Organizational Life Cycle
There are two views of an organisation's life cycle. The first, linear view is that (like organic life) organisations progress through stages from birth, infancy, adolescence, maturity, senescence and death. The second view is that within this continuum organisations can start at different points and skip (or repeat) stages in cycles. For instance, with appropriate support and backing an organisation can begin its life in a fully formed, "mature" state. Mature organisations may collapse and begin anew in infancy or adolescence before developing into a mature organisation, sometimes repeating this process. The governing body's role changes, according to the stage of the organisation’s life cycle. The transition from one stage to another may be particularly challenging for governance.
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Famous quotes containing the words life and/or cycle:
“I feel my belief in sacrifice and struggle getting stronger. I despise the kind of existence that clings to the miserly trifles of comfort and self-interest. I think that a man should not live beyond the age when he begins to deteriorate, when the flame that lighted the brightest moment of his life has weakened.”
—Fidel Castro (b. 1926)
“The lifelong process of caregiving, is the ultimate link between caregivers of all ages. You and I are not just in a phase we will outgrow. This is life—birth, death, and everything in between.... The care continuum is the cycle of life turning full circle in each of our lives. And what we learn when we spoon-feed our babies will echo in our ears as we feed our parents. The point is not to be done. The point is to be ready to do again.”
—Paula C. Lowe (20th century)