Today's leading authority on the subject of this text 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.
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 Dynamic Systems 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 the Growth of New Products 10. Path Dependence and Positive Feedback Part IV.Tools for Modeling Dynamic Systems 11. Delays 12. Coflows and Aging Chains 13. Modeling Decision Making 14. Forming Non-linear Relationships Part V.Instability and Oscillation 15. Modeling Human Behavior: Bounded Rationality or Rational Expectations? 16. Forecasts and Fudge Factors: Modeling Expectation Formation 17. Supply Chains and the Origin of Oscillations 18. Managing Supply Chains in Manufacturing 19. The Labor Supply Chain and the Origin of Business Cycles 20. The Invisible Hand Sometimes Shakes: Commodity Cycles Part VI. Validation and Model Testing 21. Truth and Beauty Part VII. Commencement 22. Challenges for the Future Appendix A: Numerical Integration Appendix B: Noise References Index
