3 different ways to find issues in organ

Every element in an organization is always part of a bigger unit. This is the nature of hierarchy, or fractals (if you want to take the authority and control from hierarchy). When looking for a cause of problems in organizations, there are three approaches you can take.

The most common one is analysis. This approach takes the reductionist point of view. We look at the observed unit like a machine and separate it to its parts. Then we will try to understand what is wrong in each part (using a variety of methods and framework). Once we know the problems, we can put a roadmap in place to fix them. When we fixed all the parts, we fixed the system. This approach focuses on issues in any element of the system.

The second approach is not getting into the parts of an observed organization unit. In this approach, we are looking at the unit as one component. Instead of analysis, we are trying to understand how each element in the system influence others (cause), what is the flow in the system and how people and groups influence the cause and the flow. This approach finds flaws in how the system was set up. We are using system thinking in combination with other more modern approaches to find problems in the system.

The third approach (which we believe is the best one) combines both of them. This approach starts with a holistic approach. When all the system issues, found and fixed, we dive into the parts of the system. The logic behind this approach is that as long as there are flaws in the system, any attempt to fix items in the system will fail.

It takes time to adjust to the second and the third approach, but once you start using it, you'll be surprised how much you don't know about the organization you are part of. In many scenarios, the solutions will be easier to find. They will never be easier to implement. Fixing system issues is not a simple task.