BALURAN, MISSY L PROF.

ARIEL FERNANDEZ
BSBA MM 3-H PRINCIPLES OF SYSTEMS THINKING

MOVIE TITLE: THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

1. GIVE THE SYNOPSIS OF THE MOVIE.

In 1981, Chris Gardner, a salesman in San Francisco, invested all his family's money in
expensive medical equipment, hoping for a better future. However, the decision leads to financial
ruin and strains his relationship with his wife, who leaves him for a job in New York. Despite
this, Chris remains dedicated to caring for their son, Christopher, and sees an opportunity to
pursue a career as a stockbroker.

Chris faces numerous hardships during his pursuit of the stockbroker internship. He struggles to
make ends meet, loses his home, and is forced to seek shelter in a church with his son. Despite
these challenges, he persists in his efforts, even when he loses his last bit of money to taxes and
becomes homeless.

After enduring months of hardship and uncertainty, Chris's perseverance pays off when he is
offered a job as a broker. Overwhelmed with emotion, he rushes to share the news with his son,
knowing that their struggles have finally led to a brighter future. The story ends with Chris and
his son walking together, symbolizing their journey from adversity to success.

2. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE SYSTEM THINKING OF THE STORY?

Systems thinking means understanding how different parts of a situation work together and affect
each other. In Chris Gardner's story, things like not having a job, problems in his marriage,
money troubles, and personal difficulties all impact his family's life.

Everything in Chris's life is connected. When he decided to buy those bone-density scanners, it
messed up his finances because selling it to the hospitals is not easy and made things tough with
his wife. Not being able to sell the scanners meant he couldn't pay bills, and when they got
stolen, it made things even worse. Chris had to find another job, but doing an unpaid internship
made things even harder.

All these problems led to Chris's wife leaving, which made him feel even worse and made it
harder to take care of his son. Then, when he lost $600 to taxes, he and his son ended up
homeless and had to stay in a Glide Memorial United Methodist Church. But Chris didn't give
up. He worked really hard to sell those scanners to the doctors, study for his internship, and
impress his bosses.

In the end, Chris's hard work paid off. He passed his exam and got the job as broker at Dean
Witter, which made him and his son happy. This story shows how everything in life is connected,
and how important it is to keep going even when things get tough.

3. WHICH PART OF THE MOVIE STORY IS THE TYPE OF THINKING IS A LINEAR

THINKING?

In linear thinking, there is a clear progression from one event to the next, without considering the
complexity or interconnectedness of different factors.

The first example in the story that applies linear thinking is when Chris Gardner struggled
financially, so he decided to apply for a job as a broker so that he could be financially stable
enough to pay his bills such as taxes, rent, parking tickets, and his son’s daycare. Another
instance is when a lady stole his scanner, and he immediately chased her because losing it means
losing one month’s groceries.

4. WHICH PART OF THE MOVIE STORY IS THE TYPE OF THINKING IS AN

EVENT-ORIENTED THINKING?

An activity that has occurred or will occur is called an event. According to the theory of
event-oriented thinking, every event has a reason, and altering the cause would also alter the
event.
Throughout the movie, Chris describes four parts of his life. First is “riding a bus." He and his
son always ride a bus because it is a means of transportation they need to ride on to go home.
The reason they only ride a bus for awhile is because their cars are taken due to unpaid parking
tickets. If Chris pays his tickets on time, he can use a car instead of a bus.

The second part is “being stupid." Chris describes this part as stupid because he left his scanner
with a stranger who later stole it. If only Chris left it in a safer place or with a trusted person, he
wouldn’t get frustrated or stressed over the loss of a very important item.

The third part is “being a runner." Chris always runs because he chases people who keep
stealing his scanner. He also runs when he can’t pay his yellow cab fee. If only Chris were
careful and budgeted his money, he wouldn't waste his energy running for and from people.

The fourth part is "happiness." The reason or cause of it is that Gardner finally got a job as a
stockbroker at Dean Witter. He passed the internship and can finally live an easy life.

5. WHICH PART OF THE MOVIE STORY IS THE TYPE OF THINKING IS A

LATERAL THINKING?

Lateral thinking is the process of approaching problem-solving creatively and indirectly using
reasoning that is not immediately obvious. It deals with concepts that might not be accessible by
conventional sequential logic alone.

One example of lateral thinking is seen in Chris's decision to pursue a stockbroker internship at

Dean Witter as a means of improving his financial situation. Despite lacking formal education or

experience in the field, Chris recognizes the potential opportunities offered by the internship and

is willing to take a non-traditional route to pursue a career in finance.

Additionally, when faced with the challenge of homelessness due to financial difficulties, Chris

demonstrates lateral thinking by seeking shelter at the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church.

Rather than resigning himself to despair or accepting his circumstances passively, Chris actively
seeks out resources and support systems that can provide temporary relief and stability for

himself and his son.

The last example is Chris being creative in answering the questions by the interviewer when he

shows up only wearing jeans and a shirt with paint on it (which is not appropriate for a work

interview). In the end, the interviewer was impressed by him.

Verbatim in the said scene:

Christopher Gardner : [during the interview for the internship position] I've been sitting
out here for the last half-hour trying to come up with a story that would explain my being
here dressed like this. And I wanted to come up with a story that would demonstrate
qualities that I'm sure you all admire here like earnestness, diligence, team-playing. And I
couldn't think of anything. So the truth is, I was arrested for failure to pay parking tickets.

Martin Frohm : [during the interview room, with Twistle, Frakesh, and Frohm present]
What would you say if a man walked in here with no shirt, and I hired him? What would
you say?

Christopher Gardner : He must have had on some really nice pants.

6. WHICH PART OF THE MOVIE STORY IS THE TYPE OF THINKING IS A

CRITICAL THINKING?

The first scenario is that Chris Gardner uses critical thinking to solve Rubik's cube in front of
Jay Twistle when they are both riding in a yellow cab.

Verbatim in the said scene:

Christopher Gardner: It works around a swivel, so the center pieces never move. So if it’s
yellow in the center, that’s the yellow side, right. If the center is red, that’s a red side….

Fact: According to Fun Master (2023) solving the cube is a process that requires a great deal of
critical thinking, problem-solving, and spatial awareness.
The second scenario is Chris analyzing the broken bone-density scanner and purchasing a bulb
and ferrite core inductor. But before Chris was able to purchase those, he donated his blood to
gain money. In the end, he successfully sold it.