OL Systems Thinking for a Complex World

Undergraduate | 2026

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Mode
Mode
Your study is delivered on campus and/or online
On campus, 100% online
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Area/Catalogue
BUSI 3044
Course ID icon
Course ID
203151
Campus icon
Campus
Adelaide City Campus West, Online
Level of study
Level of study
Undergraduate
Unit value icon
Unit value
6
Course owner
Course owner
School of Management
Course level icon
Course level
3
Work Integrated Learning course
Work Integrated Learning course
No
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Inbound study abroad and exchange
Inbound study abroad and exchange
The fee you pay will depend on the number and type of courses you study.
Yes
University-wide elective icon
University-wide elective course
Yes
Single course enrollment
Single course enrolment
Yes

Course overview

This course adopts a systems thinking perspective to explore the challenges and opportunities of managing in complex organisational and social environments. Building on skills and knowledge gained throughout the program, the course provides a framework in which to explore the essential messiness of living systems and the complexity and unpredictability of outcomes. Assessment will focus on the use of environmental and organisational information to diagnose problems, to propose alternative solutions and then to consider possible outcomes to complex business problems.

Course learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the complex and multi-dimensional nature of the issues we face, locally and globally, and the role of connectedness and diversity;
  • Explicate the structural components of systems and how they shape system behaviour;
  • Explain how different kinds of ‘leverage point’ affect the outcome of systemic interventions;
  • Identify and address the standard patterns (‘archetypes’) of system dynamics that may give rise to the unintended and perverse consequences of our interventions in systems; and
  • Engage effectively with ‘messy’, uncertain environments and the apparently intractable problems that emerge from complex, ‘living’ systems

Availability

Census date Icon
Census date
Fri 23/01/2026
Enrol by date
Enrol by date
Fri 02/01/2026
Last day to W
Last day to W
Mon 09/02/2026
Last day to WF
Last day to WF
Mon 23/02/2026

Class details

Online

Class number
Class number 12028
Section
Section 01OL
Size
Size 500
Available
Available 500
Dates Days Time Campus Location Instructor
- Online ,

Census date Icon
Census date
Fri 27/03/2026
Enrol by date
Enrol by date
Fri 13/03/2026
Last day to W
Last day to W
Fri 10/04/2026
Last day to WF
Last day to WF
Fri 08/05/2026

Class details

Online

Class number
Class number 20072
Section
Section 01OL
Size
Size 30
Available
Available 30
Dates Days Time Campus Location Instructor
- Online ,

Census date Icon
Census date
Fri 11/09/2026
Enrol by date
Enrol by date
Fri 21/08/2026
Last day to W
Last day to W
Mon 28/09/2026
Last day to WF
Last day to WF
Mon 12/10/2026

Class details

Online

Class number
Class number 64032
Section
Section 01OL
Size
Size 500
Available
Available 500
Dates Days Time Campus Location Instructor
- Online ,

Prerequisite(s)

N/A

Corequisite(s)

N/A

Antirequisite(s)

  • must not have completed COMMGMT3508OUA Systems Thinking for a Complex World at the University of Adelaide

Fee calculator

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Study Abroad student tuition fees are available here.

Only some Postgraduate Coursework programs are available as Commonwealth Supported. Please check your program for specific fee information.

The Student Contribution amount displayed below is for students commencing a new program from 2021 onwards. If you are continuing in a program you commenced prior to 1 January 2021, or are commencing an Honours degree relating to an undergraduate degree you commenced prior to 1 January 2021, you may be charged a different Student Contribution amount from the amount displayed below. Please check the Student Contribution bands for continuing students here. If you are an international student, or a domestic student studying in a full fee paying place, and are continuing study that you commenced in 2025 or earlier, your fees will be available here before enrolments open for 2026.

Degree list
The following degrees include this course