Customer Reviews

Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World with CD-ROM

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The field of system dynamics was created in 1956 under the leadership of MIT Professor Jay W. Forrester to evaluate how alternative policies affect growth, stability, fluctuation, and changing behavior in corporations, cities, and countries. Forrester founded the System Dynamics Program in the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management at MIT. John Sterman is currently Director of the System Dynamics Group at MIT.

This text is a summary of the wisdom and knowledge gathered over more than twenty years of research dedicated to the study of practical methods for systems thinking and the dynamic modeling of complex systems. It is well written, easy to understand, and worthy of serious consideration.

I believe the text is destined to become a classic. It is written in a straightforward style and does not require prerequisite knowledge of higher mathematics. Indeed, in the author's words, "one of the strengths of the text is the way it presents system dynamics with a minimum of mathematical formalism. The goal is to develop the reader's intuition and conceptual understanding, without sacrificing the rigor of the scientific method." This goal is achieved well.

The text opens with a succinct and well organized description of approaches to the study of complex systems. It develops a set of principles for successful use of systems dynamics and provides well-written overviews of the Modeling Process and dynamic systems.

It covers the construction of causal loop diagrams and describes their application in a variety of business and engineering examples.

This is one of the best texts in its field for upper division undergraduate courses and graduate programs. It will be useful to many in business, engineering, and science.

John Sterman has written a superb book that masks the underlying calculus and reveals the capability of causal loop based situation analysis. The examples in the book are absolutely mind-boggling in scale and brilliance with which they are written. The wide applicability of system dynamics is revealed though the large problem spectrum covered in all the chapters of the book.

Without needing to run through the software enclosed in the book, one can easily perceive the dependant causation of a specific problem by following the simple rules expained early on in the book for drawing reinforcing and balancing conditions that drive the causes leading to a specific problem being addressed.

By focusing on the software (which is enclosed on the CD ROM) to develop a problem solving approach, one has to work hard to create a balanced problem and this is not easily done by merely reading the book. I am considering further training in this aspect to master the topic by taking some more ExecEd courses that John Sterman teaches at MIT Sloan along with Jay Forrester and Peter Senge or even taking the eight week remote learning course offered toward credit at the System Dynamics program at Sloan.

I deal with complex IT architectures in my work on a daily basis involving financial, technical and business driven dependencies for Fortune 1000 firms. I use causal looping as taught by John and others at MIT Sloan to understand the path to cut through the complexity and reach an action plan that I can recommend to my clients.

The book has helped me tremendously in my work in the last few months that I have been reading it on airplane trips between my office and customer offices. For a busy consultant, this is a tremendously useful way to spend flight time.

I would give it 5 stars for the content except that the book is not available in e-Book format, forcing me to carry it with me in my laptop bag on flights(its a heavy tome at 900 + pages) and the software on the CD-ROM is not updated to the most current version one can download from the Vensim website nor can it be used for commercial purposes.

This book is the ultimate resource for any serious learner of System Dynamics. Sterman covers all aspects of SD modeling in a witty and easy-to-understand- manner. He deals extensively with the foundations of SD modeling, treats extensively causal loop diagramming, the logic of stocks and flows, gives numerous examples of practical SD projects, makes an in-depth investigation into all kind of building blocks of SD models etc. All the models of the book are avaliable on the added CD in the Vensim, Stella and Powersim data formats. Although published just in spring 2000, it is IMHO already a classic. A last word: Business Dynamics is not cheap, but it is worth every cent or penny you spend for it. There may be other good or even excellent SD-textbooks, but "Business Dynamics" is simply outstanding and a category in its own.

You won't find a better more informative book. This should be required reading for any consultant interested in solving real world complex business problems. It goes into detail with examples and stories about actual projects that any good management consultant should be capable of tackling.

An outstanding book.

This book is a must for anyone with interest in business modeling and simulation. It is the culmination of Forrester's seminal book on System Dynamics + the 40 odd years maturation that has occured in this discipline since 1961.

Though this book with 900 odd pages is large, it could have been useful if it had at least one serious case study which flowed through all the chapters and linked all the concepts. This would have helped potential practioners. In its current form the book contains many examples to explain the concepts, but none detailed enough. Many a times the author mentions that the actual models were complex, and a simplified version is being shown in the book. This however does not help the reader to understand and appreciate the complexities involved. It is probably because the concerned organizations were not willing to reveal "too much" lest they loose their IP.

Sterman's book is far and away the best and most comprehensive book on system dynamics for business. Although the title is "Business Dynamics" it really is a text on applying system dynamics to both business and larger social issues/systems.

If you are a strong student of business and systems then this is the book for you. It is highly recommended if you are interested in learning the most you possibly can regarding system dynamics and how to model systems. However, if you are searching for an introduction to this area - watch out. The book is actually quite advanced - it is used at MIT and other graduate business programs at top universities.

What is amazing about this book is that it blends absolute precision, correctness and detail with practical modeling advice and insight and it is written in a relaxed style with numerous examples. It is one of the best examples of clear writing about a complex topic. Dr. Sterman's years of system work has allowed him a level of clarity that is unsurpassed in the business and systems area.

As mentioned earlier, the book can be overwhelming and I would recommend a newcomer to this area to pick up several books first, to provide a more gentle introduction. This is not a contradiction of what I wrote earlier, it is simply that the book packs so much information in its pages, and it is still very long.

Highly recommended.

This book was an eye opener for applying systems theory outside of the usual electrical/mechanical engineering presentation. Should be required reading for anyone considering business consulting. One of my personal challenges had been how to use the tools from systems theory appropriately in a business framework and this text provides ample guidance.
It succeeds in maintaining a technical approach while at the same time there is actually very little math for a systems book.
I am only rating 4 stars instead of 5, because I would like to see the relationships between the models in the book and those of traditional control systems engineering related at a more mathematical level (even if only in an extended appendix). It is obvious the author has made the connections but he keeps much of the math hidden.

Go ahead; get this book and be happy. If you're new to system dynamics, tell your family and friends that for the next ten years you'll be quoting endlessly from Sterman's insights. If you're deeply experienced in system dynmaics, better prepare them for at least the next twenty years. John captures the essential knowledge generated in the field and writes it in ways that will appeal to most everyone. Need a jump start to formulate a sticky set of circumstances? It's in Business Dynamics. But if you're like me, you'll find yourself reading on and on even after you got your answer. This book is as brilliant as his popular lectures at MIT. It is the best single book on system dynamics available.

I would like to congratulate John for an outstanding achievement. I think he has captured everything that is interesting, relevant as well as the necessary theory to apply System Dynamics in a wide range of areas. I think the CD attachment is a great idea and the challenges are very challenging! The book is equally useful to students, consultants and academics and captures the essence of all the previous SD literature that I have read so far. I will take great pleasure in reading the book in detail and recommending it to others.

Professor Sterman made a complete book of system dynamics method, system thinking to manage complexity if you are interested to create your mental model in a computer-aided model I strongly recommend this comprehensive book on modelling & simulation of complex problems.

"Es un buen libro una buena compra".