SECTION A
You need to choose two questions from the three in Section A.
Instructions.
Question 1.
Please do your own rough version of the map first and then use the first PowerPoint Slide file called “Cognitive Mapping Answer Template” for your final neat cognitive map answer to submit.
Use the spaces provided for parts ii), iii) and iv) for question 1 in Word file Answer Booklet.
Question 2.
Again, please do your own rough version of your answers and so the different parts of the model first, and then for your final neat version to submit, please type out the answers for parts i) and ii) of question 2 in the spaces provided in the Answer Booklet. Take as much space as you wish.
Use the Conceptual Model Diagram in the Answer Booklet for part iii) of question 2.
Type out parts iv and v) in the Answer Booklet in the spaces provided. Use as much space as you wish,
Question 3.
Please draw your 2 causal loop diagrams and graph of behaviour in rough first, and then do your final neat answers in the spaces provided in the second PowerPoint slide file called “Causal Loop Diagram Drawings and Behaviour Graph Answers”. Use as much space as you like.
To draw the causal loop diagrams, see the Shapes in Word for your causal loop diagrams and / or use the symbols / shapes provided in the added word file – “Symbols to use for Causal Loop Diagrams and Graph of Behaviour”. Use these also for the graph of behaviour in part iii).
Type out your answer to question 3 parts iv) and v) in the spaces provided in the Answer Booklet.
SECTION A
Question 1.
Below is a description of some of the current problems facing paramedics and the ambulance services in the UK in recent years.
“Emergency (999) calls to ambulance services have doubled in the last 10 years. The pressure on the ambulance services has gone up in different parts of the country, and paramedics are leaving the service in ever greater numbers. Now there is a national shortage of paramedics. This is having a bad effect on emergency services.
Yet surely being a paramedic is in the best job in the world – you make a real difference to people. But now they are busier than ever – it is rush, rush, rush – 10-12 hour irregular shifts and out all day, going from call to call, no time to eat or drink. Too many callouts lead to increased pressure and increased stress. You work harder but not at your best. It is demoralising.
So this is now one of the more difficult jobs to do.
Over the past 8 years in London, population is up by 400,000 – to 8 million, and call volume is up a lot too. In 10 years the number of 999 calls has increased 83%, from under 5 million to 9 million. But the number of ambulance staff has gone up from 16,000 to 18,700 in that time – so by only 17%.
Recruitment of staff actually fell last year. There are not enough vehicles (ambulances) or enough staff to cope. In London the service is on the verge of a breakdown. 200 calls are regularly put on hold because there is nobody to attend to them.
There is an increase in calls from the very elderly and from those in the 21-30 years age group. There are often unnecessary callouts and exaggerated problems. These are caused by NHS weaknesses elsewhere eg patients who cannot get an appointment with their GP.
The ambulance trusts must make good use of their resources and not waste them by sending out inappropriate services to a single callout. But it is often difficult to know on the telephone if it is a genuine callout or where a lower level of service needed. This adds to the pressure.
There is still a target driven culture and targets – such as the “category A” 8 minute response time – lead to pressures too.
The London Ambulance Service is reducing the demands on frontline staff (paramedics) by recruiting more triage staff in the control room to assess callers, and giving “Hear and treat” advice to 3500 patients a week when staff don’t really need to come out. Patients need to take more responsibility for their own health.
Other ambulance services are copying this model and sending out fewer ambulances.”
(NB. Question 1 continues on the next page)
i) Assuming the ideas come from more than person, so a group or team, draw a full causal map to represent these views. (This will just look like a normal large individual cognitive map).
(28 marks)
You are given the first 4 concepts and links to start you off correctly. Please see the Map Answer Template file. Please note these first 4 concepts are in the correct place on the map – for your final map answer – so leave them roughly where they are now!
Please type your written answer parts – ii), iii), iv) – into the spaces provided in the Answer booklet.
ii) Explain a) what the key differences are between the original text, containing the ideas expressed above, and the representation or format now of these ideas via the causal map, and b) briefly how the different formats therefore help us or don’t help us to see clearly what is going on in the situation. (2 marks)
iii) Assuming the map comes from the initial question and answer session or meeting with the group or team, after identifying the different areas or clusters on the map, how would the consultant then use the map when working with the team in the second workshop?
(2 marks)
iv) What broad outcome would be hoped for at the end of this second team workshop or meeting? (1 mark)
(total 33 marks)
Question 2.
The following is a description of a problem situation.
“The University’s Examinations Office is responsible for running the overall examination process. Faculty (eg Business School) administrators are responsible for organising the faculty side of things, including examination boards. The setters of the exam papers – the lecturers – must play their part too.
Assume that currently there are problems for the Business School in meeting the various deadlines involved in organising and running exams and exam boards, and this is seen as a threat to the important goals of appropriate examinations, integrity of the assessment process and overall academic quality. Many academic staff and administrative staff have high workloads and find it difficult to deliver what is required on time. Considerable stress for all concerned results.
Currently the whole exam / exam boards organisation activity runs as follows: The overall timetable for the whole assessment process, including examinations, is decided and published by the Exams Office. This includes the exam period, deadlines for exam paper submission, all marking, the module boards and dates for publishing the results. Exam papers are written by module leaders, who provide answers at the same time, and papers are internally moderated by other lecturers and agreed. Then they are handed to faculty administrators, who send them to external examiners for external moderation. The final agreed version of the paper is sent to the Exams Office.
Often there are delays to these steps in the process, especially where lecturers are distracted or tied up with their other duties eg teaching and administration, and so write papers after the agreed deadlines, or where internal or external moderators are slow to carry out their roles. As a result, administrators are late sending final versions to Exams Office, causing them problems in turn.
The number of students sitting each exam is checked, the availabilities and sizes of exam rooms are noted, the exam timetable is constructed, any clashes corrected and then published. Invigilators are hired and trained, exams rooms are reserved, copies of exam papers are reproduced.
The exams are supervised by Exams Office staff and invigilators, and take place as planned. The exam scripts are then collected by academics for marking.
Marking a lot of exam scripts and often coursework at the same time, can take a long time and the period provided by Exams Office for this can be quite short, and seen by the markers (lecturers) as unnecessarily so, and therefore unreasonable. Sometimes markers are late doing this. Exam scripts and coursework must be second marked internally. Sometimes second markers can be away at this time. A sample of marked exam scripts and coursework is sent to external examiners for moderation.
Module boards are organised for each subject group, where exam papers, coursework and the marks and performances are discussed, and individual results agreed. The results are later published.
In doing all this, University rules and regulations plus principles of good practice must be followed, and it would be wise to take the advice and ideas of the faculty’s experienced lecturers and senior administrators.”
(NB. Question 2 continues on the next page)
Your task:
Create a full model of a relevant system to use to fully explore and understand this problem situation.
NB. You should follow a combination of Checkland’s and Pidd’s approaches to this, (as you have learned to do on this module.
i) First decide and state here the activity P, and then the Q and R, and then CATWOE for the system plus the “guided by” parts needed for the full root definition. [12 marks]
You are given the activity or P for the model –
It is: “to organise and run the overall examinations process including exams and exam boards”
NB. When you submit your final answers for this question 2, you need to use the test Answer booklet provided. Look for Question 2 for the space to type out your answers.
ii) Decide if any other elements that are needed and then define and write out the full Root Definition (as above, using a combination of Checkland’s and Pidd’s approaches).
You should follow our usual formula for doing this. (See the last but one item in the Glossary.) [4 marks]
iii) Build up and draw a full Conceptual Model to go with your root definition.
You should follow our usual full format or diagram structure for this. However, you can have as many steps in the inner ring of your diagram as you wish. [10 marks]
NB. See the generic conceptual model template to use for this in the Answer Booklet. I expect you to do a rough model of your own first. But you need to use the answer booklet diagram when you submit your final answer online. An example of the Conceptual Model diagram is also at the end of the Glossary with this paper.
You are given the first two steps in the conceptual model – please see the Answer Booklet file.
iv) Briefly give one way we could measure each one of the “3 E’s” in the conceptual model, in turn – so a) what would you check on and b) how would you check: i) the efficacy, ii) the efficiency and iii) the effectiveness of the system in operation [3 marks]
v) Once defined and drawn, now say how this model would be used, if following the SSM process and the seven-stage version – so
a) Describe fully what the next stage would be – (stage 5), after the model has been created, and say what the aims of stage 5 are. [2 marks]
b) Then explain fully what would take place in the following stage – (stage 6), after the stage described for part a)?
[2 marks]
(33 marks)
Question 3.
i) Consider the following problem situation.
There is a lot of traffic congestion on British roads. The amount of traffic congestion depends on a) the road capacity and on b) the number of vehicles on the roads. The greater the road capacity the less the congestion, and the higher the number of vehicles on the road the more the congestion. The more there is congestion the longer the time it takes to travel.
Longer travel times put more pressure on the government to reduce congestion. This pressure forces it into agreeing new road construction projects.
The new projects increase the capacity of the roads, and increased road capacity reduces the congestion.
Draw a causal loop diagram to represent the above situation and indicate whether a loop is reinforcing or balancing. (13 marks)
NB. The first three concepts for the model are traffic congestion, road capacity and number of vehicles on the road. There should be another 3 variables for this first model diagram.
Do your rough answer diagrams first on paper. Then to draw the causal loop diagram answers to submit online, please use the Word tools, images, shapes provided in the added Word file for question 3 – “Symbols to use…” so for the arrows or links, R, B and the behaviour graph. etc and copy and paste and so use these in the PowerPoint slide set 2 – “Causal Loop Diagram Drawings …” provided for your answer diagrams for question 3.
ii) The increase in road capacity means less congestion, so there are now shorter travel times and these make driving more attractive, which in turn, leads to people taking more trips by car. More trips, in turn, increase the number of vehicles on the roads, and so the level of congestion rises once more.
Draw a new, separate, enlarged causal loop diagram to take account of these new factors, by adding them to those you already have on your diagram to describe the situation in part i) of the question. (7 marks)
NB. There should be two new variables and three new links to add to the first model for this second situation.
(Again, draw this in the PowerPoint slide under the first diagram.)
iii) Draw a graph of behaviour for the variable traffic congestion against time, based on your second, fuller causal loop diagram, so covering both time periods. (4 marks)
(Again, draw this in the PowerPoint slide under the first two diagrams.)
NB. For parts iv) and v) of question 3 below, please type your final answers in the spaces provided in the Answer booklet Word file.
iv) In words, briefly describe and explain this behaviour of traffic congestion over the two time periods, by referring to the two loops in your causal loop diagram. (5 marks)
v) In a real life situation where an external consultant was called in to help the government understand the situation – which key people would be in the team to model, understand and help tackle the problem? (4 marks)
(total 33 marks)
SECTION B
There are two questions in section B to choose from.
Do one question or the other.
Questions 4 and 5. All answers need to be typed out and included in the order specified and in the indicated spaces for each answer, and answer part in the Answer Booklet – for the written questions 4 and 5.
Please write all your answers in your own words. Most answers can be quite short but make sure they are very clear, full enough and meaningful – so have a short sentence, rather than a few words.
You can use as much space as you want to for your answers.
If you are not answering a part of a question or the whole question than please just leave that space in the Answer Booklet blank. But for the written question you have chosen to do, try and think of a sensible answer for all question parts, even if you are not sure – rather than give me nothing – as you are likely to get some marks for it if you try. Do check for any information you need eg in the full Revision Guide which includes most things.
SECTION B
Question 4.
i) a) What are 5 features we are likely to see in a mess or a wicked problem situation? Give a few words to explain each feature.
b) Take the problem situation described in either question 1 or question 2 of this test paper, and identify and state where, in the particular situation described there, you can see each one of the features you have listed in part a). [5 marks]
ii) a) In SODA, give two reasons why we should use a semi-structured interview or question and answer approach when gathering ideas from people, in order to draw a cognitive or causal map representing their view of a problem situation – so semi-structured rather than structured or unstructured. [2 marks]
b) When carrying out a semi-structured interview with a person, we often need to take what the person has said but then change it and show it in a different way on the map, so it matches the rules for cognitive mapping.
Give four quite different examples of where we need to do this – so where we change the concepts and indicated connections as expressed in the answer to a question, to a different form for the map – for the map to work. [3 marks]
iii) a) Identify the three possible ways, or levels at which Senge suggests we can view a problem – so what happens in the world, its explanation, the understanding of it and how we respond or take action to resolve it. [2 marks]
b) i) State which of these three is the most effective way or level at which to view complex problems, and ii) which is the least effective way or level. [1 mark]
c) Give three words or adjectives to describe the quality of our understanding, decision making or the outcome, if we are i) acting at the most effective level identified in part b) of the question and ii) acting at the least effective level. [3 marks]
iv) a) What do you see as our two main, or overall aims or objectives – so what are we especially trying to achieve – when we decide to use Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to tackle a problem situation? [2 marks]
b) We call the main model in SSM a “relevant system”. Why do we say “relevant” and why use the word “system”? [2 marks]
c) i) What are the two main types of relevant system model we should use to fully tackle a problem situation? (The answer is not root definition and conceptual model!) [2 marks]
ii) Explain each type of model and the differences between them. [2 marks]
(NB. Question 4 is continued on the next page)
v) In system dynamics we can pass from a qualitative phase to a more quantitative phase by translating the causal loop diagram we have built, into a stock and flow model of the system.
a) State the three main elements we see in a causal loop diagram.
b) State the five main elements we see in a stock and flow model diagram. [4 marks]
c) Explain fully the 5 main steps or stages you would go through to “translate” an already defined and drawn causal loop diagram into a fully working, validated stock and flow model to run on the computer.
[5 marks]
[33 marks]
Question 5.
i) In soft systems approaches we often talk about the need to include both hard and soft data in our thinking about complex problem situations.
a) Define what we mean by the term “soft data”.
b) Define what we mean by the term hard data? [3 marks]
c) Give 6 different pieces of hard data about yourself and your life or present situation that you are happy to provide. [3 marks]
d) Give 6 different pieces of soft data about yourself and your life or present situation that you are happy to provide. [3 marks]
ii) In a soft systems approach-based project to tackle an important complex problem situation, so one using one or more of SODA, Soft Systems Methodology or System Dynamics, the stakeholders from the situation, usually working with consultants or facilitators, play a vital role.
Identify i) why this is the case, why stakeholders are so important and so necessary, and ii) describe exactly what role they play – with regard to each of the following, in turn:
a) gathering information for the project or intervention,
b) representing and understanding the situation,
c) using the models and deciding what actions to take,
d) implementing the actions. [4 marks]
iii) When using the SODA methodology, at a later stage there is usually a meeting or workshop with consultant and the team, where together, they use the large group map, causal map or strategy map – these are all the same thing – that has been created (at an earlier stage), to develop ideas further, and add more concepts to the map, so a discussion and negotiation process. This strategy map can be created using either approach SODA I, or approach SODA II.
a) i) State 4 main stages we go through to create the large strategy map in SODA I;
ii) State 4 main stages we go through to create the large strategy map in SODA II;
[2 marks]
b) i) State which of these stages, that you have identified in part a), are quite similar between the two approaches, and briefly say how / in what way;
ii) State which stages, that you have identified in part a), are quite different, between the two approaches, and briefly say how / in what way. [3 marks]
c) i) Explain in what circumstances you would choose to employ SODA I rather than SODA II, by giving three features or aspects of the particular situation.
ii) Explain in what circumstances you would choose to employ SODA II rather than SODA I, by giving three features or aspects of the particular situation. [3 marks]
(NB. Question 5 is continued on the next page)
iv) We have learned three methodologies or approaches on this module – SODA, Soft Systems Methodology, System Dynamics.
In each of the three following problem situations below, i), ii), iii) one could see one approach or methodology as more suitable, to use to tackle and resolve the problems, than the other two.
For each of the three problem situations in turn:
a) Say what overall methodology you would recommend. [3 marks]
b) And why – so say clearly i) what technique or techniques associated with that methodology are so suitable, and say ii) specifically what you would use them for in this particular situation.
[6 marks]
c) i) Give a good current real-life example of such a situation and ii) identify two specific features of this situation that make it a good example of the situation type. [3 marks]
The three situations:
i) A situation which is initially very complicated, unclear – but looks likely to involve problems with one or more major activities. We first need to gather a lot of different kinds of data and bring it all together in an unstructured way, and be able to see it together, holistically and easily, as a group or team, to get a sense of what is involved and insights into what is going on. We want to make sure we don’t leave out important aspects! We will want first to identify what the real problems are before discussing and planning changes that need to be carried out to improve the situation. We also want our team to be creative!
ii) A situation where there is a lot of conflict between the main groups of stakeholders and so no progress can be made, as nobody will listen to or appreciate the opponent groups’ viewpoints. Yet we want the sides to come together, identify the problems and work together towards a set of actions that will improve the situation and can be agreed by all sides.
iii) A situation where we have done all the obvious right things to try to solve a problem, but although there may have been a temporary or partial improvement, in the longer term the situation always just gets worse or creates even more problems. The situation is clearly more complex than we think and there must be connections between parts of the situation or between factors within it that we are just not aware of.
[33 marks]
