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The Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) that aims at ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns is dependent on efficient and effective transport infrastructure. But many new transport infrastructure projects are delayed due to complex conflicts between multiple stakeholders with different stakes. This chapter illustrates how a multi-stakeholder participation process based on systems thinking can be used to generate a shared mental model of stakeholders in conflict. Using the systems thinking and modelling methodology, the complex problem situation is first structured by identifying and analysing the stakeholders. Then a participative approach is employed to develop a systems model that captures the underlying structure responsible for the problem situation. Finally, three strategic interventions are formulated by the stakeholders to improve the system behaviour in the long term. In this chapter, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using structured interviews, focus groups and secondary sources. Using a New Zealand transport infrastructure project, the chapter shows that effective multi-stakeholder participation, capable of leading to some form of multi-stakeholder partnership, can help reduce delays in a transport infrastructure project. Practically, the chapter provides a framework that can reach an accommodation between conflicting stakeholders. Overall, this chapter contributes New Zealand–based empirical research to the literature on multi-stakeholder participation for achieving SDG 12 within the context of Agenda 2030.

Contemporary literature reveals that, to date, the poultry livestock sector has not received sufficient research attention. This particular industry suffers from unstructured supply chain practices, lack of awareness of the implications of the sustainability concept and failure to recycle poultry wastes. The current research thus attempts to develop an integrated supply chain model in the context of poultry industry in Bangladesh. The study considers both sustainability and supply chain issues in order to incorporate them in the poultry supply chain. By placing the forward and reverse supply chains in a single framework, existing problems can be resolved to gain economic, social and environmental benefits, which will be more sustainable than the present practices.

The theoretical underpinning of this research is ‘sustainability’ and the ‘supply chain processes’ in order to examine possible improvements in the poultry production process along with waste management. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and ‘design science’ methods with the support of system dynamics (SD) and the case study methods. Initially, a mental model is developed followed by the causal loop diagram based on in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observation techniques. The causal model helps to understand the linkages between the associated variables for each issue. Finally, the causal loop diagram is transformed into a stock and flow (quantitative) model, which is a prerequisite for SD-based simulation modelling. A decision support system (DSS) is then developed to analyse the complex decision-making process along the supply chains.

The findings reveal that integration of the supply chain can bring economic, social and environmental sustainability along with a structured production process. It is also observed that the poultry industry can apply the model outcomes in the real-life practices with minor adjustments. This present research has both theoretical and practical implications. The proposed model’s unique characteristics in mitigating the existing problems are supported by the sustainability and supply chain theories. As for practical implications, the poultry industry in Bangladesh can follow the proposed supply chain structure (as par the research model) and test various policies via simulation prior to its application. Positive outcomes of the simulation study may provide enough confidence to implement the desired changes within the industry and their supply chain networks.

Investigates what approaches to quality lead to best quality and financial performance across different regions of the world. Reports a survey of 977 firms in Asia/South Pacific, Europe, and North America. Fifty‐two items that suggest how a firm might improve quality were factor analysed and grouped into 11 factors, each factor a broader approach to quality improvement than any one item. Actual quality was measured eight different ways. Each approach to quality improvement (factor) was correlated to each quality measure, as well as to several financial measures. The results suggest that a company’s approach to quality correlates to actual quality and to a lesser extent to financial performance. The major factors found to influence actual quality were the organization’s knowledge of quality management, its degree of customer focus, and management involvement. When the task was to predict performance outcomes in any region, the specific factors that best predict performance were found to vary from region to region. That is, there were specific models within a region that better predicted performance than the model which predicted performance across all regions.

Managerial decision-making is an area of interest to both academia and practitioners. Researchers found that managers often fail to manage complex decision-making tasks and system thinkers assert that generic structures known as systems archetypes help them to a great deal in handling such situations. In this paper, it is demonstrated that decision makers resort to lowering of goal (quick-fix) in order to resolve the gap between the goal and current reality in the “drifting the goals” systems archetype.

A real-life case study is taken up to highlight the pitfalls of “drifting the goals” systems archetype for a decision situation in the Indian two-wheeler industry. System dynamics modeling is made use of to obtain the results.

The decision makers fail to realize the pitfall of lowering the goal to resolve the gap between the goal and current reality. It is seen that, irrespective of current less-than-desirable performance, managers adopting corrective actions other than lowering of goals perform better in the long run. Further, it is demonstrated that extending the boundary and experimentation results in designing a better service system and setting benchmarks.

The best possible way to avoid the pitfall is to hold the vision and not lower the long term goal. The managers must be aware of the pitfalls beforehand.

Systems thinking is important in complex decision-making tasks. Managers need to embrace long-term perspective in decision-making. This paper demonstrates the value of systems thinking in terms of a case study on the “drifting the goals” systems archetype.

The overall objective of this study is to holistically analyse the complexities involved in the adoption of sustainable wood supply chain in the Amazon and to develop strategic interventions to improve the system.

This study uses the systems thinking and modelling framework that included problem structuring followed by the development of a systems model. Tumbira and Santa Helena do Inglês, two Amazonian communities, were used as a case. Data were collected by staying inside the Amazon, observing the community members and interacting with them during their activities, including logging inside the forest.

A behaviour over time (BOT) graph developed as a part of problem structuring showed that deforestation of the Amazon is still increasing, despite the creation of protected areas and NGO activities in the region. Developing a sustainable wood supply chain is considered as one of the approaches for sustainable forestry in the Amazon, but its adoption is slow. The systems model captured the underlying structure of this system and explained this counterintuitive behaviour using eleven interacting feedback loops.

This study is confined to two Amazonian communities and recognises the limitations of generalisations.

This paper illustrates the development of three strategic interventions to improve the adoption of sustainable wood supply chain in the Amazon.

This study highlights the real issues faced by real communities living in the Amazon for adopting sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. It contributes to the literature on sustainable wood supply chain by systemically analysing the challenges in its adoption, not sufficiently discussed in the literature.

Despite a strong research output in quality in recent years, the literature is still scant in empirical studies of commonly held quality theories. Empirically investigates the operational and strategic impact of improved process quality and describes the construction of a model of process quality and its correlates in manufacturing. Using empirical data, the study performs a micro assessment of the impact of quality on operations performance. Implications for the business unit as a whole are also considered. Since the research domain of the study is manufacturing industry, the conformance dimension of quality has been adopted as a more precise and measurable definition than those followed in other research. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used for analysing the magnitude and direction of hypothesized relationships, a rigorous and reliable way of testing multivariate data and path models. Research findings generally support the consensus view that there is a favourable impact of enhanced quality in the form of improvements in productivity, inprocess inventory, on‐time delivery, and manufacturing cost. Flow‐through effects on business performance were also noted though not in all dimensions. This research complements marketing‐oriented evaluation which has been a feature of approaches to date.

The 1980s have seen the emergence of a new perception of productivity and its relationship to quality, cost and profitability. Supported by the startling success of the Japanese and other East Asian nations, the traditional notion that superior quality and high productivity and profitability are mutually exclusive has been seriously challenged by academics and managers alike. While most company studies point to a positive relationship between quality and productivity, the results of the empirical studies are mixed. Recent research by the author confirms that the quality‐productivity relationship is situation‐dependent. This article first discusses this relationship in the “total productivity” context. Then, some key empirical studies and their results on quality and its correlates, namely, productivity, cost and profitability are presented and discussed. Finally, the areas of vital importance for further research in this field are outlined.

This paper presents a theoretical research framework that was used to analyse operational risk management (ORM) system practices in Australia. It provides a new perspective on how to use national and international operational management system standards as a basis for systematic management of operational risks. Based on the extensive literature review and the analysis of operational risk management system practices that are common in Australian organisations, this paper identifies the critical factors for effective use of an ORM system. The proposed framework could also be used as a model to research ORM system applications in other countries.

The authors developed a pedagogical framework called the game-based structural debriefing (GBSD) to leverage the affordances of video games for teaching systems thinking. By integrating system dynamics visualization tools within a set of debriefing activities, GBSD helps teachers make systems thinking an explicit goal of the gameplay and learning when they use available educational games in the classroom.

This study uses a design-based research methodology with the goals of validating GBSD and investigating the utility of GBSD across different contexts as a design source to develop game-based curriculum. Over the course of 12 months, the authors conducted one focus group interview and three design workshops with participating teachers and master teachers. Between the workshops, the team rapidly iterated the framework, as well as curricular materials, in collaboration with the teachers.

The authors developed a curriculum unit that integrates systems dynamics visualization tools and a video game for middle school life science ecosystem curriculum. The unit was implemented by the three teachers who participated in the co-design. The implementations confirmed the flexibility of the unit because teachers created additional instructional materials that supplemented the GBSD protocol and addressed the unique limitations and needs of their classrooms.

GBSD builds on system dynamics, which is a distinct academic discipline and methodology, and it uses its visualization tools, which are not widely used in the systems thinking educational literature. GBSD is also unique, in that it applies these tools within the debriefing activities developed for an off-the-shelf educational game. This paper illustrates how a design framework can be used to support teachers’ thoughtful integration of games in curriculum development.