2006-11-06

Life-cycle Analysis and Change by Design: Applying Business Process Re-engineering in the Performing Arts

All organizations have life cycles analogous to human beings: birth, infancy, youthful exploration, midlife, maturity and decay/death. Unlike the cycles in the lives of humans, the causes of life cycles are not inherent to the aging process, but depend on the capacity of leadership to re-invent the organization when needed. This capacity and capability are limited by knowledge and personality traits. The decisions a leader makes for an organization may be strongly influenced by her own psychological needs rather than the strategic responses needed by the organization to adjust to its changing environment. Non optimal decisions weaken the competitive position or social value of the organization and shorten its life.

This is independent of scale. We propose that what the organization needs is a man for all seasons (a synergist) or an organizational culture that can simulate a synergistic style. To explore these propositions, we compared the performance of the Black Theatre Workshop of Montreal (BTW) over 34 years with the performances of similar cultural companies in Toronto. The research question is: Why has BTW survived whereas they have failed? The major contributing factor seems to be BTWs rejection of autocracy centered either in the artistic function or the administrative function. The choice of a synergistic style supported by a participatory management system has enabled the organization to be more flexible in its approach to problem familiarization and the search for solutions. This is perhaps why the organization has been able to restructure itself several times in its 34 years to deal successfully with internal and external crises.

For more reading:
http://neumann.hec.ca/aimac2005/PDF_Text/Bayne_Clarence.pdf

Author: Dr. Clarence S. Bayne
Professor, Decision Sciences/MIS
Director, Graduate Diploma in Administration, John Molson School of Business, Concordia University