Journal of the Operational Research Society (1999) 50, 309±310

#1999 Operational Research Society Ltd. All rights reserved. 0160-5682/99 $12.00 http://www.stockton-press.co.uk/jor

System dynamics at Mannheim University P Milling Industrieseminar der Universitaet, Mannheim, Germany

System dynamicsÐor industrial dynamics as the approach was called back in its early daysÐcame to Mannheim in 1968. Gert v. Kortz¯eisch, who was then head of the Industrieseminara (which comprises the Chair of Operations Management and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Technology in the Faculty of Business Administration at Mannheim University), had read Edward Roberts' book on The Dynamics of Research and Development1, and he visited MIT to meet Jay W. Forrester. It took v. Kortz¯eisch only a brief time span to recognise that system dynamics went far beyond the scope of a R&D-speci®c method. As a result system dynamics became, and still is, the paradigm of teaching, research, and consulting at the Industrieseminar. Erich Zahn and Peter Milling were sent immediately to MIT and had the opportunity to learn system dynamics from the founders of the ®eld, gain ®rst hand experience, and later apply and deepen their knowledge in the Club of Rome project The Limits to Growth.2 Since 1969, system dynamics courses have been taught each semester at Mannheim, and these courses continued even after Erich Zahn and Peter Milling had left Mannheim to teach at other universities. Peter Milling later succeeded v. Kortz¯eisch as head of the Industrieseminar at Mannheim. Still, every semester a classic `Principles of Systems' course is taught which is mandatory for all students in operations management. It is totally dedicated to system dynamics. During the course, which includes small case studies, students are taught the theoretical background of feedback systems thinking and numerical simulation as well as being introduced to visual modelling software. In order to do their diploma studies at the Industrieseminar students have to pass an end-of-course exam. Course topics include, for example, planning and control in complex systems, the process of model development, playing the `beer-game', ®rst order systems and delays, the use of generic structures, and problems of quanti®cation and validation. For modelling assignments students use a freely distributed `Personal Learning 1 Edition' of Vensim . A second, optional course is offered at least once a year and covers more advanced topics. Here, students have to Correspondence: Professor Peter Milling, Industrieseminar, Mannheim University, D-68131 Mannheim, Germany. E-mail: [email protected].

build and analyse a more extensive simulation model. For instance, they develop a model showing the effects of different ®nance and investment strategies in an enterprise. Another possibility is the development of a complex diffusion model. This is a step by step case study based on the research done at the Industrieseminar.3 The courses are very interactive as the students have to present and pursue the structures they built. There is no formal degree in system dynamics at Mannheim, but the ®eld is integrated into the curriculum for the diploma (approximately equivalent to an MBA) in business administration. Over the past 30 years, thousands of students have been exposed to system dynamics at Mannheim University. Very many of them still gratefully acknowledge how system dynamics shaped their view, and how they pro®ted from their exposure to the concepts of feedback, dynamics, and delays. Already during their studies future decision makers had and still have the opportunity to gain insights into the complexity of dynamic systems. System dynamics helps students of business administration to develop an integrated view of organisations, markets, and competitors. The ability to command such an overview of reality is identi®ed as an important trait of successful managers in various opinion polls. Therefore, as the students prepare to become managers in their later business careers, they should acquire not only theoretical knowledge of complex systems but also `close-to-reality' experiences of decision making in such systems. The combination of theory and simulated practice should substantially improve their readiness to lead and manage. Therefore, besides lectures, the Industrieseminar provides practical educational training grounded on system dynamics based learning environments, for example a corporate planning game, case study courses using business simulators, etc. More than one hundred system dynamics based master's theses have been submitted, many of them done in collaboration with ®rms such as airlines, consulting companies and manufacturers. Several dozen PhD dissertations have been written with or on system dynamics, covering the whole ®eld from methodology to business applications, from corporate growth, innovation dynamics, production planning and control to economic and ecological problems. The main research areas today are still innovation dynamics and different facets of organisational learning, for example,

310 Journal of the Operational Research Society Vol. 50, No. 4

the modelling of the process from individual knowledge to shared, organisational knowledge. Furthermore, issues concerning the design and the effectiveness of system dynamics based learning environments are being examined. Several projects have been undertaken to investigate the acceptance, usage, and repercussions of simulation models. In addition, researchers at the Industrieseminar are applying system dynamics to new areas. A current example is the international research-project. `World Class Manufacturing'. In Germany, system dynamics started in several places outside Mannheim, but in some of these locations it subsequently vanished. Only where the teachers themselves had received a long and solid education in system dynamics, has the ®eld taken root and grown. Besides Mannheim, this is the case at Stuttgart University (Erich Zahn) and Mainz University (Klaus Bellmann). Rather

recently, system dynamics also started at Cottbus University (Rainer Schwarz). Also, over the last few years there has been an encouraging growth of interest in system dynamics, especially in industry.

References 1 Roberts EB (1979). The Dynamics of Research and Development. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA. 2 Meadows DH, Meadows DL, Randers J and Behrens W (1973). The Limits to Growth. Universe Books, A Potomac Associates Book: New York, NY. 3 Milling P, Maier F (1996). Invention, Innovation, Diffusion. Duncker & Hum-blot: Berlin.