Organizational Absorption

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Description of Organizational Absorption. Explanation.

Definition Organizational Absorption. Description.

Organizational Absorption is the ability or capacity of a company or organization to withstand hard, severe or turbulent circumstances by creating buffers or defense mechanisms against sudden shifts in the external or Competitive Environment. While Organizational Agility tries to deal with these circumstances in an adapting, flexible and offensive way, the focus of organizational absorption is on defensive mechanisms.

Typical ways in which organizations can build absorption capacity and weather storms or unexpected crises are (Donald Sull in HBR, February 2009):

• Low fixed costs
• War Chest
• Diversification
• Vast Size (Economies of Scale)
• Tangible Assets (raw materials deposits, real estate)
• Intangible Assets (brand, expertise, technologies)
• Customer Lock-in (high Switching Costs)
• Protected Core Market (provides safe stream of cash)
• Powerful Patron (supporting government, regulator, investor or Loyal Customers)
• Excess Staff (can be shed)

Organizational Absorption Forum   Organizational Absorption Cases and Examples Hi, do you know of a remarkable case or have a good example of how firms can withstand hard, severe or turbulent circumstances by creating buffers or defense mechanisms (organizational absorption)? Please enter a reaction to share it for other peo...         Begin a new topic

Organizational Absorption Special Interest Group Special Interest Group

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Resources - Organizational Absorption Premium Business Continuity Management and Disaster Recovery Management Presentation about Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP). The presentation includes the following sections: 1. ... Usage (application): Business Continuity Planning, Disaster Recovery Planning, Crisis Management, Organizational Absorption   Introduction to Business Continuity Management Organizations have to be prepared to deal immediately with events everywhere around the world (from natural disasters to man-made incidents) that can ... Usage (application): Understanding of the Need to Have a Business Continuity Plan, Organizational Resilience     News Organizational Absorption         Videos Organizational Absorption         Presentations Organizational Absorption         More Organizational Absorption

Compare with: Anti-Fragility (Taleb)  |  Organizational Agility  |  Agile Absorption  |  Anti Hostile Takeover Mechanisms  |  Organizational Resilience  |  Crisis Management  |  Strategic Risk Management

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