Systems and Delays

Martin Janiczek explores how delays in systems create counterintuitive behavior, using the example of a car dealership manager trying to maintain inventory at 10 times daily sales. The article, drawn from his reading of "Thinking in Systems," demonstrates how even in an ideal scenario without delays, a manager can immediately respond to demand changes by ordering and receiving inventory the next day. Janiczek uses a simulation framework based on systems thinking concepts like stocks, flows, and feedback loops to illustrate how delays affect decision-making and system outcomes.