[Faculty]
[University Name, Location]
Reinforcing Feedback Loop
According to Bellinger (2004), reinforcing loops can best be described by the fact that one action has a direct additive impact on another. This means that given action A and action B, it so happens that action A causes an addition to action B. In return, action B causes an addition to action A and thus each action adds to the other and thus reinforces the occurrence and/ happening of the other.
In the Industrial Service Industries of America, Inc., there are several reinforcing feedback loops that are identifiable. To start with, according to Conrad and Matuson (2009), it is clear that with increase in technology, comes increase in expectations and it so happens that employees nowadays require real-time feedback on their performance (p. 24). This is also the case in Industrial Service Industries of America as the employees require an up-to-date performance evaluation from the management. In return, the management gives the employee real-time update on their performance. This motivates the employees to work harder to improve their performance or maintain good performance that is reflected on the management’s performance output that results in positive feedback to the employee and the loop continues. This creates a positive (reinforcing feedback loop). In return, both the management finds ways to reward performing employees on a regular basis rather than wait until yearly reviews are done to give employees feedback. An employee on the other hand tries to improvise or come up with ways and means of increasing their performance on a regular basis and thus creates a learning and experimentation on various ways to improve production.
There also exists another reinforcing feedback loop between the customer and the management. The customer defines the kind of waste that needs to be recycled by the company that in return creates a business opportunity for the company. On the other hand the company management evaluates the description of the materials and if the customer would also like to purchase some recycled materials like alloys, the company management evaluates to see if the option for onsite recycling is possible and goes ahead to pursue this trend of recycling. By increasing customer’s need for recycled material, the management has been in constant research on creating as many mobile recycling plants as possible to reduce the cost of recycling and logistics. This is a learning experience that creates a reinforcing feedback loop. Galetzka, Verhoeven and Pruyn (2006) argue that the validity of a service that is offered to a customer has a direct relationship with the reliability of that service to give the customer what they want.
Between the customer and the recycling division of Industrial Service Industries of America, Inc., there exists another reinforcing feedback loop. The customer provides scrap that needs to be recycled to the division. In return, the customer expects to make use of the recycled materials through repurchase of these recycled materials either in pure form or alloys. The department assures the customer of recycling their scraps and even provides samples of their recycled materials to the customer for evaluation. Upon satisfactory evaluation and validation on the reliability of the recycled products (Galetzka, Verhoeven & Pruyn, 2006), the customer places an order to purchase the materials the need in their organization.
Balancing Feedback Loop
According to Bellinger (2004), a balancing feedback loop is an action that provides an avenue of joining two things that are otherwise in chaos. In simpler terms, a balancing feedback loop is a situation in which, one occurrence or action tends to try and solve an existing problem or tries to achieve a certain objective or goal and thus bring a balance in the system (Bellinger, 2004).
In the Industrial Service Industries of America, Inc., there are several balancing feedback loops that are evident. To start with, between the customer and recycled material like alloys, the customer provides the scrap that needs to be recycled. In return, since these scraps cannot be returned to the customer in their form, separation and creation of materials that can be used by the customer is required. This creates the need to have a recycling plant that gets the scrap and recycles that material. However, the customer cannot get these materials directly from the recycling plant but rather from the sales department and thus the recycling plant acts as a mediator between the customer and the scrap to be recycled. This means that since the scrap comes from diverse sectors and materials, there is need to develop better sorting mechanisms in the recycling plant for better and increase in reliability and purity of the recycled material. What remains constant is logistics to the customer.
Another balancing feedback loop that is evident is between the customers and the company. It is clear that the company cannot in any way talk to the people but rather customers can only talk to customer service personnel or the management (who are human). However, without the company, the personnel would not exist and thus employees and the management hide under the name of the company. The company’s name in itself cannot give the customer what they need but the employees can provide the services as per the customers’ specification. It is noted in Hill and Tombs (2011) in their research that customers can tolerate customer service providers/ personnel with a certain accent, to a certain extent above which there is no communication. Since the company employs people from diverse backgrounds, it is possible to have those whose accents are intolerable. However, while hiding under the umbrella of Industrial Service Industries of America, Inc., their mistakes can be overlooked.
Lastly, there also exists a balancing feedback loop between the environment and the customer. To start with the customer gets whatever they want from the environment as natural resources, that either they or someone else, converts to other usable forms for application in diverse fields. Upon expiry of its utility, the items become disposables and this is where the recycling companies come in. the scrap is sent for recycling to enable them to be reused. However, the company does not add to the environment but rather gathers from the environment other necessary ingredients to enable recycling and thus there is a negative feedback. Since not all materials are completely recycled, there is still ongoing research on how to maximize recycling so as to ensure that all materials are recycled. This provides both a learning experience from the constant research on the sector and improvement of the available technology that takes care of recycling as well as investment in new and improved or better technologies that are in the market.
Reference List
Bellinger, G. (2004). Introduction to systems thinking: the way of systems, Systems Thinking, 1-4.
Conrad, S., & Matuson, R. (2009). Feedback loop. Mechanical Engineering, 131(8), 24-25. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/230181696?accountid=45049
Mirjam Galetzka, Joost W. M. Verhoeven, Ad Th.H. Pruyn, (2006) "Service validity and service reliability of search, experience and credence services: A scenario study", International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 17 Iss: 3, pp. 271 - 283.DOI (Permanent URL): 10.1108/09564230610667113
Sally Rao Hill, Alastair Tombs, (2011) "The effect of accent of service employee on customer service evaluation", Managing Service Quality, Vol. 21 Iss: 6, pp. 649 - 666. DOI (Permanent URL): 10.1108/09604521111185637
