Course Descriptions

HS 462B — Systems Thinking for a Complex World

Yields half-course credit.

Studies how people make decisions. When people make decisions, they draw on data, models (mental or formal), and goals that are shaped by their own experiences and the contexts—political, organizational, and otherwise—in which they are immersed. Decision making often suffers when situations include uncertainty, dynamically complex problems, high stakes, and time and performance pressures. We will look for connections between how people make decisions and the organizational outcomes we experience. The course will include a mix of some basic tools, such as linear programming and causal loop diagramming, and some more macro level reflection on decision processes in health care environments. To assist this reflection, the course introduces the tools of systems thinking for modeling and analyzing organizational policy and strategy. Using role playing games, simulation models, case studies, and management flight simulators, we develop insights essential to managing in a world characterized by dynamic complexity. You will apply these tools to examples from your own institutions and experience. Offered as part of the Heller Executive MBA for Physicians.
Brad Morrison