Problem Catalog
Prompt: After working through the assigned resources in this module, create a problem catalog to begin exploring problems, problem situations, and the systems in which they appear.
Consider problems at various levels:
Worldwide, cross-national, and cross-cultural problems
Nationwide problems, affecting all or most Americans
Problems specific to an economy, an environment, an industry, a company, or an organization
Problems specific to a population segment such as children, seniors, employed or unemployed, disabled, athletes, executives, engineers, women, and so on.
Note: Be sure to include at least two problems that are related to your own workplace, a former workplace, or a current or former organization that you are affiliated with (church, local government, nonprofit agency you volunteer for, etc.).
Consider using resources such as periodicals, newspapers, magazines, blogs, news websites, discipline-specific journals, conference presentations, and other sources found on the web or in the Shapiro Library. As always in your research, be aware of source credibility and possible bias (your own and that of your source).
List ten problems in your problem catalog and identify system elements, issues, concerns, and questions that would be needed to understand the entire system that contributes to the problem. See the “wrong” (Example One) and “right” (Example Two) examples below. For your own purposes, you should also note your initial thoughts about how the problem might be analyzed using systems thinking and research that might be needed.
Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed:
State at least ten problems, formulated in a way that leads to systems thinking. At least two problems should be related to your own workplace, a former workplace, or a current or former organization that you are affiliated with (church, local government, non-profit agency you volunteer for, etc.).
For each problem, identify the problem elements
For each problem, identify the problem issues.
For each problem, identify the concerns and/or questions that one should consider when trying to understand the entire system involved in the problem
