developed while in the workplace. Managers should incorporate refresher courses into their programs (POPE, p.24). They should organize for training their workers to fill in the gaps created by the mismatch between the academic theories and the skills need in the job market.
The Four Levels of Thinking Applicable to Management
Organizations exhibit four levels of thinking as outlined below:
1 Events
This is the most conspicuous part of systems thinking and requires a fast response from the managers.
2 Patterns
Patterns are the dynamisms in the management that are bound to occur over time. Systems thinkers are supposed to observe the trends of behaviors as time goes so as to be able to curb a problem on time. For instance, managers should track down the trends in the employee skills over time so as to know the skill that most graduates lack. This will enable managers to correctly recommend the training that will help fill in the gaps created by the mismatch of skills and the available positions.
3 Structures
After correctly identifying the changes in the job market over a period of time, the next thing is to draw the correlation that exists between the long term trends and their effects in the organization.
4 Mental models
Mental model is the description of the underlying culture within an organization. Understanding the culture that drives the organization helps the management to come up with the new strategies that solves emerging problems.
Managers should be highly creative so as to look at problems from different perspectives. This gives them chances of rightfully identifying problems and getting the right solutions to these problems. A systems thinker should understand all the levels of thinking in the organizations. There is a need to look for optimal solutions that will not bring problems in future. Solutions should always be long term. Managers should be aware that redesigning the organization’s system is not the best way to solve managerial problems. Rather, it is good to observe the whole system and formulate the necessary policies to improve the entire system. From this reason, therefore, the solution towards achieving a competent workforce should not view from the academic point of view only. Isolating and blaming the academic contributions will never provide optimal solutions. The best way to improve employee effectiveness is through a mutual working relationship between the learning institutions and organizations. The partnership will allow students to have job placement while still in college and hence acquire the job market necessary skills.
Theoretical Issues in Organizations
Most of the things learned in schools are theories. Theories help us make ethical and rational decisions in our daily life (GAFFIKIN & MICHAEL, p.53). A firm understanding of theories explaining business phenomenon helps one to make sound judgments and predictions. Therefore, we cannot underestimate the contribution of theories in our daily activities.
The understanding of theories is fundamental. We need to understand the philosophical background of ideas so as to be able to apply them in our daily businesses. One of these principles is an ontology that describes the nature of existence (GAFFIKIN & MICHAEL, p.55). Ontology is a proposition that all the human beings view the world in a uniform way (TAYLOR & FERRARI, p26.). We all perceive that the world is in existence in reality. Whoever doesn’t have this perception is considered abnormal. Therefore, this philosophical ideology posits that all human beings share the same perception. Similarly, the ontology also states that nothing in this world has to mean. The meaning that the world has been is just a creation of our minds (TAYLOR & FERRARI, p.48). Therefore, the world is a creation of our imaginations. This means that the world is useless without the perception of human beings.
From the article, the perception of students who come from wealthy families that taking up a part time job while studying is ontological (TAYLOR & FERRARI, p.36). Managers have also complained about the competencies of these students once they take up a job. They report to work without the fundamental skills and managers do not trust leaving them alone in their first days in their workplaces. On their side, such kind of employees believes that they are competent enough to join the job market. It is this believes that makes them careless and reckless in their workplace. They believe that they can quickly stop working in one place and take up a new job in a different location. It is this belief that one thinks that his/her perception is always the best that is ...