Abstract: The invention relates to a system for providing a dialogue enabled speech application system, more particularly to a system apparatus and method for providing a mixed-initiative dialog with a user. The invention provides a discourse manager unit utilizing a dynamic finite-state machine that allows the creation of temporary transitions to accommodate a given context of the conversation without leading to an explosion in the number of finite-state machine states. The invention is particularly useful for use in natural-dialogue speech applications in particular for allowing users to perform actions by simply providing information to the system through spoken request.