Ripple Effects in Systems

Video Transcription

Hi, I'm Julie Tietz, and welcome to Conflict Resolution-- Putting the Pieces Together. Today, we're going to talk about ripple effects in systems. So how changes in a part or a component of the system can cause change throughout the system as a whole.

In a system we have interconnectivity. So we are related to each other. Or the parts of the system are related to each other and influence each other in some way or another through their behavior.

And a system is made up of components. And if a component is removed, changed, or added, or their behavior changes, it has an effect on the whole system and can change the whole system entirely. And this is what we would call a ripple effect.

So look at, for example, this picture in the background of the water. One drop can affect the whole picture of what the water looks like. So it starts off really small, but then it spreads and spreads and spreads. And it's changed the whole picture or the whole system. So that's what we mean by a ripple effect in a system.

When we have a change in the system, it could be a positive change where we are having greater efficiency and things are running more positively and effectively. Or it can be a negative change where we're seeing reduced efficiency. And the system is not working as effectively as it could.

An example of what a change could look like in the system could be through our heart. So we have all of these different components that are working together to make our heart beat and circulate blood throughout our body. And a negative change in the system could be an artery blockage. And so this is affecting how effectively we can move the blood through our heart and work on the other systems of our body. Whereas a positive change could be to go in and have surgery and have that blockage removed so we can run the system more effectively.

Another example could be in our workplace. Let's say things are not going so well at work. Things are really unorganized. And a positive change could be new leadership. So, somebody new comes in to direct everybody to make sure things are going to run more smoothly and institute a new system.

But a negative change could be that with this change in leadership and new systems that are being in place, each person is going to have a higher workload. And this higher workload could have a negative impact on our system because people are having lower morale and they have to work slower. Or maybe they have to come into work more often. So just another example of how changes in systems can have a positive and negative change.

What if we're going to make a minor or small change in the system? Doesn't seem like a big deal, right? Well, we really need to know that these minor changes still do have significant impacts on the system. And that's due because we are interconnected. And even the smallest or slightest change can throw the whole system off as a whole.

So example of these little minor changes could be a conflict. So let's say you're having a little spat with one of your co-workers. And you think that it may not be related to anything else and it's just between you two.

Well, this little spat can spread and create more conflicts. Then, essentially creating conflict in the system as a whole. So again, the ripple effect being applied here.

So this one little conflict between you and your co-worker spreads onto your other co-worker who you're trying to enlist as an ally, who then spreads it onto somebody else. And all of a sudden, your little spat is dividing your whole workplace. And so we see again how the ripple effect takes into consideration everybody that's related into the system, even if it seems minor or small.

Looking at our key points here on ripple effects before we go in our systems-- so our systems are interconnected. And because we are interconnected, we can have an effect on each other, whether that's directly or indirectly. And these changes can be positive and a negative, as we saw with our heart and in our workplace, those two examples.

And even if we have a small conflict, it can create more conflict and spread. So minor changes in our systems can have an impact on the system as a whole.

Well, here are your key terms before we go. Feel free to pause and look at them a little bit closer.

Thank you so much for taking the time out to view this. I really hope that you've learned something. And I can't wait to catch you again next time.