Unit Four – Case Analysis

1) Describe the primary system described in the story including the parts of the system, the system’s purpose, and the larger system in which it is embedded. The primary system described in The Tip of the Iceberg involved an iceberg, penguins, walruses, and clams. The penguins were living on an iceberg which had a clam bed beneath it. The penguins did not have the tools (sufficient lung capacity or tusks) to crack open the clams, but the walruses did. The walruses were respectful of the penguins’ territory and were not going to access the penguins’ clams without their permission. The penguins had an idea to ask the walruses to harvest the clams for them and in return the walruses could eat clams alongside them as long as they don’t eat the penguins. As more penguins heard of this treaty and made their way to the iceberg more walruses were needed to meet the demand. The system was looped; as more penguins arrived, more clams were needed, and thusly more walruses were also needed. Due to the increase weight of the penguins and walruses, the iceberg began to sink causing the capacity of the iceberg to decrease. The decrease in area resulted in penguins being sat on which lead to fighting amongst the groups. Such fighting makes the appeal of the iceberg decrease which brings the loop back to the number of penguins and walruses wanting clams and iceberg access. Ultimately, the entire penguin, walrus, clam, and iceberg system is part of a larger system which is nature. Nature and what lives within it are all systems. The penguins are living systems along with the walruses and clams. They are all interdependent of nature and one another. The iceberg is also a system as many species depend on it and the iceberg itself is dependent on ecosystem and oceans (which penguins, clams, and walruses are dependent on).

2) In what way did the penguins’ system seek stability? The shrinking land mass (sinking) of the iceberg was the system seeking stability. Even though the penguins didn’t see the initial signs (walruses sitting on penguins), they did eventually recognize the issue of the sinking iceberg. Other factors like walruses sitting on penguins should have been the initial feedback given to the penguins from the system, but they were thinking linearly rather than using systems thinking.
A) How did it respond to the penguins’ initial efforts to change things?
The factor of walruses sitting on penguins was originally met with a memo. As this seemed to have no effect on the issue, all parties were exposed to sensitivity training. That didn’t work either which isn’t a surprise as both efforts were attempting to solve a symptom of the deeper issue and not the deeper issue itself. The end result, was walruses and penguins continued to fight until they stopped coming to the island. The overall growth of the island certainly declined, but the penguins were no closer to solving the real issue than before the memo’s and sensitivity training.
B) Why did it respond in this way?
The reason that penguins and walruses ended up fighting is because the deeper issue or root cause wasn’t recognized by the leaders. Essentially, the system had a “Shifting the Burden” archetype which is where a solution is implemented along with dependence on the solution, but doesn’t result in solving the deeper problem (Hutchens, 2001, pg. 70). Without addressing the deeper issue, little would be fixed between the walruses and penguins.

3) Why was it hard for the penguins to recognize and diagnose the feedback in their system? The biggest issue for the penguins was that they were all thinking linearly. The problem with this is that rarely does linear thinking show the complexity of multiple cause-and-effect scenarios (Hutchens, 2001, pg. 64). Their linear thinking led them to posting memorandums when walruses began to sit on penguins. The same linear thinking led them to sensitivity training. But, if they were using systems thinking, they would have assume that there were numerous factors involved and not just one or two. They could have asked themselves, “What else could be causing walruses to sit on penguins” rather than jumping on the first possible reason that walruses just weren’t paying attention. Linear thinking is what we are taught from a young age and it is not an easy feat to use systems thinking natively.

References

Hutchens, D. (2001). The tip of the iceberg: Managing the hidden forces that can make or break your organization. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications, Inc.