Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008

Steven Walker

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11

| Peer-Reviewed

Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008

Steven Walker

Published in American Journal of Management Science and Engineering (Volume 5, Issue 5)

Received: 30 September 2020 Accepted: 23 October 2020 Published: 4 November 2020

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

This case tells how a leader of a health care institution used systems thinking as a foresight tool to help survive the Great Recession of 2008. The original study on which this case is based sought to understand the essence of leaders’ interior response to the Great Recession of 2008 with regard to sustainability and leadership. The impact of the Great Recession of 2008 on organizational leaders with regards to sustainable policy making was examined by addressing: (a) how sustainability is defined, (b) the philosophy that underlies sustainable thinking within organizations, (c) leadership elements that are important to sustainable implementation, and (d) how system breaking points provide the opportunity for sustainable transformation. Due to the leader’s systems thinking perspective, several behavior themes emerged. Organizational policies were then developed to help institutionalize these behaviors, and which prepared the organization for a successful and sustainable response to the oncoming catastrophe. Strategic management strategies, supporting futures thinking, ultimately guided and stabilized the organization throughout this economic crisis, effectively leading to future growth.

Published in	American Journal of Management Science and Engineering (Volume 5, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11
Page(s)	56-61
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Foresight Methodology, Leadership, Systems Thinking, Great Recession, Health Care

References

[1]	Pech, R., & Oakley, K. (2005). Hormesis: an evolutionary “predict and prepare” survival mechanism. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 26 (8), 673–687. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730510633737.
[2]	Kaivo-oja, J., Stenvall, J. (2013). Foresight, governance and complexity of systems: On the way towards a pragmatic governance paradigm. European Integration Studies Journal. No. 7.
[3]	Shaked, H., & Schechter, C. (2018). Systems Thinking Among Enrollees in a Principal Preparation Program. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 13 (3), 259–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775118771384.
[4]	Laszlo, E. (1996). A systems view of the world: A holistic vision for our time. Hampton Press. New Jersey.
[5]	Meadows, D. (2008). Thinking in systems. Hartland, VT: The Sustainability Institute.
[6]	Meadows, D. (1999). Leverage points: Places to intervene in a system. Hartland, VT: The Sustainability Institute.
[7]	Weinberg, G. (2001). An introduction to general systems thinking. Dorset House publishing co.
[8]	Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I. (1984). Order out of chaos: Man's new dialogue with nature. New York, NY: Bantam.
[9]	Kirk, P. (1999). Corporate evolution and the chaos advantage. The Systems Thinker, 10 (10), 1-12.
[10]	Wilber, K. (1996). A brief history of everything. Boston, MA: Shambhala publishing.
[11]	Hickman, G. (2015). Leading organizations: Perspectives for a new era, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
[12]	Senge, P. (1990) The fifth discipline: The art of practice of the learning organization. New York, NY. Doubleday.
[13]	Harper, S. & Stein, S. (2006). Dialogical planning in a fragmented society: Critically liberal, pragmatic, and incremental. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Publishing.
[14]	Putman, R. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
[15]	Foster, W. F. (1989). Toward a critical practice of leadership. Critical Perspectives on Educationall Leadership. pp. 39-62. London, UK: Falmer.
[16]	Rost, J. (1993). Leadership for the 21st century. Westport, CT: Praeger.
[17]	Northouse, P. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publishing: New York, NY.
[18]	Hazy, J. (2008). Toward a theory of leadership in complex systems: Computational modeling explorations. Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences, 12 (3), 281-310.
[19]	Parks, S. (2005). Leadership can be taught: A bold approach to a complex world. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
[20]	Burns, J. (1978). Leadership. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
[21]	Hay, R. (2010). The relevance of ecocentrism, personal development and transformational leadership to sustainability and identity. Sustainability Development Journal, 18, 163-171.
[22]	Freeman, R. & Auster, E. (2011). Values, authenticity, and responsible leadership. Journal of business ethics. 98, 15-23.
[23]	Maak, T. & Pless, N. (2006). Responsible leadership. New York, NY: Routledge publishing.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Steven Walker. (2020). Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008. American Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 5(5), 56-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Steven Walker. Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008. Am. J. Manag. Sci. Eng. 2020, 5(5), 56-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Steven Walker. Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008. Am J Manag Sci Eng. 2020;5(5):56-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11,
  author = {Steven Walker},
  title = {Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008},
  journal = {American Journal of Management Science and Engineering},
  volume = {5},
  number = {5},
  pages = {56-61},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajmse.20200505.11},
  abstract = {This case tells how a leader of a health care institution used systems thinking as a foresight tool to help survive the Great Recession of 2008. The original study on which this case is based sought to understand the essence of leaders’ interior response to the Great Recession of 2008 with regard to sustainability and leadership. The impact of the Great Recession of 2008 on organizational leaders with regards to sustainable policy making was examined by addressing: (a) how sustainability is defined, (b) the philosophy that underlies sustainable thinking within organizations, (c) leadership elements that are important to sustainable implementation, and (d) how system breaking points provide the opportunity for sustainable transformation. Due to the leader’s systems thinking perspective, several behavior themes emerged. Organizational policies were then developed to help institutionalize these behaviors, and which prepared the organization for a successful and sustainable response to the oncoming catastrophe. Strategic management strategies, supporting futures thinking, ultimately guided and stabilized the organization throughout this economic crisis, effectively leading to future growth.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008
AU  - Steven Walker
Y1  - 2020/11/04
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11
T2  - American Journal of Management Science and Engineering
JF  - American Journal of Management Science and Engineering
JO  - American Journal of Management Science and Engineering
SP  - 56
EP  - 61
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1379
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11
AB  - This case tells how a leader of a health care institution used systems thinking as a foresight tool to help survive the Great Recession of 2008. The original study on which this case is based sought to understand the essence of leaders’ interior response to the Great Recession of 2008 with regard to sustainability and leadership. The impact of the Great Recession of 2008 on organizational leaders with regards to sustainable policy making was examined by addressing: (a) how sustainability is defined, (b) the philosophy that underlies sustainable thinking within organizations, (c) leadership elements that are important to sustainable implementation, and (d) how system breaking points provide the opportunity for sustainable transformation. Due to the leader’s systems thinking perspective, several behavior themes emerged. Organizational policies were then developed to help institutionalize these behaviors, and which prepared the organization for a successful and sustainable response to the oncoming catastrophe. Strategic management strategies, supporting futures thinking, ultimately guided and stabilized the organization throughout this economic crisis, effectively leading to future growth.
VL  - 5
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Steven Walker

Department of Leadership and Human Resources, National University, San Diego, USA

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Steven Walker. (2020). Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008. American Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 5(5), 56-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Steven Walker. Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008. Am. J. Manag. Sci. Eng. 2020, 5(5), 56-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Steven Walker. Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008. Am J Manag Sci Eng. 2020;5(5):56-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11,
  author = {Steven Walker},
  title = {Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008},
  journal = {American Journal of Management Science and Engineering},
  volume = {5},
  number = {5},
  pages = {56-61},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajmse.20200505.11},
  abstract = {This case tells how a leader of a health care institution used systems thinking as a foresight tool to help survive the Great Recession of 2008. The original study on which this case is based sought to understand the essence of leaders’ interior response to the Great Recession of 2008 with regard to sustainability and leadership. The impact of the Great Recession of 2008 on organizational leaders with regards to sustainable policy making was examined by addressing: (a) how sustainability is defined, (b) the philosophy that underlies sustainable thinking within organizations, (c) leadership elements that are important to sustainable implementation, and (d) how system breaking points provide the opportunity for sustainable transformation. Due to the leader’s systems thinking perspective, several behavior themes emerged. Organizational policies were then developed to help institutionalize these behaviors, and which prepared the organization for a successful and sustainable response to the oncoming catastrophe. Strategic management strategies, supporting futures thinking, ultimately guided and stabilized the organization throughout this economic crisis, effectively leading to future growth.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Futures Thinking: Strategy Used by Health Care Organization to Survive Economic Collapse During the Great Recession of 2008
AU  - Steven Walker
Y1  - 2020/11/04
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11
T2  - American Journal of Management Science and Engineering
JF  - American Journal of Management Science and Engineering
JO  - American Journal of Management Science and Engineering
SP  - 56
EP  - 61
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1379
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20200505.11
AB  - This case tells how a leader of a health care institution used systems thinking as a foresight tool to help survive the Great Recession of 2008. The original study on which this case is based sought to understand the essence of leaders’ interior response to the Great Recession of 2008 with regard to sustainability and leadership. The impact of the Great Recession of 2008 on organizational leaders with regards to sustainable policy making was examined by addressing: (a) how sustainability is defined, (b) the philosophy that underlies sustainable thinking within organizations, (c) leadership elements that are important to sustainable implementation, and (d) how system breaking points provide the opportunity for sustainable transformation. Due to the leader’s systems thinking perspective, several behavior themes emerged. Organizational policies were then developed to help institutionalize these behaviors, and which prepared the organization for a successful and sustainable response to the oncoming catastrophe. Strategic management strategies, supporting futures thinking, ultimately guided and stabilized the organization throughout this economic crisis, effectively leading to future growth.
VL  - 5
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download