A reinforcing loop is one in which an activity creates an outcome that impacts business as usual activity in this manner bringing about development or decay. The reinforcing loop is one of the two basic structures of systems thinking, the other being the Balancing Loop. Because of the manner in which this structure reinforces itself it generally produces exponential growth or decline. This exponential change may be unnoticeable for a period of time until it reaches a certain threshold. The structure then seems to change very rapidly causing one to wonder how it began all at once, when in fact it really didn't. The growth just wasn't substantial enough to be noticed.
A balancing
loop tries to move things from the current state (the way
things are) to the desired state (goal or objective) through
some action (whatever is done to reach the goal). A balancing
loop is representative of any situation where there is a goal or an objective
and action is taken to achieve that goal or objective. The desired state interacts with
the current state to produce a gap. The desired
state is considered to be fixed during this consideration. The gap created
by the difference between the desired state and the current
state is really the motivation for action, and the larger
the gap the greater the tendency to produce action. The action taken
then adds to the current state. The current state subtracts from
the gap, thus reducing it. When the action succeeds in moving
the current state to a point where it is equal to the desired
state the gap is reduced to zero and there is no more motivation
for action.
Effective Strategies
to manage the loops
- If a reinforcing structure is producing a
desirable result it is generally referred to as a virtuous cycle. When
this happens there is a tendency to ignore it and let it go. When
everything is going just the way you want it to that's the best time to be
concerned about how to ensure it continues going the way you want it to.
- When a reinforcing structure is producing an
undesirable result it is generally referred to as a viscous cycle. The
best way to deal with a viscous cycle is to find a way to break one of the
feedback loops so the structure can no longer reinforce itself.
- Ensure there is an explicit well understood
and agreed upon definition of the desired state. If you don't know
where you're trying to get to then any action will take you somewhere.
- Ensure there is an as objective as possible
definition of the current state. It is the relation between
the desired state and the current state that forms the
basis for planning and subsequent action. If the planning is flawed
there is a good chance the resultant action will be
inappropriate to move the current state to the desired
state.
- Because action is driven by the size
of the gap there is a natural tendency for the extent
of action to decline as the current state approaches
the desired sate. This tendency accounts for the fact that as projects
approach completion it seems to be more and more difficult to make
progress toward completion. To overcome this tendency the motivation
for action must come from somewhere else other than the gap. In
terms of project completion, the focus might be to begin to think about completing
this project so the organization can get on to the next one. The answer to
the predicament lies outside the structure.
What should concern
you?
It has been
repeatedly indicated that nothing grows forever. What often happens with a
reinforcing structure is that there are limits to growth which have not yet
kicked in. The best thing to do is look for these before you run into them. Since you can't create something from nothing,
the growth comes with a cost somewhere. Consider whether the growth is creating
a decline somewhere else you haven't quite noticed as of yet. Often the
reinforcing nature of this structure is the result of a synergistic
relationship between two or more individuals, groups, or organizations. When
this is the case there is a tendency for the involved parties to take
unenlightened action which actually destroys the synergy.
The current state is what it is for some reason,
the action is taken to change the current state, or the change
in the current state itself may produce side effects which in fact
cause the current state, in time, to return. If the period of time
over which it takes action to move the current state to
the desired states is relatively long there may be a willingness to
settle for less than the initial desired state. In this instance, the goal
is never reached because the goal is lowered over time. Pursuing
this desired state may cause problems elsewhere. These problems may
actually result in increasing the goal making it more difficult to
reach. The situation may be such that the action is taken to
achieve the goal actually causes the current state to overshoot the goal. This
would then require additional action to bring the current
state back toward the goal. It is also possible that the structure
that exists promotes an endless oscillation.
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