Holistic Flexibility For Systems Thinking And Practice – Rajneesh Chowdhury

In both the cases, a specific methodology was used as an overarching or pri- mary one, referred to as “dominant methodology” and the other methodologies were used as support, referred to as “dependent methodology”. The dominant and dependent methodologies were different in both the cases, determined by the con- text of the respective clients. The use of methodologies in different styles and the way I have brought in systems thinking to influence the overall framework of the projects demonstrate flexibility and responsible practice with learning at the core of the interventions.

6.5 Case Study I –​ Potential PR 6.5.1 About the Client Potential PR was a public relations (PR) firm with three offices across three cities in India –​ Bengaluru, New Delhi, and Mumbai. The company offered its services in four main industries –​ consumer, healthcare, technology, and social innovation. The company prided itself as a pioneer in crafting innovative PR solutions that was evidenced in several national and regional awards it had received.

In the years pre- ceding the intervention, Potential PR witnessed rapid growth and was beginning to shift from a small boutique company to a mid-​sized establishment. A need was felt to transform its business structure to enhance better intra-​firm collaboration and enable better business focus in the dynamic Indian PR industry. 6.5.2 Project Mandate The client’s initial mandate to us was to redesign the organization structure to make it more effective to sustain the rapid growth of the firm through collaborative working, along with supporting the top management team in developing its lead- ership skills to lead the firm into its envisioned future.

The diagnosis stage of the project led to the surfacing of various issues. The following areas emerged as the key project design imperatives: • Organizational structure: The as-​is geography-​based structure was creating a silo working environment. My initial discussions with the client surfaced the need for creating a structure that could enhance focus on specific market verticals, both from the point of new business development and solution delivery. • Capability: Given the rapid transformation that the firm was going through, it was required to realign adequate management capability catering to the organ- izational levels.

Capability identification and enhancement to respond to the business environment emerged as clear needs during the discussions.

Effective praxis in the realm of systems thinking is truly an art form that ties the pragmatic to the theoretical. Rajneesh Chowdhury is uniquely positioned to pro- vide guidance and insights for the systems thinking community through his expos- ition of the five principles for systems practice in this book. Dr Charles Robert Kenley, Professor of Engineering Practice –​ Purdue University, USA A bold attempt to reimagine systems thinking in the light of Eastern mysticism –​ an insightful and timely contribution to a new paradigm that is now coming to the fore.

Dr Josep M Coll, Professor of Strategy, Sustainability and Innovation –​ EADA Business School, Spain This work by Rajneesh Chowdhury is an imperative resource for managers and consultants operating in complex contexts that have an interplay of multiple agencies. The book brings out the intricacies of decision-​making in business situ- ations and creates an argument for the systems approach, which is substantiated by the wide array of compelling case studies. Dr Ruchi Tewari, Associate Professor –​ MICA Ahmedabad, India An excellent investigation of case studies using a systems thinking lens and meth- odologies.

Insights and learnings drawn will be highly valuable for anyone working in development policies and systems change. Dr Luis G Sambo, Former Regional Director for Africa –​ World Health Organization, Angola This book is written from a practitioner’s perspective that makes the discussions real, relatable, and exciting. Challenges surfaced, solutions proposed and ideas presented are highly valuable for complex problem solving in the public sector. Suhit Anantula, Director of Policy and System Reform –​ Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Australia Rajneesh Chowdhury has brilliantly connected the practice of management con- sultancy with systems thinking.

Weaving his consultancy experiences through case studies, his Holistic Flexibility model and now, Conscious Systemic Leadership, based on the Hindu philosophy of Shiva… brilliant is the only word that comes to mind. Dr Deeanna Burleson, CEO –​ Full Spectrum Solutions, USA A thoughtful and thought-​provoking book to enhance the practice of systems thinking. The author’s principles for Holistic Flexibility in systems interventions address, with pragmatic insight, the key challenge of bringing about beneficial, responsible, and transformative organizational change.

Dr John Morecroft, Former Senior Fellow –​ Management Science and Operations, London Business School, UK This book brings together an interesting array of theoretical deliberations and case studies in systems thinking, presented in the context of the latest developments in systems research. I highly recommend this book for postgraduate level students in business, management, and community operations research.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 6c144e04915191f4
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 14,832,217 bytes (14.145 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781003388692
• Pages: 310
• Language: English (en)

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