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By D.H. Meadows, 2008, White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.
OSH professionals read a lot of OSH-related books, which makes sense. But it is also essential to go beyond topics specific to our profession. Doing so broadens our perspective and facilitates learning how to apply broader concepts and theories, especially in areas related to business management and systems theory.
On the advice of a presenter (Ron Gantt) of a webinar I participated in and an OSH colleague (Jim Howe), I picked up a copy of Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows. It is an excellent primer in systems theory, presented in a manner that allows for expansive applications, both to organizations in general and to OSH more specifically.
Meadows's method of describing systems is a main reason I enjoyed this book because I am someone who learns best by visualizing. In describing the elements of a system and how they work together, Meadows uses a simple bathtub analogy. At the core of any system are the elements you can see, feel, count or measure (e.g., products to be sold,...