| Course | MBAX 6007 Complexity and Systems Thinking Dynamics |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 6 |
| Paper type | Discussion post |
| Length | About 510 words, 3 pages |
| Format | Discussion post, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration (MBA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MBAX 6007 Week 6
Week 6 Discussion: Testing Each Other's Models
The Joint I Trust Least in My Staffing Model: Should Discharge Planners' Memory of Refused Referrals Sit Inside the Boundary?
Last week I built a two-stock model of Hearthside Home Care, the made-up home-health agency I have used all term: people move from a hiring pipeline into an active roster, and leave through quits at 4 percent a month. The hiring rule replaces expected quits and closes the gap between need and last month's roster over two months, while ignoring anyone still in screening or training. With demand held at 120 aides, the run overshoots to about 137 and swings back below need, which matches the shape of the agency's yearly cycle.
The relationship I trust least is the one I left out. My model treats demand as steady, as if hospital discharge planners send the same number of referrals whatever Hearthside does. In my experience they do not. When we turn referrals away in a shortage, planners remember. For months afterward they call our competitors first, even when we have aides to spare. If that is right, demand responds to our own record: a shortage today lowers referrals later, which deepens the surplus that follows the hiring wave and makes the next swing larger. Sterman (2000) warns that treating a variable as outside the model when it actually responds to the model's own behavior is one of the most common modeling errors, and I may have made it.
So my question for the class is narrow: does referral memory belong inside my model's boundary, or is it a separate problem I should leave outside? Classmates whose organizations depend on referrals from people free to send them elsewhere would be especially helpful here. Even a rough sense of how long a referral source holds a grudge would help. If the answer is yes, I will need some way to estimate how long planners remember a refusal, which I suspect is longer than the shortage that caused it.
Reply to Owen
Owen, your restaurant staffing model holds the server quit rate constant. I wonder whether tips belong in it. In slow weeks, servers earn less in tips, and in my experience that is when they start looking elsewhere, so quits may rise exactly when the restaurant has too many servers for the covers it is serving. That would be a balancing loop much like the short-hours loop in my agency. Could you estimate tips per server per week from your sales data and test whether quits follow them?
Reply to Leah
Leah, your clinic appointment model treats no-show rates as fixed, but you mentioned that wait times for appointments have grown. Patients who wait three weeks for a visit may be more likely not to show up, which would turn the no-show rate into something your own scheduling produces. Meadows (2008) suggests asking of every constant in a model whether it is really constant or just slow to change. Senge (1990) observes that today's problems often come from yesterday's solutions, and a long booking queue built to keep doctors busy may be one of those.
References
Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer. Chelsea Green Publishing.
Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. Doubleday.
Sterman, J. D. (2000). Business dynamics: Systems thinking and modeling for a complex world. Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
Reading the MBAX 6007 Week 6 instructions
In Week 6 you share your model with classmates and invite correction. Summarize the model in a few sentences so readers reach your question quickly. Then name the relationship or assumption you trust least, and explain why it might be wrong, ideally with an example from experience. Connect the doubt to a modeling principle from the readings. Ask one specific question rather than inviting general comments, since a narrow question gets useful answers. In replies, look for a constant in a classmate's model that might actually respond to the model's own behavior, and suggest how they could test it. A main post near 420 words and two replies of about 160 is the usual size.
How this MBAX 6007 Week 6 example is built
The first paragraph summarizes the pipeline, the roster, the quit rate, the hiring rule and the base run's overshoot. The second names steady demand as the weakest assumption, describes planners' memory of refusals and cites Sterman on misclassified variables. The third asks whether referral memory belongs inside the boundary and invites classmates who rely on referrals, adding a note on estimating how long planners remember. The reply to Owen proposes tip income as a driver of server quits and suggests testing it against sales data. The reply to Leah suggests that long appointment waits may raise no-shows, citing Meadows on constants and Senge on yesterday's solutions.
Reading the MBAX 6007 Week 6 rubric
Model critique posts are graded on candor and on the quality of the question. Naming the model's weakest assumption, and explaining why it might fail, earns most of the credit. A concise model summary helps readers engage. Linking the doubt to a modeling principle shows understanding. One specific question scores higher than a general request for feedback. Replies are credited when they identify a plausible missing feedback in a classmate's model and suggest a feasible test, rather than offering praise. Posts that defend the model as finished, or replies that comment only on presentation, earn fewer marks. The tone should be open and collegial. Instructors notice when a reply suggests a test the classmate could actually run.
MBAX 6007 Week 6 help from the desk
Look at every constant in your model and ask whether it really stays fixed when the rest of the system changes. The one you feel least sure about is usually the one to name. Describe a real moment that made you doubt it. Then write a single question you want classmates to answer, such as whether a variable belongs inside the boundary. Keep the model summary to three sentences. When replying, read a classmate's model the same way and look for a constant that their own system might be pushing. A common shortfall is a post that asks for any feedback at all. If you are unsure which assumption to question, tell us about your model.
Get a MBAX 6007 Week 6 example written to your instructions
Send your model, or a sketch of it in words, and the Week 6 discussion prompt with its rubric; include classmates' posts if the replies are due. The custom post, with its replies, comes back in 24-48h, the first free, with your model's weakest assumption named and every reply proposing one variable and its effect.
More MBAX 6007 papers and MBA samples
- MBAX 6007 Week 1: Systems Orientation Post
- MBAX 6007 Week 2: Causal Loop Diagram Paper
- MBAX 6007 Week 3: Stock and Flow Map Paper
- MBAX 6007 Week 4: System Delay Analysis
- MBAX 6007 Week 5: Spreadsheet Modeling Exercise
- MBAX 6007 Week 7: Model Boundary Memo
- MBAX 6007 Week 8: Two-Scenario Write-Up
- MBAX 6007 Week 9: High-Impact Remedy Analysis
- MBAX 6007 Week 10: Draft Workshop Submission
- MBAX 6007 Week 11: Final System Dynamics Paper
- MBAX 6005 Week 6: Symbolic Frame Analysis
- WMBA 6882 Week 6: Kotter Model Application
- WMBA 6695 Week 6: Persuasive Proposal for Approval
- WMBA 6633 Week 6: Coaching Questions Practice
MBAX 6007 Week 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MBAX 6007 Week 6 sample paper?
The model critique post and replies to Owen and Leah are published below, open to read for free.
Which assumption does the MBAX 6007 Week 6 post question?
That demand is steady, when discharge planners may send fewer referrals after the agency has refused them.
What question does the post ask the class?
Whether referral memory belongs inside the model's boundary or should stay outside.
What does the reply to Owen suggest?
That tip income, which falls in slow weeks, may drive server quits and belongs in his restaurant model.
What does the reply to Leah suggest?
That long appointment waits may raise no-show rates, making them something the clinic's scheduling produces.