Organizational Lifecycle Phases Organizational Development

Organizational Lifecycle Phases

Organizational Development

Phases within the Organizational Lifecycle

The purpose of this work is to examine the distinct stages of development through which the life of an organization progresses and to pinpoint the key challenges that occur during the start-up phase of an organization as well as to state the response opportunities of management to these challenges. The stated challenges examines are those during an organizations growth and maturity, both internally and externally. The implications of those changes will be discussed as well as the question of whether it is possible to rejuvenate an organization in the phase of decline

Different phases of growth are experienced by the organization during its development. Comprehension of the cycles of development as well as being cognizant of which stage the organization is experiencing at the time of reference is key for management of the organization. The decline of many an organization has been witnessed when there is the lack of the presence of a leader that can both inspire and rejuvenate the organization.

I. Phases Defined

Johannsen (2005) states that while "different experts argue on how many phases [actually should be noted] "there is elegance in using something easy to remember." Johanssen states the following as the phases within the organizations development lifecycle:

I. Startup (Birth)

II. Growth - early growth phase or 'fast growth'

III. Maturity - slow or no growth Johannssen (2005) often leads to:

IV. Decline - The organization in decline will experience either:

a) Renewal or b) Death and Bankruptcy. (Johannssen, 2005)

Represented within the framework of these stated phases are challenges that management will be forced to handle.

I. The Start-Up Phase: This phase is characterized by the formation of a management group, the writing of a plan for the business.

II. The Growth Phase - This phase is generally characterized by growing revenues, adding new services and new products being developed as well as the hiring of more employees.

III. The Maturity Phase - This stage is characterized by the organization's stabilization and often leads to the next phase which is called:

IV. The Decline Phase - Stated reasons for decline during this phase of the organization's development are:

1) Too much debt;

2) Inadequate leadership;

3) Poor planning;

4) Failure to Change;

5) Inexperienced Management; and 6) Not enough reserve.

The following chart reveals the percentages assigned to each of these reasons. Key is detection at this stage of any symptoms that the organization is experiencing something akin to dryrot.

Source: Buccino and Associates; Seton Hall University Stiffman School of Business.

As reported in August 25, 2003, Business Week.

The phase of renewal is one in which the challenge of "preventing decline or reducing its affects" is critical. According to Johannssen (2005) "One way to reverse dry rot is through the use of training as a way of injecting new knowledge and skills. One may, however initiate a program that will with the injection of new training and skills provide an opportunity for the organizational culture to become transformed. Many organizations experience business failure due to factors that could have been controlled. Failure often results in acquisitions and mergers by larger organizations or failure may result in bankruptcy.