Improving Utilities with Systems Thinking: People, Process, and Technology

Improving Utilities with Systems Thinking: People, Process, and  Technology is a tool for utility leaders to better understand how groups  can work together to ensure better performance; value to the  organization, community, and environment; coherence; and well-being of  the utility through the application of systems thinking and a  methodology for improvement. The authors examined the management of  water sector utilities from a “systems thinking,” or holistic, point of  view, starting with the complete system, then defining the components,  considering the interactions between them, measuring key variables of  value creation and impact, making adjustments, and learning. The overall  goal is to establish a knowledge-based roadmap for improvement,  including practical methodologies based on science and grounded in the  real needs of water sector utilities. A systems approach acknowledges  that an integrated system has qualities that the sum of the individual  components cannot explain. It is by a holistic view that the system can  be learning and developing in a more sustainable way so that a much  broader value can be created—both monetary value and better  organizational performance.