Abstract:

System archetypes represent a powerful tool for managers in order to coping with complexity and providing appropriate decision-making support. Knowledge and tools of systems thinking play nowadays an important role in more effective organisation management. Thus, understanding and utilisation of system archetypes are necessary for successful transformation to the learning organisations. Theoretical part of this paper focuses on explanation of the meaning of system archetypes in systems thinking. The aim of this manuscript is to present existing gap between theoretical foundations and real knowledge possessed by top-managers in the sample organisations. The investigation focuses on finding the extent of practical usage in their organisations. Altogether 54 active high-ranked top-level managers fulfilled the self-directed questionnaire. The results of the research reveal the insufficient explicit knowledge of system archetypes, which are mostly recognised based on working experience rather than previous training. This fact might have negative impact on future development of organisations, whose top managers are condemned to repeat past mistakes and ignore causal links in decision making.