DDES9905 Immersive Design - Complexity and Wicked Problems - Free Sampl

The problems of future, those that relate to unsustainable practices, are not 'simple' matters of environmental degradation, the loss of social cohesion or cultural values in the pursuit of economic gain. The reality is that these problems are novel or unique. There is a ‘no stopping rule’ – you can’t hit the pause button on them while you think about what to do about them. The problem itself if often not understood until the formulation of the solution, they have no single cause, effect or alternative solution - they are Wicked.

To solve Wicked Problems we need to employ Systems Thinking.

In this assessment you are go to be reviewing one of the Frameworks presented in Week 2. Concerning your chosen framework you should consider;

How does this framework recognize that Sustainability problems are Wicked Problems?
How does this framework encourage or recognize the need for Systems Thinking? 

Introduction

Human activities have brought the world on the edge of depletion due to the numerous activities which are ruining the environment with a rapid speed. The aim of this assignment is to understand the sustainable problem which has now been transformed into a wicked problem. This wicked problem is due to an inter-relationship between elements of the environment and the elements of human activities that are ruining the environment. There is a need for a system thinking approach and which is essential for handling the issue of wicked problems. The wicked problems are continuous in nature, there is no way to pause them or stop them.

Wicked Problems & System Thinking

According to a theorist Horst Rittel, wicked problems are problems related to the social and also cultural problems which are impossible to solve due to many prominent reasons. These reasons may include incomplete knowledge, the involvement of too many opinions, the economic burden and the interconnection of various problems. Some of the sustainability problems have been recognized as wicked problems (Azapagic and Perdan, 2014). The modern activities of humans have raised some serious concerns for the sustainability of the planet. Some issues like deforestation, biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, scarcity of water, depletion of resources, climate change and many other have now also been identified as wicked problems. Climate change is a sustainable problem which is now being identified as a wicked problem which requires immediate response and intervention from various parts of the world. This sustainable problem which is now a wicked problem has to be analyzed with a systematic framework that has three main core concepts (Barkemeyer et al., 2015). They are inter-relationships, perspectives and boundaries. This systematic framework will also help in providing solutions to control this problem.

The climate change problem is now majorly described as one of the wicked problems. The framework first step is inter-relationships. The problem of climate change is due to a number of inter-relationships between various environmental activities that are conducted by human being. This inter-relationship of hazardous activities by the human on the environment has created a vicious circle which is harming the environment and have turned a sustainable problem into a wicked problem (Davison, Patel and Greyling, 2015). These ill-structured issues of the humans display an inter-relationship that is of several social and environmental factors. The next step of this framework is perspectives. Understanding a situation through the eyes of another person is the key of this concept. Perspectives can only be examined through empathy. The climate change problem requires to build new insights to understand the seriousness of the situation and to tackle it logically (J. Hämäläinen, 2015). But this is the most difficult part of climate change. The less interest that has been displayed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on a climate policy, shows the perspective of the world who is not bothered by such a humongous wicked problem. Though the interest by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is not surprising, but the capabilities of any policy on climate change are very limited even at their best (Endl, 2017). The third part of this framework is boundaries. According to this concept, there are responses of people that finalize what’s in and what’s out. The main issue with the climate change problem is also the reactions which are from different countries, popular people and communities. There is a disconnection between the huge scientific communities, stakeholders, social activists, environmental activist, the population and the media too. This shows a disjointment which is also due to the lack of knowledge about the problems of climate change and the growing wicked problem which is continuous in nature (Meckenstock, Barbosa-Póvoa and Carvalho, 2015). And the few interested people and communities have suggested some solutions, but there are mixed motives which are difficult to understand. There is an imbalance between the various approaches.

All these three concepts of a systematic frameworks also suggests and encourages a need for a system thinking. System thinking is an approach which looks at a problem as a whole system rather than the various elements of problems. The concepts inter-relationships, perspectives and boundaries hints for a system thinking approach. The various elements of nature are interrelated like water, air, plants, animals and movement (Waddock, 2013). This is being effected by the human activities towards the environment. This inter-relationship encourages a system thinking approach to deal with this matter as an entire system rather than dealing with different elements differently. The climate change problem is increasing with each year. Each year the summers are getting warmer from the previous year and also the winters are getting chillier. There is an urgent need for the problem of climate change to be addressed. The climate change has a massive impact on the different factors which are global, national, organizational and industrial. The systematic framework of inter-relationships, perspectives and boundaries thus completely suggest and identifies a requirement for a system thinking approach to tackle this issue as a whole. The systems thinking approach is a structural functioning unit which helps in bringing a huge change in the wicked problems which may come slowly and gradually but they have high chances of working (Zijp et al., 2016).

Conclusion

The sustainability problem climate change has been transformed into a wicked problem due to the ignorance to the situation from different countries, communities, organization and the population. The framework helped in knowing and understanding the problem in a better way and also the emergency which is required towards it. The climate change problem is increasing with a rapid rate and like all the complex problems there is no stop to them, they will keep incrementing. The climate change will further affect the future and the current attitude of people towards it hints at even more severe issues. The need for a system thinking by the framework is a plan which should be immediately executed due to the various the alarming signs. Our environment is interrelated with each and every thing on this planet. Thus the conservation and the preservation is vital for the generation of today and tomorrow.

References

Azapagic, A. and Perdan, S. (2014). Sustainable chemical engineering: Dealing with “wicked” sustainability problems. AIChE Journal, 60(12), pp.3998-4007.

Barkemeyer, R., Stringer, L., Hollins, J. and Josephi, F. (2015). Corporate reporting on solutions to wicked problems: Sustainable land management in the mining sector. Environmental Science & Policy, 48, pp.196-209.

Davison, A., Patel, Z. and Greyling, S. (2015). Tackling wicked problems and tricky transitions: change and continuity in Cape Town's environmental policy landscape. Local Environment, 21(9), pp.1063-1081.

Endl, A. (2017). Addressing “Wicked Problems” through Governance for Sustainable Development A Comparative Analysis of National Mineral Policy Approaches in the European Union. Sustainability, 9(10), p.1830.

Hämäläinen, T. (2015). Governance Solutions for Wicked Problems: Metropolitan Innovation Ecosystems as Frontrunners to Sustainable Well-Being. Technology Innovation Management Review, 5(10), pp.31-41.

Meckenstock, J., Barbosa-Póvoa, A. and Carvalho, A. (2015). The Wicked Character of Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Evidence from Sustainability Reports. Business Strategy and the Environment, 25(7), pp.449-477.

Waddock, S. (2013). The Wicked Problems of Global Sustainability Need Wicked (Good) Leaders and Wicked (Good) Collaborative Solutions. Journal of Management for Global Sustainability, 1(1), pp.91-111.

Zijp, M., Posthuma, L., Wintersen, A., Devilee, J. and Swartjes, F. (2016). Definition and use of Solution-focused Sustainability Assessment: A novel approach to generate, explore and decide on sustainable solutions for wicked problems. Environment International, 91, pp.319-331.