Role of System Dynamics in advising Senior Management

[Cncsdg@aol.com]

Fellow SDers,

I have an opportunity to obtain my dream job. I have worked in the
Department of National Defence in Canada for 22 years, 16 of those in
Logistics Analysis. Now I have the opportunity to write my own job
description for a position as senior advisor to the Assistant Deputy Minister
of Materiel. I have spent the day reading his Business Plan and have
extracted four primary areas that SD could contribute to his goals.

1) Performance Measurement - a systems model would greatly enhance his
ability to determine the performance of his organization against the goals of
the department. In this vain, a systems model would help to determine the
indicators of performance that would be best to measure and control to ensure
continued improvement.

2) Business Case Analysis - a systems model of the organization would help to
determine the true benefits, costs and risks associated with competing
initiatives. This could be used to find the leverage points where great
improvements can be made at little cost, and avoid those expensive mistakes
where large investments have little or even negative effects on system
performance.

3) Simulation Based Acquisition - simulation and virtual worlds can be used
to determine whether proposed acquisitions will achieve their capability
goals. Similarly, feedback processes in the acquisition programs can be
modelled to ensure that cost, risk and time projections are achieved.

4) Risk Management - cost avoidance and risk management could be enhanced
through SD models that help to estimate the impacts of decisions, policies
and programs early enough to have greatest effect.

I would appreciate any advice that you could give me about using SD as a tool
in advising senior management, so that I can make a persuasive argument for
the building of this position in his organization.

Sincerely,
Ivan Taylor
From: Cncsdg@aol.com