Individual Differences in Systems Thinking: An Empirical Study

Systems thinking is an important part of strategic management of organizations. This study focuses on an underlying aspect of systems thinking known as stock-flow understanding. Stockflows are the building blocks of dynamic systems such as organizational ones. Systems thinkingrequires a good grasp of the elements of dynamics systems, including stock-flow mechanisms. People often fail to grasp stock-flow mechanisms. Nevertheless, some studies indicate that individual differences can influence the understanding of stock-flow systems. In this study, weexamined the effect of individual differences in Little s Law understanding on stock-flow understanding.Little s law is one of the fundamental laws of queueing systems. Queueing systems are, in essence, made of stock-flows. Components of queueing systems, including arrivals, departures, and queue are the inflow, outflow, and accumulation in stock-flow systems. Thus, it can bepredicted that grasping Little s Law can have a positive effect on stock-flow understanding. This study is the first to our knowledge that examines the role of Little s Law understanding on stockflow performance as one of the underlying factors of systems thinking. We designed a surveystudy where 254 individuals participated in it. The results supported our hypothesis. Little s Law understanding had a significant positive effect on stock-flow understanding. It is recommended that Little s Law understanding be assessed for personnel hiring and evaluation in jobs related todynamic systems, including strategic management, inventory management, and capacity planning.

Keywords:

Stock-flow understanding , Little s Law , dynamic systems , systems thinking