Managing life cycle demands through a leadership agenda Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • This article stresses that leaders can prepare their organizations to manage successfully life cycle demands by systematically developing administrative responses to life cycle demands. To this end, organizations are prepared to cope when leaders develop agendas that systematically manage chance. In this process change is anticipated, information is collected, and organizations are positioned to satisfy life cycle demands. It is our view that successfully managing life cycle demands enhances organizational survival. Further, most discussions of organization life cycle theory concentrate on the private sector. We develop a leadership agenda model with applicability to the public sector. The model is applied by examining the life cycle experiences of the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (Metro). Applying the leadership agenda model to Metro provides a longitudinal analysis of how life cycle demands emerge, re-emerge, and are satisfied.We argue that Metro's leaders were able to anticipate or respond to life cycle demands, collect information, and change their organization to cope with life cycle demands. Therefore, leadership agendas were used to minimize systematically the impact of chance on Metro's development. 1993, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

published proceedings

  • International Journal of Public Administration

author list (cited authors)

  • Winn, M., & Rice, M. F.

citation count

  • 0

complete list of authors

  • Winn, Mylon||Rice, Mitchell F

publication date

  • January 1993