Currently, sustainability science is mainly based on conscious information and strongly focused on analytical tools or strategies. Thus, tools, concepts or strategies around sustainability are limited to mainly rational... [ view full abstract ]
Currently, sustainability science is mainly based on conscious information and strongly focused on analytical tools or strategies. Thus, tools, concepts or strategies around sustainability are limited to mainly rational approaches as well as limited in success broadly. Lozano (2015) stresses the need for changes in mental models, behaviour and activities and, thus, rethinking traditional ways and perspectives of discussing and integrating sustainability challenges. Moreover, nowadays, many disciplinary questions cannot be answered or dealt with anymore in a disciplinary context. Many disciplinary questions and challenges become and are interdisciplinary challenges in many ways. So, the increasing complexity and digitalisation in production environments often causes problems in the interaction of cognitive machines and human as well as in the way of handling outcomes of advanced analytics, models and simulations in order to optimise sustainable production processes. This can be caused by cognitive biases – either in decision-making processes or in the assumption and programming structure of simulations and big data analytics – and results in increased production-related costs and reduced sustainability effects. However, unconscious thought theory (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006) stresses particular advantages of both types of thinking. Nordgren et al. (2011) proofed the combination of both modes of thinking, conscious and unconscious thinking, in complex contexts and decision-taking situations as best. The authors emphasize that unconscious thinking can aggregate plentiful characteristics better than conscious thinking, whereas letter mode avoids rule-violating options better. The new method systemic structural constellations “provide[s] powerful and creative ways to clarifying and resolving complex, possibly intractable issues associated with organisations” (Wade, 2004: 194), systems or social actors. The core idea is that particular foci of complex systems, such as production system, can be represented and simulated through spatial arrangements or physical layout of persons or symbols. It has been shown that these arrangements can be used for manifold issues to reveal so far unknown impact factors and revealed cause-and-effect relationships (Kopp, 2013). So, the guiding research question is “How can the use of systemic structural constellations improve modelling and IT-based decision-making processes in highly complex and digitalized production environments in order to increase sustainability?” Based on two constellations workshops with production and logistics managers from industrial practice of steel production, automotive production and machining industry as well as students, the research work shall provide insights concerning: (1) how systemic structural constellations are an appropriate methodology to build bridges between unconscious and conscious knowledge and (2) content-based development for the design of future IT systems and data visualizations. Latter addresses the question how to manage growing complexity and the challenges of digitalisation considering human cognitive biases affecting decision making in production environments in order to secure sustainability effects and the impacts of simulation outcome. Systemic structural constellations open up a new perspective on how to overcome challenges of production systems and make use of the advantages of digitalisation by accepting and managing human biases in a complex environment.
1a Sustainable development science: fundamental concepts (definitions, fundamental concept
