APPLICATION OF EVOLUTIONARY THEORY:Managerial focus

Change Management MGMT625

Lesson # 14

APPLICATION OF EVOLUTIONARY THEORY

Thetheory has general applicationvarious functional areas of management likeproduction,

marketing,finance and quality managementetc. Here environment meansmarket and one can

observe the application of mutation concept. Forinstance take the case of electronic industry or

communicationtechnologies as there appears a huge variety of products in a quick succession of

time, and the success of any newtechnological product (variation) is a matter of sheer chance.

Going by this theory it is the environmentwhich plays decisive role or influence in the selection of

forms,processes and practices in organization. It is the environment whichselects and decides the

validity of organization form, process and practices to become effectiveand efficient.

Second evidence we found in the QualityManagement Movement (QMM)which is well supported

by evolutionary theory. For e.g. Total Quality Management(TQM) means, continuous,marginal or

incrementalchanges on day-to-day bases in all functional areas like on customer-preferences,

product-attributes,organising in production as well.Winter, a scholar, whosework on this subject

is quite known, links QMM fromevolutionary economic characterisation of a firm to evolutionary

economic theory. There are three aspects of organizationchanges:

1. Corporate knowledge resides in the organisational capabilities embedded in organisational

routines.These routines do not arisefrom isolated managerial decisions but from a

process of organisational learning. Theseroutines have a large tacit component of

learning.

2. There is no sharp distinction between the firm's technical and organisation component.

Systematic routines may result in creating opportunities forimprovement.

3. The capabilities of a firmare not from universaltechnical hand book but areidiosyncratic

(individuality or personality) outcome of unique firmhistories (evolving)

QualityManagement focuses more on productionprocess than outcomes. Onemajor benefit of QM

is the forcing of the organisation to continue the evolution (changeover time) of itssuccessful

routines and avoid the danger of stagnation in a competitiveworld.

Managerialfocus

It is important to note that by default organisations arecontrol-oriented and autocratic in nature

thereforeevolutionary organization too is transformation of autocratic organization at one time-to-

participative one at another time. Therefore buildingevolutionary organisation (howto?) is

recurringtheme these days as in evolutionary organization flow of authority is upward(and

Weberianconcept of rational top down bureaucracy is no more valid in present times). So the

evolutionarytheorist, instead of reliance on hierarchy, authority, span of control offersknowledge-

orientedorganisation and hence focuses on discovery, application and dissemination of knowledge.

Anotherdistinct perspective of evolutionary theorists is that they tend to incorporate principles of

managementdeveloped from personal experience andobservation (values) andbelieves that resort

to traditional way of authoritymay be wrong and bad application of authority.

It also focuses on the organizationprocesses as well whichmeans continuous improvement in

decisionmaking, communicating and controlling.One such common example can be cited is that of

a zero defect philosophy in context of production.

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