Making Choices About Situations and Systems

Abstract

The case is made that: (1) we are always in situations, never outside them; (2) we have choices that can be made about how we see and relate to situa- tions; and (3) there are implications which follow from the choices we make. Importantly, one of the choices that can be made is to see a situation as a system, but as is explained, there are many implications in making this choice that can trap the unwary or uninformed. Through the means of a conceptual model of prac- tice that enables exploration of the question: What do we do when we do what we do?, and a reading that exemplifies the Open University (UK) approach to systems practice, a case is built to see systems practice as a process and a means of bringing forth systems of interest or relevance in any situation.