ABSTRACT
System dynamics deals with how the structure of a system and its information flows determine behavior—the control of growth, stability, decay, success, and failure. The field focuses on the way internal feedback-loop relationships cause a system to change through time. Understanding why a system behaves as it does permits redesign of structure and policies to improve behavior. The ideas and methods of system dynamics are applicable to natural, human, and technical systems. The field combines theory and computer simulation with a very practical application to real-world problems. Building an electrical system from discarded automobile parts was a very practical undertaking and another step in learning how to succeed in uncharted territory. System dynamics shows how structures and policies, which are well-known in the operating arenas, can produce the successes and difficulties that are being experienced. The modeling of corporate growth moved system dynamics out of physical variables like inventory into much more subtle considerations.
