The current approach to performance measurement in British Columbia is to select and match performance measures with strategic goals and objectives so that health administrators and decision makers can evaluate the performance of different care sectors (e.g. primary, community and acute care) within the provincial health system. Although this approach offers basic understanding of system performance, it is static and considers the performance of organizational components in isolation from their interrelationships and external influences. The purpose of this research is to enhance the current performance measurement approach in BC by linking health system variables through causal relationships and feedback loops that can impact and lead to health system sustainability. The qualitative system dynamics method was applied to develop a conceptual performance measurement model. Fifteen interviews with stakeholders were conducted at the BC Ministry of Health to validate and improve the pre-validation model. A post-validation model was then created based on the feedback and comments from the 15 interview participants. As a product of this research, the post-validation model, Web of Measures 2.0, will explain how the identified cause and feedback mechanisms both internal and external to the BC health system may help determine policy levers for designing and developing quality improvement initiatives. Although quantitative analysis is out of scope for this research, potential benefits of inputting BC data into the proposed model are discussed at the end of this thesis. / Graduate / 0769 / 0790 / qi.william.yang@gmail.com

<p>During the evolution of the music industry, developments in the media environment have required music firms to adapt in order to survive. Changes in broadcast radio programming during the 1950s; the Compact Cassette during the 1970s; and the deregulation of media ownership during the 1990s are all examples of changes which have heavily affected the music industry. This study explores similar contemporary dynamics, examines how decision makers in the music industry perceive and make sense of the developments, and reveals how they revise their business strategies, based on their mental models of the media environment.</p><p>A qualitative system dynamics model is developed in order to support the reasoning brought forward by the study. The model is empirically grounded, but is also based on previous music industry research and a theoretical platform constituted by concepts from evolutionary economics and sociology of culture. The empirical data primarily consist of 36 personal interviews with decision makers in the American, British and Swedish music industrial ecosystems. The study argues that the model which is proposed, more effectively explains contemporary music industry dynamics than music industry models presented by previous research initiatives.</p><p>Supported by the model, the study is able to show how “new” media outlets make old music business models obsolete and challenge the industry’s traditional power structures. It is no longer possible to expose music at one outlet (usually broadcast radio) in the hope that it will lead to sales of the same music at another (e.g. a compact disc).</p><p>The study shows that many music industry decision makers still have not embraced the new logic, and have not yet challenged their traditional mental models of the media environment. Rather, they remain focused on preserving the pivotal role held by the CD and other physical distribution technologies.</p><p>Further, the study shows that while many music firms remain attached to the old models, other firms, primarily music publishers, have accepted the transformation, and have reluctantly recognised the realities of a virtualised environment.</p>

During the evolution of the music industry, developments in the media environment have required music firms to adapt in order to survive. Changes in broadcast radio programming during the 1950s; the Compact Cassette during the 1970s; and the deregulation of media ownership during the 1990s are all examples of changes which have heavily affected the music industry. This study explores similar contemporary dynamics, examines how decision makers in the music industry perceive and make sense of the developments, and reveals how they revise their business strategies, based on their mental models of the media environment. A qualitative system dynamics model is developed in order to support the reasoning brought forward by the study. The model is empirically grounded, but is also based on previous music industry research and a theoretical platform constituted by concepts from evolutionary economics and sociology of culture. The empirical data primarily consist of 36 personal interviews with decision makers in the American, British and Swedish music industrial ecosystems. The study argues that the model which is proposed, more effectively explains contemporary music industry dynamics than music industry models presented by previous research initiatives. Supported by the model, the study is able to show how “new” media outlets make old music business models obsolete and challenge the industry’s traditional power structures. It is no longer possible to expose music at one outlet (usually broadcast radio) in the hope that it will lead to sales of the same music at another (e.g. a compact disc). The study shows that many music industry decision makers still have not embraced the new logic, and have not yet challenged their traditional mental models of the media environment. Rather, they remain focused on preserving the pivotal role held by the CD and other physical distribution technologies. Further, the study shows that while many music firms remain attached to the old models, other firms, primarily music publishers, have accepted the transformation, and have reluctantly recognised the realities of a virtualised environment.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de desenvolver e propor um modelo para integrar o Pensamento Sistêmico a partir da Dinâmica de Sistemas Qualitativa nas etapas Definir e Medir do DMAIC em projetos Seis Sigma que apresentem complexidade dinâmica. Esse modelo foi denominado DUMAIC, pois propõe a introdução da fase Understand Entender, nas etapas do DMAIC. Para o alcance desse objetivo, a metodologia de pesquisa escolhida foi a Pesquisa Ação. A aplicação do modelo deu-se em uma empresa de grande porte, uma empresa de médio porte e em um hospital. O trabalho desenvolveu-se baseado em entrevistas e reuniões com os participantes das equipes Seis Sigma para a explicitação dos modelos mentais a respeito dos problemas e posterior construção em grupo dos modelos dinâmicos qualitativos dos projetos. O resultado mais significativo obtido foi comum a todos os projetos: a descoberta de modo compartilhado pelos integrantes das equipes, ao longo da construção dos modelos qualitativos, de relacionamentos não óbvios entre variáveis causais, responsáveis pela dinâmica nos sistemas. Desse resultado, outros foram gerados, entre eles: a identificação de variáveis comuns a dois projetos Seis Sigma que seriam tratadas separadamente de modo não sistêmico; a descoberta de que as fronteiras entre departamentos dificultavam a análise de um problema, onde causa e efeito estavam distantes no tempo e espaço; a percepção de que o arquétipo Shifting the Burden ou Transferência de Responsabilidade dita muitas vezes o comportamento das equipes e que, quando descoberto, é possível sair em busca da solução fundamental. / The purpose of this paper is to develop and propose a model to integrate Systems Thinking through Qualitative System Dynamics, in the Define and Measure phases of the DMAIC process, in Six Sigma projects, which present dynamic complexity. Such model has been called DUMAIC as it proposes the introduction of the Understand phase in the DMAIC process. In order to reach this objective, the chosen research methodology was Action Research. The model was applied to a large-size company, a medium-size company and a hospital. The work developed was based on interviews and meetings with Six Sigma team members for elicitation of mental models on the problems and later construction, in groups, of the qualitative dynamic models of the projects. The most significant result obtained was common to all the projects: the finding, in a shared way by the members of the teams, while building the qualitative models, of non-obvious relationships between causal variables responsible for the dynamics in the systems. From this result others were generated, among them: identification of variables common to two Six Sigma projects which would be addressed separately in a non-systemic way; the finding that the borderlines between departments would make it difficult to analyze a problem, where cause and effect are distant in time and space; the perception that the \"Shifting the Burden\" archetype very often commands the behaviors of the teams, and that when it is found, it is possible to go in search of the fundamental solution.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de desenvolver e propor um modelo para integrar o Pensamento Sistêmico a partir da Dinâmica de Sistemas Qualitativa nas etapas Definir e Medir do DMAIC em projetos Seis Sigma que apresentem complexidade dinâmica. Esse modelo foi denominado DUMAIC, pois propõe a introdução da fase Understand Entender, nas etapas do DMAIC. Para o alcance desse objetivo, a metodologia de pesquisa escolhida foi a Pesquisa Ação. A aplicação do modelo deu-se em uma empresa de grande porte, uma empresa de médio porte e em um hospital. O trabalho desenvolveu-se baseado em entrevistas e reuniões com os participantes das equipes Seis Sigma para a explicitação dos modelos mentais a respeito dos problemas e posterior construção em grupo dos modelos dinâmicos qualitativos dos projetos. O resultado mais significativo obtido foi comum a todos os projetos: a descoberta de modo compartilhado pelos integrantes das equipes, ao longo da construção dos modelos qualitativos, de relacionamentos não óbvios entre variáveis causais, responsáveis pela dinâmica nos sistemas. Desse resultado, outros foram gerados, entre eles: a identificação de variáveis comuns a dois projetos Seis Sigma que seriam tratadas separadamente de modo não sistêmico; a descoberta de que as fronteiras entre departamentos dificultavam a análise de um problema, onde causa e efeito estavam distantes no tempo e espaço; a percepção de que o arquétipo Shifting the Burden ou Transferência de Responsabilidade dita muitas vezes o comportamento das equipes e que, quando descoberto, é possível sair em busca da solução fundamental. / The purpose of this paper is to develop and propose a model to integrate Systems Thinking through Qualitative System Dynamics, in the Define and Measure phases of the DMAIC process, in Six Sigma projects, which present dynamic complexity. Such model has been called DUMAIC as it proposes the introduction of the Understand phase in the DMAIC process. In order to reach this objective, the chosen research methodology was Action Research. The model was applied to a large-size company, a medium-size company and a hospital. The work developed was based on interviews and meetings with Six Sigma team members for elicitation of mental models on the problems and later construction, in groups, of the qualitative dynamic models of the projects. The most significant result obtained was common to all the projects: the finding, in a shared way by the members of the teams, while building the qualitative models, of non-obvious relationships between causal variables responsible for the dynamics in the systems. From this result others were generated, among them: identification of variables common to two Six Sigma projects which would be addressed separately in a non-systemic way; the finding that the borderlines between departments would make it difficult to analyze a problem, where cause and effect are distant in time and space; the perception that the \"Shifting the Burden\" archetype very often commands the behaviors of the teams, and that when it is found, it is possible to go in search of the fundamental solution.

Drinking water supply insecurity is globally on the rise, and prevalent in most low and middle-income urban areas. Multiple responses have emerged to cope with the lack of a reliable and equitable supply of safe and sufficient drinking water in cities, which presents a wide range of social-ecological implications. Yet, many of the analyses to date are focused on predominantly technological, ecological, and economic perspectives, overlooking broader cultural and political dimensions. What are the elements and the interrelationship between them that sustain the lack of drinking water supply security at an urban scale? The empirical case study is located in Mexico City, the capital city of one of the most drinking water-insecure countries globally and among the world’s five largest metropolitan areas. Qualitative data is elicited from a literature review and semi-structured interviews with key experts and urban stakeholders. The results provide an integrated understanding of the proposed system structure that created and maintain the water supply problem in the long-term. Hindrances include knowledge lock-ins and critical dynamics that inhibit the political support to transition towards a drinking water security scenario. This study shows that drinking water supply crisis in the study area and other cities with similar conditions need to be understood as multi-dimensional and from a system perspective, by challenging underlying assumptions and embracing interconnectedness. Key feedback mechanisms are presented in causal loop diagrams, allowing the exploration of higher-order leverage points to reduce existing path-dependencies as one increasingly important research area, and potentially relevant for decision-makers.