Organizational Life Cycles

Organizational Life CyclesPhase 1Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through Creativity

Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of LeadershipPhase 1Growth Through Creativity - This stage is dominated by the founders of the organization, and the emphasis is on creating both a market and product. These founders are usually technically or entrepreneurially oriented. Management activities are avoided. But as the organization grows, management problems cannot be handled through informal communication. This leads to:Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of LeadershipPhase 1Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of LeadershipThe question of who is going to lead the organization out of its state of confusion and solve management problems? The solution is to find a strong manager. This crisis leads to the next evolutionary period:

Growth Through DirectionPhase 2Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through Direction

Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of AutonomyPhase 2Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through DirectionDuring this stage, the new manager and key staff take the responsibility for establishing direction, while lower level supervisors are treated as functional specialists than autonomous decision-makers.The demands of lower-level managers for more autonomy eventually leads to the next revolutionary period:Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of AutonomyPhase 2Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of AutonomyThe solution to this crisis is usually greater delegation.Phase 3Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through Delegation

Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of ControlPhase 3Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through DelegationWhen an organization gets to the growth stage of delegation, it usually begins to develop a decentralized organizational structure, which heightens motivation at lower levels of the organization. Eventually top managers sense they are losing control over a diversified field operation. This leads to: Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of Control

Phase 3Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of ControlThe crisis of control leads to a return to centralization. This creates resentment among those individuals who feel that their organizational freedoms are being constrained.Searching for an alternative usually leads to:Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through Coordination

Phase 4Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through Coordination

Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of Red TapePhase 4Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through CoordinationThis period is characterized by the use of formal systems for achieving greater coordination with top management as the organizational watchdogs. Most coordination systems get carried away and it leads to:

Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of Red TapePhase 4Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of Red TapeThis crisis most often occurs when the organization has become too large and complex to be managed through formal programs and rigid systems. To overcome the Red Tape mentality, the organization moves to the next stage:

Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through Collaboration

Phase 5Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through Collaboration

Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of ?Phase 5Evolutionary Stage: Growth Through CollaborationThis stage emphasizes greater spontaneity in management action through teams and the skillful confrontation of interpersonal differences. Social control and self-discipline take over from formal control. The next revolutionary stage was not identified by Griener:Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of ?

Phase 5Revolutionary Stage: Crisis of ?Griener suggests that the next crisis will center on the psychological saturation of employees who have grown emotionally and physically exhausted by the intensity of teamwork and the heavy pressure for innovative solutions.

Organizational Life CyclesEvolving Culture Birth StageSize smallBureaucraticnonbureaucraticDivision of Laboroverlapping tasksCentralizationone-person ruleFormalizationno written rulesAdministrative intensityno professional staffInternal SystemsnonexistentLateral teams, task forcesnone for coordinationYouth StageSize mediumBureaucraticprebureaucraticDivision of Laborsome departmentsCentralizationtwo leaders ruleFormalizationfew rulesAdministrative intensityincreasing clerical & maintenanceInternal Systemscrude budget & informationLateral teams, task forcestop leaders only for coordinationMidlife StageSize largeBureaucraticbureaucraticDivision of Labormany departmentsCentralizationtwo department headsFormalizationpolicy & proceduresAdministrative intensityincreasing professional & staff support Internal Systemscontrol systems in place, budget, performance reportsLateral teams, task forcessome use of integrators and for coordination task forcesMaturity StageSize very largeBureaucraticvery bureaucraticDivision of Laborextensive, with small jobs and many descriptionsCentralizationtop management heavy FormalizationextensiveAdministrative intensitylarge-multiple departments Internal Systemsextensive planning, financial and personnel added Lateral teams, task forcesfrequent at lower levels to for coordination break down bureaucracy Preventing Premature Organizational DeathRisk FactorsBoard and staff stagnation

Reliance on a single funding source

Failure to pay attention to the external environmentTaking ActionAvoid the we always did it this way syndrome

Frequently ask: Is there a better way to do this?

Add new Board membersTaking ActionPay attention to staff morale

Pay attention to financial trends revenues, expenses available fund raising dollars.

Have a strategic plan and monitor it daily.

Taking ActionAsk yourself whether you may be a problem for the organization. Are you challenged, are you having fun? Do you enjoy your co-workers?

Fight stress by exercising, taking vacations getting involved in non-work activities.