REPLY High-Tech Company Dynamics (SD6077)

[Michael Bean mbean forio.com]

Posted by  Michael Bean <mbean at forio.com>
Hi Mary,

Obviously infinite growth isn't possible, but in the context of high-tech 
start-up company dynamics, sustainable growth would mean avoiding overshoot 
and collapse behavior that can occur from growth and under-investment. That 
is, if a company grows too quickly without sufficient investment in people, 
marketing, capacity, etc., sales can grow rapidly for a time and then rapidly 
decline.

This is the behavior modeled in several classic system dynamics models, 
starting with Forrester's market growth dynamics and also described in the 
People Express Management Flight Simulator, Boom & Bust Enterprises, and in 
the "Growth and Under-Investment" archetype in Senge's Fifth Discipline to 
name a few.

Best regards, Michael

Michael Bean
Forio Business Simulations 
Posted by  Michael Bean <mbean at forio.com>
posting date  Mon, 04 Dec 2006 10:37:52 -0800