A Stock, in Systems Thinking, is the stored accumulation of stuff. While a system is dynamic over time, if we were to take a snapshot at any time, the stock would be the only thing that is visible of the system.
Examples for Stock are:
- The amount of water in a bathtub
- The amount of rabbits in a rabbit population
- The amount of cash in a bank account
The amount of stock in a system depends on how much comes into the system (the Inflow) compared to how much goes out of the system (the Outflow). If both are the same then a dynamic equilibrium is reached. Otherwise it grows or shrinks.
Related
- Systems Thinking
- Flow
- Feedback Loop
