Business Dynamics

Introduction

Part I. Perspective And Process
1. Learning In And About Complex Systems
2. System Dynamics In Action
3. The Modeling Process
4. Structure And Behavior Of DynamicSystems

Part II. Tools For Systems Thinking
5. Causal Loop Diagrams
6. Stocks And Flows
7. Dynamics Of Stocks And Flows
8. Closing The Loop: Dynamics Of Simple Structures

Part III. The Dynamics Of Growth
9. S-Shaped Growth: Epidemics, Innovation Diffusion, And TheGrowth Of New Products
10. Path Dependence And Positive Feedback

Part IV. Tools For Modeling Dynamic Systems
11. Delays
12. Co-Flows And Aging Chains
13. Modeling Human Behavior: Bounded Rationality Or RationalExpectations
14. Forecasts And Fudge Factors: Modeling ExpectationFormation 

Part V. Instability And Oscillation
15. Supply Chains And The Origin Of Oscillations
16. Managing Supply Chains In Manufacturing
17. The Labor Supply Chain And The Origin Of Business Cycles
18. The Invisible Hand Sometimes Shakes: Commodity Cycles 

Validation And Model Testing

Appendix A: Numerical Integration
Appendix B: Noise
References
Index

Today’s leading authority on the subject is the author, MIT Standish Professor of Management and Director of the System Dynamics Group, John D. Sterman. Sterman’s objective is to explain, in a true textbook format, what system dynamics is, and how it can be successfully applied to solve business and organizational problems. System dynamics is both a currently utilized approach to organizational problem-solving at the professional level, and a field of study in business, engineering, and social and physical sciences.