Question 1: Critique the relevance and suitability of hard or soft approach in highlighting issues faced by Siemens.
Problem-solving approaches can be divided into two broad categories, namely Hard System Methodology (HSM) and Soft System Methodology (SSM). The suitability and viability of a particular methodology to a company depends on several factors, including organizational structure, culture and the business model. SSM is applicable in tackling the types of systems that are not easy to quantify, particularly, systems involving people engaging in interpersonal interactions or interacting with their system (Wilson and Haperen 2015). The usefulness of this framework is evident in the comprehension of interactions, motivations as well as opinions. It is important to note that the soft system methodology does not give quantified or definite results. Precisely, the methodology focuses on the ‘what’ of the specific system. It ‘advises’ on what to do to improve the system. Contextually, Siemens can use this approach to model their business processes in accordance with the market demands. In that respect, the company will follow the seven stages described by the approach. Firstly, the company will need to be experiencing a problematic situation and express the issue explicitly. Subsequently, the affected systems will be defined and some of the conceptual models of the system built. The existing models will then be put in the context of the real world to determine the probable transformational elements that are not only possible, but also feasible. Finally, an action will be taken to correct the situation. While the methodology would be useful in the case of Siemens, its focus on intangibility may present significant challenges to a decentralized business model system like that of Siemens.
On the other hand, hard systems comprise simulations and concentrates on the ‘how’ of the system. The methodology is relevant to Siemens’ situation and would be useful in determining how best the company can test and apply the chosen development alternatives. However, while SSM finds relevance in unquantifiable problems, hard systems is relevant in the case that the problem is quantifiable (Katina 2015). Therefore, the application of this approach to Siemens’ case requires that unquantifiable variables like culture, politics as well as opinions be ignored. Besides, the approach treats humans as passive objects and fails to acknowledge the fact that they have sophisticated motivations. In that case, finding the solution to the problem using this approach will require the company to ignore the inputs from both customers and the employees completely. However, most business model systems require feedback to ascertain their success. Evidently, the hard systems methodology poses greater limitations to which extent the company can solve a problem.
Question 2: Apply the Soft Systems Method (SSM) to this Siemens situation case. Analyze and make suitable recommendations.