SKELETAL MODEL OF ADAPTATION:Determinants of Adaptive ability, The Process of Adaptation

<< PROSPECTORS:Analyzer, Reactors, Adaptation and Strategic Management

STRATEGIC CHANGE:Nature of Change, The Importance of Context, Force field Analysis >>

Change Management MGMT625

Lesson # 25

SKELETAL MODEL OF ADAPTATION

A state of adaptation, in a biological sense describes a sate of survival for an organism. Analogously,

a state of adaptation for a business organization is one in which it can survive the conditions of its

environment. There may be several niches available to a firm for surviving the conditions of its

environment.

Simon gives us a three modes that are open to a system

1. Passive insulation (Defender)

2. Reactive negative feed back (Analyzer)

3. Predictive or Proactive adaptation (Prospector)

Three states of adaptation are given by Chakravorti. He used the terms as unstable state, stable state

and neutral state. All three states of adaptation are viable. The unstable state is the most vulnerable to

changes in the firm's environment, a neutral state is the most vulnerable, and a stable state vulnerable

only to certain environmental changes

In the unstable state, a firm tries to buffer itself from its environment, as it is extremely susceptible

to environment to environmental changes. The manager of such a firm, concerned with the fragility

of the firm's adaptation is continuously on the lookout for new buffering arrangements. These firms

are called defenders and have narrow product-market domains, and they seldom seek to make

major adjustments in their technology, structure or methods of operations. To Miles and Snow such

an organization adapts by simply ignoring the environmental events or demands.

A stable state describes the state of adaptation in which instead of buffering itself from the

environment, the firm is open to it and, in fact offers a reactive move in keeping with every move

of the environment. The firm reacts to environmental changes and complies with environmental

mandate. Called an analyzer , by Miles & Snow, such a firm has a buffered core like the defender,

but unlike the defender it also has extensive market surveillance mechanism that enable it to imitate

the best of products and markets by others.

Change Management MGMT625

In a neutral state, a firm can withstand most environmental changes because they have been

anticipated before their occurrence and the firm has invested in the requisite adaptive ability. For

Miles and Snow such types of organizations are called "prospectors" which are in continuous

search for market opportunities. They often create changes in their environment, to which their

competitors must respond. "A true prospector is almost immune from the pressures of a changing

environment since this type of organization is continually keeping pace with change,

and...frequently creating change itself", accords to Miles & Snow.

All the three states of adaptation are viable ways of coping with the environment. Defender,

Prospector and Analyzer are all "stable" form of organizations, and manager chooses to pursue

either of these strategies to cope effectively with its competitors. "If management chooses to pursue

one of these strategies, and designs the organization accordingly, then the organization may be an

effective competitor in the particular industry over a considerable period of time"

All state of adaptations does not have the same immunity from environmental changes. The neutral

state has the highest immunity, followed by the stable and unstable states. A firm seeking to ensure

its future should prefer a neutral state of adaptation over the other two states. But then the

fundamental question arises: Why do not all firms show for the preference for such an ideal option?

(Similar to the teacher-student environment metaphor, why cannot all students get the same grade

or a grade?). The answer has two parts:

1. The state of adaptation depend on the firm's resources that it commands (adaptive ability)

2. The nature of management processes within these firms (process of adaptation) influences the state

of adaptation sought

Determinants of Adaptive ability

How can adaptability be improved? Lawrence & Lorsch gave the concept as differentiation and

integration. Improving on firm's differentiation and integration would increase its adaptability.

Christenson called this as level of organization which again is composed of differentiation and

integration, and then relabeled as Organizational Capacity.

The organization capacity measures the information processing ability of firm, and is an aggregate

measure of the human resources of that firm. Andrew suggests that adaptation is measure by the

nature and extent of the firm's material resources. Miles and Cameroon defines the same as

Environmental Receptiveness Cluster which influences the state of adaptation. The cluster includes

two things:

1. Resource scarcity the extent to which elements in the input of an org. lean in needed resources

2. Internal resources defined as the generalizability of a firm's core technology and expertise, and the

extent of its slack. Material resources include inputs like finance and technology.

The Process of Adaptation

The process of adaptation consists of two sub-processes: Adaptive generalization and Adaptive

Specialization

Adaptive Generalization

It is the process of improving the goodness of fit in a given state of adaptation. It refers to the

rationalization of processes and structure using Material Capacity (MATCAP) and Organizational

Capacity (ORGCAP) for moving to the nearest adaptive fit. Adaptive generalization refers to the

process that improves the survival potential of the organization. Managing slack is the key to

Change Management MGMT625

adaptive generalization. This requires that an old fit be consciously disturbed for the sake of new and

higher fit. (Require MATCAP & ORGCAP)

ii)

Adaptive Specialization

This involves the choice of strategy appropriate to the environment and resources of the firm, and the

design of a matching structure. An important part of strategic management is adaptive specialization,

which involves:

1. Managing the choice of purpose for the firm so as to exploit its material and organizational

capacities optimally

2. Minimizing the misfit, in the match between the chosen purpose and the firm's ORGCAP and

MATCAP

Adaptive specialization involves formulation of strategy keeping in view firm's resources. Adaptive

generalization and adaptive specialization follow each other in a cyclical pattern.

References:

The above lecture notes are essentially prepared from the following articles; excerpts and clippings

are also taken from the same:

Chakravarthy Balaji S, "Adaptation: A Promising Metaphor for Strategic Management," The

Academy of Management Review, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jan., 1982), pp. 35 44

Miles, Raymond E, Snow Charles C et al, Organization Strategy Structure and Process, The

Academy of Management Review, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jul. , 1978), pp. 546-562

Table of Contents: