Industrial Dynamics is a recently developed and fast moving area of management analysis. Since its inception it has gained both staunch opponents and severe critics. This paper is an attempt at an impartial appreciation of Industrial Dynamics. The model-building process employed in ID is briefly described. The ID is discussed as a simulation approach to problem solving. The strengths, the apparent shortcomings and areas of applicability are discussed. Next a question is raised regarding ID's claim to the status of a “general systems theory.” It is suggested that little evidence to date qualifies ID to be viewed as a distinctive body of theory about behavior of firms.