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Organizational Change

and the Human LifeCycle

Jacob Shy

The Dahoon Holly Publishing Group

Ocean Springs, Mississippi



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Copyright © 2007 Jake Olden Shy

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of thepublisher.

Published by The Dahoon Holly Publishing Group, Ocean Springs, MS

Printed in the United States of America



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Organizational Change and the Human Life Cycle

Organizational change is defined as “the alteration and transformation of the form

so as to survive better in the environment.” The same can be said of change in human

beings. The similarity between human change and organizational change prompts the use

of a biological metaphor to describe the organizational life cycle. Just as the life cycle of a human being consists of birth, growth, maturity, decline and death, the life cycle of an

organization progresses in like fashion.

When a child is born and for some time thereafter, the infant is very susceptible to

changes in his or her environment. The infant is vulnerable and requires a great deal of

support to grow, thrive and flourish. Similarly, at start-up (i.e. birth), the organization

may not be very tolerant of environmental changes, such as changing regulatory

requirements, resource non-availability or lagging political support. The organization

will be reliant on support from sources such as investors and financial institutions, the

local government and the surrounding community.

During the growth and maturity stage, the infant becomes a child, who then

becomes an adult. How the child responds to environmental stimuli will determine howwell he or she thrives. In like manner, during these stages the organization reacts to

various opportunities and threats. How the organization capitalizes on its opportunities

while minimizing its threats will ultimately determine how well it thrives within its

environment. When the child becomes and adult, he or she will choose a profession and

begin earning a living. The adult is at this point making his or her own way in the world.

Perhaps he or she will be supporting a family, as well. As the organization matures and

gains strength, it is less reliant on the support structures necessary during the start-up

stage. The organization will stand on its own and earn a living for its employees and

dividends for its shareholders.

As the adult ages, he or she begins to slow down. With old age, the human being

faces new challenges. The human body is not as tolerant of environmental changes as itwas during the prime of life. The human being undergoes an inevitable, gradual decline

that ultimately results in death. As with its human counterpart, the organization in

decline faces new threats and is not able to respond with the strength of its “youth”.

Also, the failing organization may not have the resources to take advantage of

opportunities as they present themselves.

A key difference in the correlation between human and organizational life cycles

is that for the human being death is inevitable; for the organization, death may never

occur. The declining organization may experience a revival. Just as Chrysler did in the

1980s, the organization may mount a “come-back” and find itself in the position of

strength it formerly held. In essence, the organization finds a fountain of youth. Of

course, death may not be the end of the story for the human being either. What happensafter death may very well relate to the life cycle of the organization, giving more meaning

and relevance to the metaphor.



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About the Author

Jacob Shy has worked in the healthcare field for more than 20 years, and currently

serves as the Chief Operations Officer for as major hospital. He holds advanced degrees

in Health Services Management, Business Administration, and Information Management.

In addition to fulfilling the role of his chosen profession, Jake writes business andhealthcare related articles for several professional publications, with subjects ranging

from human resource management to forensic dentistry.

org change human life cycle

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