Evolutionary Models in Business. Evgeny Klochkov
in terms of return for shareholders”.
In recent years, it is often suggested in the professional community that the study of complex, self-generating, self-organizing, nonlinear, and adaptive systems will become the most relevant in the 21st century, the main meaningful goal of the organization and its mission (rather than the self-preservation of the company) being the key factors to these systems. The new paradigm will view business structures not as organizational models, but as living organisms. The solution to the task of building the next generation structure will lie more in biology and psychology than in engineering and finance. But in order to understand this thesis, it is worthwhile to study more closely what it can be based on, what theoretical models may underlie this assumption. The book will describe the models that form the basis of the hypothesis that it is much more effecient and far-sighted to perceive business as a living organism.
1.1. Types of Cooperation Models
To begin with, some starting point should be determined, and the idea described in the book Reinventing Organizations by F. Laloux shall serve as a basis. The book comprehends the accumulated experience of human cooperation models, which reflect the mankind development history and consciousness development level, and presents a novel idea that can describe the existing complex interrelationships in more detail than generally known concepts. Organizations as models of cooperation between people are always bound to the currently dominant people’s worldview and consciousness development stage. Each time humanity as a species changed its method of world cognition, it grew to new, more effective types of organization. At the same time, such growth did not occur evenly, evolution proceeded in leaps and bounds, like transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Each rise to a new stage of self-consciousness opens up unprecedented abilities and opportunities for humanity, and each new stage of development endows a new model of organization.
Let us consider the following models of organizations in today’s business environment. The companies are divided based on the principle of the underlying organizational structure, and for the convenience of distinguishing them, each is labelled with a color in compliance with the ideas of F. Laloux.
Family Business
Business is built according to ethnicity or family ties. The management style is manual control. The decision-making body is often comprised of a family members council, with the leader serving as a chairman of the council and announcing decisions. In such a business, the role of the leader does not imply autocracy, but rather is to coordinate opinions, lead and control the wealth of the family. For these companies, healthy social relationships in the group are more important than production schedules. The leader’s life belongs to the family where he serves the clan, and not vice versa. The use of awards in the form of reward for individual achievement in such organizations is unlikely, since the reward separates good workers from the rest of the group, i.e. from the family.
Small Business, Startups (Red Organizations)
This business is characterized by the presence of strong personalities who quickly find themselves at the top of the power pyramid. Leaders in such organizations show a high level of energy, take risks, are ready to fight “for territory”, while being able to create innovations and challenge the system. Thinking in this case is formed by the opposites, creating a black and white picture of the world, and in the end everyone is divided into winners and losers. The management style is maintained at the level of manual control. Leaders show tough hegemony in decision making. There is no planning in these companies, since the stake is made on achieving immediate results. Red Organizations are well adapted to cope with chaos, but they are not fit to create complex results in a stable environment where planning and strategy development are possible.
Formal Hierarchies (Amber Organizations)
The overall structure is established in the form of a rigid pyramid with a cascade of formalized orders from bosses to subordinates. In such companies, processes and procedures are very tightly regulated, which leads to a flourishing bureaucracy. Rule-making authority is associated with a social role rather than a strong personality, thus creating stable organizational structures that are sustainable and capable of large-scale development. Notable examples of Amber Organizations are government agencies, the church, and the army. Authority is comparable to a priest in vestments or a general in uniform, and it doesn’t matter what kind of person he is – the form determines the authority. The distribution of remuneration is carried out in accordance with the position and length of service. Each element of the organization understands its exact location and has to act according to the rules of the system. The outlook on life in such structures is static, i.e. there are unshakable laws that divide things into right and wrong. If members of the organization do the right thing, they will be rewarded, and should their behavior fail to conform to the accepted norms, members of the group breaching the established code of ethics may be rejected by the community.
Companies of this level have an understanding of causation, which allows to reproduce past experience and leads to creation of a planning system. Planning and implementation of plans are strictly separated. The thinking takes place “above”, the execution is done “below”. Management is based on the principle of “give orders and follow up”. The philosophy of the Amber Organizations suggests that employees are mostly lazy, dishonest, need supervision, they need to be monitored and told exactly what is required of them. New ideas, individual achievement, critical thinking, and self-expression are not encouraged. Human resources are virtually completely interchangeable. Order and stability – subordination, formalized internal processes, and clear rules – reign in these companies.
Competitive Companies (Orange Organizations)
These companies are perceived as machines and include rigid structure and formalization of processes inherent in a formal hierarchy, though adding to this model innovation, responsibility, and meritocracy.
Innovation enables them to reach the heights of innovation unattainable for Amber Organizations, as leaders of such companies perceive initiative and changes as an opportunity rather than a threat. Responsibility shifts the management approach from “order and follow up” to “anticipate changes and control the situation”. Individual divisions of the company are empowered to think and act in accordance with the current situation and to bear responsibility for their own results. Up to a certain level, management does not care about the method of achieving the goal. Efficiency becomes the basis for decision making. There is nothing absolutely right or absolutely wrong in these companies, instead there are things that work better than others.
In such structures, people are driven by the desire for material success. To put it simply, while in the formal hierarchy the “stick system” only is implemented, in the conditions of competitive companies a “carrot and stick system” has been created.
Orange Organizations have adopted the idea that everyone can climb the career ladder through their abilities. People are viewed as individuals having an opportunity to escape from the stratum of society in which they were born. They can choose a profession based on their own talents and understanding of their vocation. However, their role will ultimately be limited to the function of the position they will occupy in the organization. It is this idea that contributes to the development of a wide range of HR tools: personnel performance assessment, incentive system, human resource planning, headhunting, leadership development trainings, career planning, etc. There’s no merging of the personality with the position, as in the formal hierarchy, however, in the Orange paradigm, people begin to wear professional masks. It is essential to appear competent, calm, in control, successful, and ready for new career challenges.
Management in such companies is result-oriented, focused on solving material problems, and in the end it all comes down to goals and numbers, control points and deadlines. Impassive and objective rationality is valued. At the same time, feelings and human relationships