Industrial Dynamics—After the First Decade

Industrial dynamics, described as the application of feedback concepts to social systems, is evolving toward a theory of structure in systems as well as being an approach to corporate policy design. In high-order, nonlinear systems, with multiple loops and both positive and negative feedback, are found the modes of behavior which have been so puzzling in management and economics. The time is at hand when more sharply defined concepts and principles can form a core through management education to interrelate the functional areas and to move from static to dynamic understanding of systems. To do so should help close the gap between what the management school can now teach and what the manager must understand if he is to successfully cope with the increasing complexity of our society.