**Stage 2:**

As a continuation of stage 1 of the study, we examined the extent to which it is possible to develop systems thinking capability through engaging in a designated course aimed at teaching systems thinking foundations and basic tools.

The course was based on Senge's book *The Learning Organization* [1], and on Richmond's approach [8,9] to thinking skills. The course included basic foundations of systems thinking and the five disciplines of a learning organization (personal skills and personal vision, mental models, creating a shared vision, group learning, and systems thinking).

The course stresses the ways in which changes in thinking are created and the use of the systems prototypes.


**Figure 1.** MBTI character archetypes.

The 14-week course was conducted with two separate classes, comprised of students studying industrial engineering and managemen<sup>t</sup> and who were also employed in the industry during their studies.

During the course, the students were exposed to the theoretical approach at the base of systems thinking and, in addition, practiced analyzing events and processes using the classic Senge prototypes [1]. Moreover, the students presented examples from their personal experience at work and from their daily reality. These examples were also examined using the systems tools.

The research hypothesis was that by integrating systems thinking tools in analyzing systems processes, the students will acquire systems thinking skills, and improve their system thinking abilities when faced with a complex problem in their organization.

Table 1 shows some examples of how to use the prototypes to analyze events.


**Table 1.** Examples of using the classic Senge prototypes.

The same CEST questionnaire distributed during stage 1 was also distributed twice in the second stage of the study—before embarking on the course and after completing it.

#### **4. Results and Discussion**
