Organizational Life Cycle Essay -- essays research papers

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE CYCLE Organizational Life Cycle Organizational Life Cycle Organizations go through different life cycles similar to those of people. For example, people go through infancy, child-hood and early-teenage phases, which are characterized by rapid growth over a short period of time. Similarly, Organizations go through start-up, growth, maturity, decline, renewal and death. Employees in these phases often do whatever it takes to stay employed. (Ciavarella, 2001) In the start-up phase of an organizational life cycle, employees are eager to make a name for themselves and often act impulsively, making highly reactive decisions based on whatever is going on around them at the moment. Struggling to survive. This is just one of the many challenges a manager will face during this phase of change. To help staff understand the complexities of the early phase of organizational development. The manager must provide a clear understanding of the purpose of the organization to the employees. Emphasizing the importance of recognizing the direction the company is going and how its methods of working can be improved. Plus, explaining the identification of general objectives would lead to the clarification of responsibilities and purpose at each level of the organization. When a manager discusses these issues with his team, he is encouraging ownership by the employees. (Moore, 2004) The distinction between the start-up and growth stages in not easily defined. The distinction lies in the revenues, profits are stronger and are consistent with an increase in customers, as well as, new and exciting opportunities for the employees to pursue. Managers can look forward to many managerial challenges, perspective policy issues and re-evaluating the business plan for revisions. A manager’s focus should be in the running of the business, with a greater emphasis on accounting and human resource management systems. New staff will have to be hired, trained and prepared for the influx of business. Managers should be ready to teach the importance of decision-making skills and reinforcing organizational policy. Avoiding hasty, careless decisions, which can have devastating results on the manager's unit or the entire organization. Decisions made with forethought, using the many managerial tools available will lead to better and more profitable operatio... ...ity of purpose and direction for an organization. We create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization's objectives. Managers are responsible for changing behaviors. Which is probably the most critical area in the organizational life cycle. Finally, managers empower and involve people to achieve the organization's objective. (Lester, Parnell, & Carraher, 2003) References Adizes, I. (2004, Mar/Apr). Embrace One Problem After Another. Industrial Management, 46(2), pp. 18; pp.7. Ciavarella, M. A. (2001). High Involvement Environments to the Organization Life Cycle: A Descriptive and Prescriptive Approach. Academy of Management Proceedings, , pp. C1; pp. 6. Lester, D. L., Parnell, J. A., & Carraher, S. (2003). Organizational Life Cycle: A Five Stage Empirical Scale. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 11(4), pp. 339; pp. 16. Middlebrook, B., Caruth, D., & Frank, R. (1984, Summer 85). Overcoming Resistance to Change. Management Journal, 50(3), pp. 23. Moore, G. A. (2004, Jul/Aug). Darwin and the Demon: Innovating Within Established Enterprises. Harvard Business Review, 82(7/8), pp. 86; pp. 7.