Systemic Practice and Action Research, Vol. 18, No. 5, October 2005 ( C 2005) DOI: 10.

1007/s11213-005-8483-5

A Soft System Analysis of Nonprot Organizations and Humanitarian Services

Zeinab Karake Shalhoub1,3 and Jameela Al Qasimi2
Received January 18, 2005; accepted July 4, 2005 The purpose of the paper is to analyze the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS), a not-for-prot organization serving people with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from a soft systems methodology (SSM) perspective. KEY WORDS: Sharjah. SSM modeling; nonprot organizations; humanitarian services;

1. INTRODUCTION In the UAE, like in other countries both within and outside the Middle East, there has been a big wave of structural changes within the public sector which resulted in huge reductions in the donation to humanitarian organizations. Due to this, the SCHS has to develop a better strategy to raise money in order to keep its programs functioning at an acceptable level; and this is the main purpose of this paper. Looking at the literature, one nds that the humanitarian service sector has been ignored from the research agenda, and the few studies made do not emphasize the soft issues involved in decision making in these institutions. The major contributions of this paper are two-fold; rst, it is a case study of a humanitarian service organization which has been viewed by many, even in the UAE, as a black box; second it is the rst application of SSM methodology in a Middle-Eastern organization operating in the humanitarian service industry. The nonprot sector has received attention in the past few years as evidenced by the coverage in trade as well as academic periodicals.4 The research follows the
1 MIS,

American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE. Chairperson of the Family Supreme Council and Director-General of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS). 3 To whom correspondence should be addressed at MIS, American University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 26666, Sharjah, UAE; e-mail: zkarake@aus.edu. 4 Examples of Journals dedicated to the nonprot sector are Nonprot & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Voluntos and Nonprot Management & Leadership.
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2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

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tradition of the interpretive and action oriented approach, where we are looking at a real life situation with the objective of both acquiring knowledge about the situation in order to improve it. The framework adopted in this research includes systems thinking as viewed by the soft systems approach. The soft approach characterizes design as a personal process very much subjected to the worldviews, visions, and mental models of the people concerned with the design process. The paper is organized as follows; rst, the SSM development, characteristics and attributes are covered. Soft system methodology as a tool, give us the ability to perceive a system in a given situation as it perceives by all different stakeholders. It is a kind of insight which enables us to look at complex, confused situation and perceive degree of order or interconnection in the perceptible chaos. The methodology builds on the interpretative paradigm and is a methodology which recognizes the role of individuals world images and the inuence of historical background on the interpretation of reality (Jayaratna, 1994, p. 176). Even though the roots of SSM are in systems theory and system engineering, it has gradually moved from the hard area dealing what is to be accomplished into focusing on the perspectives through which activities are to be carried out. As stated by BergavallKareborn et al. the methodology as a whole has changed from the seven-stage model to the two streams (logical and cultural) model. (p. 56). In addition, the original focus on structures and processes has been replaced with the social, political, and historical focus. Implications of SSM thinking for humanitarian services community: (1) Emphasis on a problem-solving and interdisciplinary approaches within and among the community as a human activity system; (2) Determining the factors that impinge on the performance and motivation of the roles and actors in all sub-systems; (3) Understanding and approaching problems on multiple levels (bottom up and top down); (4) Attempts for change and intervention within the community through participation of all stakeholders; (5) Considering recursive and dynamic relation between community and its physical, biological, and human environment which enable us to communicate with it in a sustainable framework. The following section describes the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS), and goes on to model the City from an SSM perspective, by identifying the problem, expressing the problem situation, creating a root denition, conducting a CATWOE analysis, constructing a Rich Picture, evaluating the real situation to the proposed modeled situation, and coming up with a list of recommendations to improve the status quo. 2. SOFT SYSTEMS METHODOLOGY (SSM) The view that systems ideas could be applied in business organizations and beyond emerged in the years following the Second World War. Key features of such ideas were that as a collection of interrelated parts, a system as a whole

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has properties which are created through the synergy of interrelation which are greater than the sum of the parts. Applying such ideas to organizations, it was assumed that as problematic human activity systems, organizations could be engineered toward solutions of varying degrees of optimality or satisfaction (Checkland, 1985). During the 1970s, a challenge to these views emerged. The challenge was based on a fundamental difference between the idea of systems as a rst-order reality, that is, the idea that systems really exist and can be dened, designed, and engineered, and systems as a second-order reality, as a way of talking and thinking using the idea of system as a metaphor. The difference between these two views was eventually summarized as the difference between hard and soft systems thinking, given rise to soft systems methodology, SSM (Checkland, 1983). Soft systems methodology (SSM) (Checkland and Schools, 1990) is a wellknown methodology that aims at tackling real-world problems of management. As such, it has been used both for information systems design and for systems design and learning in general. It focuses on models of perceptions, not models of complex reality and is especially suited for problem situations labeled as complex and pluralistic. Hence, the focus of attention for SSM is on peoples perceptions of reality, their worldview, rather than on external reality as such. This focus on perceptions and worldviews has its rationale in the belief that, without changes in peoples worldview or weltanschauung, signicant changes in social systems will not prevail.

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The SSM process, which according to Checkland is, in fact a method for the more formal articulation of the workings of what Vickers terms the process of appreciation (Checkland, 1979, p. 325), consists of four main phases: nding out; systems modeling; comparison; and, taking action, illustrated in Fig. 1. It is not the phases in themselves that makes SSM particular because as Checkland himself points out, they are all everyday mental acts (Checkland, 1981, p. 214), and can be found in most methods and methodologies aimed at change. Rather, it is particularly is the way in which these phases are perceived, due to the epistemological and methodological Weltanschauung of the originators of SSM. Even though it is possible to start the process at any phase (it is the relation between the phases rather than their order that is important), it usually starts in the rst phase by an exploration of a real-world situation of concern (left center, Fig. 1), initiated because someone perceives that situations as problematic and wants to do something about it. The purpose of the exploration is to provide a better understanding of the situation in question and it is usually summarized in a so-called Rich Picture (Checkland and Schools, 1990). From the Rich Picture, issues, judged by the analyst or someone else to be relevant for improving the problem situation, are selected and modeled using systems concepts (upper right-hand corner, Fig. 1). These models, depicted as square boxes, illustrate different perceptions or interpretations of the real-world situation under study and represent activities that logically need to be performed in order to reach a certain purpose. Because of this, they are referred to as conceptual models of human activity systems (HAS) (Checkland, 1971, 1981; Checkland and Schools, 1990), and the class human activity systems comprises all activities that are carried out by human beings. In order to form a whole or a system, these activities are linked to each other by some principle of coherence or some underlying purpose or mission. Further, these models should be neither account of the real world, nor Utopian designs, but rather epistemological devices which help to structure a debate. In the third phase, the models of human activity systems are set against actual perceptions of the situation, based on individuals appreciative settings and, to some extent, depicted in the Rich Picture (right centre, Fig. 1). Through the comparison, and the debate it creates, new insights are revealed and appreciative settings may be changed, hopefully in such a away that accommodations between different interests and views can be reachedaccommodations that emerge as both feasible and desirable and can lead the way towards actions to improve the situation. This represents the fourth phase and is depicted at the bottom of the gure. The implementation of agreed-upon changes, or actions to improve the situation, then becomes the new problem situation and this way the methodology comes full circle. However, if changes cannot be agreed upon, a more extended examination of relevant systems will be necessary.

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Fig. 1. Rich Picture.

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The purpose of the modeling phase is to mimic different perspectives of the problem situation and to structure the thinking of the same. In order to do this, some precise techniques have been developed, which consist of root denition (RD); PQR; CATWOE, and conceptual models (CM) of human activity systems. Root denition means naming, in a short statement, a system of purposeful activity. The formal rules for a well-formulated root denition are that it should contain the elements of the mnemonic word CATWOE (Smyth and Checkland, 1976) and/or include the elements of PQR (Checkland, 1999). PQR refers to the statement Do P by Q in order to contribute to achieving R and answers the three questions: What to do (P); How to do it (Q); and Why do it (R)? The aim of the conceptual model is to represent the minimum number of logically contingent activities that need to be carried out in order to accomplish what has been dened in the root denition, and which the actors could, in principle, carry out right away. These models are not models of parts of the real world, as was pointed out above, but rather ideal types in Webers sense. This means that each model is formed by the one-sided accentuation of a certain perception of the world, that is, by a worldview or Weltanschauung. Since the Weltanschauung is different for different people and since a particular Weltanschauung of a particular person changes through time, Checkland argues that there is no such thing as the real human activity system. Hence, in a sense, human activity systems do not exist; only perceptions of them exist, perceptions which are associated with specic Ws (Checkland, 1981, p. 219). This means that both the concepts human activity systems and conceptual models cannot exist without the concept Weltanschauung. Further, every concept in the root denition should nd expression in the conceptual model, and the conceptual model should reect all aspects of the root denition, but no others. The aim is to achieve a pairing of root denition (what the system is) and conceptual model (what the system must do in order to be the system named in the root denition) which are manually consistent (Checkland, 1981). Until recently, it was argued that conceptual models ought to represent whats rather than hows since they originate from root denitions and these latter usually dene a what (Checkland, 1981; Wilson, 1992). It was also argued that, in order for the comparison phase to result in an outcome that is as effective as possible, the what of the conceptual model should be compared with the how of the real world. Although companies have to be aware of the needs of all stakeholders, some stakeholders are considered more important than others. Their ranking differs from company to company and time to time depending on current demands, pressures, and goals. All humanitarian services societies need to review and improve their fund-raising and revenue-generation activities regularly. A healthy organization generates the necessary resources for its services from a diversied nancial base. Humanitarian services organizations can safeguard their independence from

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governments and enjoy stability when they develop a coherent strategic plan for resource development, and practice marketing and public relations. In most countries, resources provided by local and federal governments and the community are not sufcient to sustain humanitarian programs and services in the long run. Therefore, a vital corresponding building block of organizational development is to make certain that there is an internal support system for fund-raising activities. A sound nancial development strategy is a prerequisite to generate more resources. Key to ourishing fund-raising and revenue-generating activities is the ability to develop and maintain excellent relations with all stakeholders. Fund-raising to generate revenue is a necessity in the non-prot humanitarian sector and the most important characteristic of successful fund-raising is trust. 3. SHARJAH CITY FOR HUMANITARIAN SERVICES Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) is a not-forprot organization serving people with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates since 1979. The initial aim of the City was to advance the Arab family and develop the social services it needs as authorized by decree number 611981, issued on March 11, 1981, by the Government of Sharjah. The decree established the City as an independent charity for the care of the handicapped with the capacity to conduct all legal procedures necessary to fulll its aims and objectives and to enjoy nancial and administrative independence. In UAE non-prot organizations, although independent of the government, have to be approved by it. SCHS was established by a decree issued by the government of Sharjah giving the organization nancial and administrative independence. Being a well-recognized and a credible organization, SCHS enjoys a full support from the local government of Sharjah. The government pays part of the salaries and provides buildings, land and other types of support. In addition, SCHS serves the broader goals of the government of Sharjah in the social and special needs areas being the largest and oldest such organization in the area. SCHS serves more than 2000 persons with disabilities every year. Services include early intervention, education, rehabilitation, family counseling, community awareness, teacher training, facilitation of services and accessibility in society for people with physical and mental challenges, and providing resources in Arabic on disability and special education. These, beside many other services, put a nancial burden on SCHS and its management. About 300 employees work at SCHS serving the goals of the organization through the different centers, schools, and departments. The organization is headed by a general director who along with heads of departments forms the administrative board. SCHS annual spending is about eight million dirham, most of which goes for salaries. Annual income uctuates and cannot be anticipated due to

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the fact that a large percentage of it comes from donations and fund-raising activities. Main sources of income are: r Fixed Government donations, aid, and grants. r Earnings from assets (a residential building and shops). r Nominal school fees. r Donations from individuals, companies, and institutions. r Earnings from fund-raising events and projects. r Sales of books (SCHS publications and donated publications). r Sales of products of Vocational Training Workshops. The management of SCHS, in its efforts to create a sustainable income for running basic services of the center, and with the guidance and encouragement of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, member of the supreme council, ruler of Sharjah and Patron of SCHS, started to invest in incomegenerating projects such as commercial buildings and shops to be rented as well as marketing products of its workshops. It has also started developing small business projects that serve income generation, student training and employment of people with disabilities. To gain an understanding of the situation in question the authors used interviews as a main source. These interviews were conducted as a mix semi structured interviews and open discussions. In total 10 people were interviewed at various managerial and operational levels. These interviews helped the authors articulate the problem situation, dene the root denition, conduct CATWOE analysis, build the conceptual model, and compare the conceptual model with the real situation. 3.1. Problem Situation Financial support is needed in order to establish the above mentioned projects and sustain them. The management of SCHS has set aside an investments account (also from donations) to nance new income-generating projects. We expect to have a sustained income to cover the main spending requirements within 6 years. The goal of fund-raising at SCHS is not only to bring in funds to cover its expenses. A more important goal is to have the community share responsibility of its disabled citizens through participating in these events. This will in turn lead to the community having specic expectations from SCHS resulting in improved services. Until SCHS reaches its objectives regarding income-generating projects, it will still be dependent on donations and grants to run its services. It cannot afford to have a decline in income from donations and fund-raising events even for 1 year. From the nancial reports, we have noticed a decline in donated funds from the year 2002 to the year 2003. The Finance Department at SCHS prepared a comparative report for the last 3 years (Table I) from which it was obvious that donations were

Soft System Analysis of Nonprot Organizations Table I. Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (Comparative Donations Table in Dirhams) Amount Donations General donations Zakata Al Manal Magazine Emirates Very Special Arts Sharjah Dinner Early Intervention Center Sharjah Autism Center Total
a The

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2001 3,639,929 373,597 202,000 60,000 2,423,868 1,356,500 337,978 8,393,872

2002 7,378,515 491,575 250,000 60,000 1,366,183 562,000 10,108,273

2003 5,116,312 670,295 180,000 60,000 1,347,810 158,467 7,532,884

Zakat is a form of giving to those who are less fortunate. It is obligatory upon all Muslims to give 2.5% of wealth and assets each year (in excess of what is required) to the poor.

higher in 2002 than both 2001 and 2003. As we cannot afford to wait until income declines further, we decided to conduct a Soft System Methodology analysis on this specic problem situation. Our goal is to nd out what the reasons are behind this decline in income and to come up with practical suggestions for feasible and desirable changes to help us move from the present situation to a better one. Information was collected from nancial reports, individual interviews with some members of the staff and from discussions and brain storming sessions at staff meetings. 3.1.1. Problem Situation Expressed In Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, income generated from donations and fund-raising activities is declining which means that community participation and commitment is also declining leading to a gap between SCHS and the community it serves and prospers in. The problem situation is best expressed in Rich Picture where all relevant stakeholders are identied and related concerns are investigated. 3.2. Rich Picture Here, an effort is made to list the key role players (stakeholders) in the situation and dene briey the related concerns of each. Rich picture of the problem situation is represented in Fig. 1. 3.2.1. Governments The local government of Sharjah and the UAE federal government are both involved here. The Federal Government represented by the Ministry of Labor and

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Social Affairs has no clear regulations concerning private centers for the disabled and it has no regulations on fund-raising activities. Many of the donations offered to such services through the Ministry do not reach these centers. Financial support is either not available or very little. The number of charities in a specic area is not regulated which increases competition over donations. The local government of Sharjah is one source of income. It also facilitates events and projects that SCHS organizes. For larger projects, the government offers land, free water and electricity, exemption of municipal and other fees as well as many other types of support that leads to direct or indirect income generation for the City. Also, due to governments recognition and appreciation of SCHSs role in serving the UAE society, SCHS gained trust and recognition from the community as a whole. 3.2.2. Community The community includes beneciaries of SCHSs services such as persons with disabilities, their families, staff, special education students, and others including those who nance SCHS through donations or participation in fund-raising events. The later include individuals as well as organizations. Communitys perception of SCHS as a governmental association causes reduction of nancial support as governments are viewed as the main body responsible for nancing such services. In order to gain the support of the community, information about SCHS services has to be spread. Awareness programs and different events that SCHS carries out are considered good means of passing on information. For the purpose of public awareness, the Media department at SCHS publishes a monthly magazine and puts together a weekly television program. School events and visits to SCHS are being organized all year long but it seems that information still does not reach as far as its intended to. When discussing community participation in charitable work we should include the fact that some people participate to improve their image and/or social status. Social responsibility is to be stressed, also when dealing with community as many organizations thrive to show their social responsibility in order to improve their image and feel good about their operations. Are we as charities aware of this? And how should we go about getting the best out of it? We should consider the expatriates community in our analysis since more than 80% of UAEs population consists of expatriates. Most of these expatriates do not speak Arabic, a point which we should take into consideration when publishing information and or advertising fund-raising events. Economic and political factors affect peoples willingness and/or ability to donate to charities. The war in Iraq during the year 2003 has affected negatively donations to SCHS. It has also affected the economy as a whole which in turn affected donations.

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3.2.3. Management of SCHS Along with its other obligations, the management of SCHS is concerned with generating funds to run the services as well as coming up with long-term projects and innovative ideas to sustain SCHSs income. This needs connections and requires many public relations and participation in different community events on the part of the management as well as other concerned staff at SCHS. The issue of trust is very important and this comes through transparency and sharing of information with community members as well as within the organization. Creating a sense of belonging on all different levels of the organization sustains loyal employees who on turn participate in creating trust and attracting funds to the City. 3.2.4. Media Department at SCHS The role of the Media Department is very vital as it is the mirror that reects the work of SCHS to the community and through it a feedback may be obtained. It establishes the needed trust and stresses the transparency aspect of what we want others to know about us. So, is this department doing enough? Where should it improve? And what types of media should it hit more? Many questions need to be answered here. 3.2.5. Public Relations Department at SCHS The Public Relations (PR) Department has a vital role in our issue of concern. PR ofcers have a direct contact with the community and they represent SCHS and what it reects. Here we have to look into how these ofcers contact the outside community, what they reect about SCHS, how transparent and comprehensive the information they convey to others is, and what new ideas and project should they come up with to attract peoples participation and involvement in our work. 3.2.6. Finance and Human Resources Department at SCHS The concerns here are on how to generate the needed income, how to innovate and come up with long-term income generating projects and how to fund these projects and cover the running costs of SCHS at the same time. Another concern is in what type of employees to choose, and how to keep them motivated and loyal to the City? 3.2.7. Staff of SCHS Staff of SCHS has two important roles. First is to do their job efciently and effectively in order to gain the trust of the community especially that of beneciaries of services. The second is to spread awareness and educate those whom they come in contact with about SCHSs goals and services. Staff participation in fund-raising events is vital and their voluntary work help in reducing project costs.

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3.2.8. Competition Competition consists of two main participants. One is charities in general and the other is similar centers for persons with special needs. Charities in general support SCHS work by offering money or in-kind donations. In this case their competition in attracting community funds is transformed into cooperation where both sides become partners and have a win-win situation. Centers for persons with special needs have similar goals. They usually compete in terms of services and/or fund-raising. Fortunately enough, SCHS works with other centers as partners and have no problem with this competition. 3.3. Root Denition As stated above, the root denition is a condensed statement about the system and is comparable in so many ways to a mission statement of an entity. The root denition for SCHS, based on its state mission statement follows:
There is a need for stronger community participation in SCHSs projects. This may be established through new innovative means carried out by both media and public relations departments at SCHS in order to increase donations coming from both individuals and organizations.

3.4. CATWOE Analysis CATWOE comes about as a combination of intuition and stakeholders gut feelings, and real world experience. The following table represents a description of CATWOE for the case in question: CATWOE Analysis Customer Actor Transformation People with disabilities, parents, society Management, media and public relations departments From the present medium participation of the community to a stronger and better involvement in SCHSs projects and events. Supporting non-prot service organizations is a joint responsibility among governments, private sector, and community Sharjah government, SCHSs management Economic drawbacks, political situation, priorities of governments.

Weltanchauung (World View) Owner Environmental constraints

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SCHS is an advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities. It works hand in hand with persons with disabilities and their parents. It acts on behalf of its clients. It employs persons with disabilities and has them in different committees and project teams. The Weltanschauung states that Supporting non-prot service organizations is a joint responsibility among governments, private sector and community For any non-prot organization to succeed and accomplish its goals and mission a partnership should exist among the four stakeholders i.e., governments, private sector, the community and the organization itself. To give examples, one of SCHSs goals is to help persons with disabilities nd decent and suitable jobs. This would not be possible if the government did not interfere through legislation or informal rules towards employment of persons with disabilities. Also, the private sector has a role in providing employment possibilities and adjusting the physical work environment to be suitable for those with physical disabilities. The communities role here is to accept interacting with persons with disabilities in the different work settings and to provide them with moral support. The organizations role is to prepare well-educated and trained graduates to t the job market. Environmental constraints include economic drawback and crunches affecting revenue-generation and fund-raising activities; political situation which might affect the relationship among the various local and regional humanitarian services organizations; and priorities of the local and federal governments might shift with less emphasis on public sector and humanitarian services organizations. 3.5. Conceptual Model The conceptual model comprises a representation of the minimum activities necessary to carry out the needed transformation within the stated worldview. For our case, the conceptual model formed for this root denition is attached in Fig. 2 and a comparison with real life situation follows in Table II. 3.6. The Five Es Evaluation To complete our analysis of the problem situation we have to verify that our conceptual model contains the ve Es: Efciency, Efcacy, Effectiveness, Ethicality, and Elegance. Our model is Efcient as it will give us the best return on all our activities and will maximize SCHS income from donations with the use of its scarce resources. Efcacy is present in the model as with adopting the suggested ideas, value will be delivered to end users (i.e., the community) through awareness, good services, and happy productive individuals. Effectiveness is reached through sustainability

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Fig. 2. Conceptual model.

of services as we maintain a regular income. Ethicality is reached through sharing information with the community and being transparent as to where the donated money is exactly going. Elegance, our last E, is reected through happy and satised beneciaries. It is also reected through use of the latest design software and different IT functions.

Table II. Comparison with Real Life Situation Does it exists? yes Good Need more of the organized gatherings How is it done? Judged? Comments

Activity

Management to strengthen ties with community yes On its way Slow

Management to nd new sources of income Management to implement an IT system to serve both Media and public relations goals yes

Attending Meetings and social events, having visitors in SCHS Through investment projects Better planning and good choice of partners will help Continue the work and try to speed it up. Staff training should be done before nal implementation Keep on working on it as changing attitudes is not a fast process

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Changing peoples attitudes and perceptions

Media department to nd new means of reaching the public Yes Very little

Yes

Should nd new channels to reach a different set of people Develop an electronic News letter,

No

Good so far but Still in the rst stages of very slow implementing an IT system, internal networking and W.W.W. portal Good but slow Using language that conveys sharing and social responsibility rather than asking for charity, offering services in return to income generated Good Semi-daily news in the papers, a monthly magazine, TV & radio programs Use of modern designing Need software, new skilled staff, improvement Bad A descriptive brochure and some pieces of news in daily English newspapers Unorganized lists exist here and Bad there Many such projects are organized Can be improved throughout the year

Media department to upgrade its promotional skills Media department to target English-speaking community in UAE Public relations department to have a collective data base of main funding parties Public relations department to plan innovative fund-raising projects Yes

Special ads & fund-raising activities to be directed to expatriates, attract English speaking volunteers Need to use electronic data base for all funding parties as well as potential donors May offer incentives for the best innovative ideas presented by staff 471

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4. PROPOSED CHANGES From the comparison drawn between the conceptual model and real life situationwe may adopt many feasible and desirable changes for implementation. It is in fact possible to carry on all proposed changes with little difculties. Speed at which these changes may take place might be slow due to different reasons including the need of attitudinal changes and other factors which we have no control over like wars and economic situations. A list of these proposed changes follows: 1. Organize and host more social gatherings. 2. Plan well for investment projects and be careful when choosing partners to collaborate with. 3. Continue the work in IT systems and try to speed it up. 4. Train staff on using IT systems and how to maximize their benets. 5. Continue the work on changing attitudes towards services for persons with special needs. 6. Media department should look for new channels to reach the public. 7. Media department should develop an electronic Newsletter and send it to as many people as possible, especially to those who positively participate in funding and voluntary work. 8. Special ads & fund-raising activities should be directed to the expatriate community. 9. Find means to attract English speaking volunteers from the expatriate community. 10. Develop an electronic data base for all funding parties as well as potential sources of funding. 11. Offer prizes to the best innovative fund-raising ideas presented every year by SCHSs staff.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, it is recommended that SCHS look for other sources of income and continue its investment projects to sustain a self-generated income in the long run. It is also strongly recommended that SCHS develop and keep upgrading its information technology system for the purpose of improving its records, data basis for a quicker more efcient sharing of information. At the end, I recommend that SCHS encourage innovation from within as well as from the outside. It should also organize the efforts of its volunteers. As Soft Systems methodology is an open ended technique that has a lot of potential for expanding on ideas and recommendations, we see that many of the proposed changes may be further investigated and elaborated on using SSM.

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Finally, the recommendations listed in this paper will be implemented and the authors are planning a post-implementation study in a couple of years in order to measure the impact of the changes and programs undertaken. The authors would like to note here that the recommended changes proposed above assume a continuation of SCHS in its current form (mission, purpose, organization, and relationship with the government of Sharjah). The suggested changes are expected to improve the Citys current functioning, and that none of the changes are in the nature of a radical re-thinking of the essential purpose or mission of SCHS. Our in depth analysis of the City conrms our belief that the basic form of SCHS is sound and should be continued. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to thank two anonymous referees for their comments on a previous version of this paper. REFERENCES
Bergavall-Kareborn, B., Mirijamdotter, A., and Basden, A. (2004). Basic principles of SSM modeling: An examination of CATWOE from a soft perspective. Syst. Pract. Act. Res. 17(2), 5568. Checkland, P. (1983). OR and the systems movement: Mappings and conicts. J. Operat. Res. Soc. 34(8), 661675. Checkland, P. (1985). From optimizing to learning: A development of systems thinking for the 1990s. J. Operat. Res. Soc. 36(9), 757767. Checkland, P. (1999). Soft Systems Methodology: A 30-Year Retrospective, Wiley, Chichester. Checkland, P., and Schools, J. (1990). Soft Systems Methodology in Action, Wiley, Chichester. Checkland, P. B. (1971). A systems map of the universe. J. Syst. Eng. 2, 107114. Checkland, P. B. (1979). The problem of problem formulation in the application of a systems approach. In Bayraktar B. A., M ller-Merbach, H., Roberts, J. E., and Simpson, M. G. (eds.), Education in u Systems Science, Taylor & Francis, London, pp. 318326. Checkland, P. B. (1981). Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. Wiley, New York. Jayaratna, N. (1994). Understanding and Evaluating Methodologies: NIMSAD: A Systemic Framework. McGraw Hill, Berkshire, UK. Smyth, D. S., and Checkland, P. B. (1976). Using a systems approach: The structure of root denitions. J. Appl. Syst. Anal. 5, 7583. Wilson, B. (1992). Systems: Concepts, Methodologies and Applications (2nd ed.). Wiley, Chichester.

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