nach oben

2015 | Buch

Kapitel lesen Erstes Kapitel lesen

Resilient by Design

Creating Businesses That Adapt and Flourish in a Changing World

verfasst von: Joseph Fiksel

Verlag: Island Press/Center for Resource Economics

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Einloggen, um Zugang zu erhalten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Resilience as Competitive Strategy

Frontmatter

Chapter One. Embracing Change

Abstract

Today’s interconnected, global economy is characterized by turbulence. Markets are volatile, supply chains are increasingly vulnerable, and disruptions can substantially affect shareholder value. Major disasters, be they natural or caused by humans, can occur unexpectedly. Even minor incidents such as a local power failure can cause significant financial losses. Emerging pressures such as climate change and urbanization will only intensify the potential for extreme events and business interruptions. At the same time, these shifting conditions are opening up new market opportunities.

Joseph Fiksel

Chapter Two. From Risk to Resilience

Abstract

Embracing change means accepting uncertainty about the future. Of course, making business decisions is challenging when the outcomes are uncertain. An entire academic field called management science offers mathematical tools to help companies make all sorts of decisions, from setting inventory targets to making major capital investments. Central to this field is the concept of risk, a term that is widely used and often misunderstood.

Joseph Fiksel

Chapter Three. Systems Thinking

Abstract

Every company is a complex system, interacting with other systems in a constantly changing environment. The more we understand this fact, the more humble we become about our ability to control these systems. Embracing change will involve a true paradigm shift, from preserving system stability and minimizing deviations from “normal” to accepting the inevitability of change and maximizing adaptive capacity. Enterprises that are accustomed to traditional management styles will need to reexamine and possibly modify their cultural norms and business processes. The question of how to build organizational resilience is explored further in chapter 8.

Joseph Fiksel

Chapter Four. The Resilient Enterprise

Abstract

The law of entropy tells us that everything in the universe is descending into chaos, unwinding like a clock. Living things, including human beings, are engaged in a constant struggle to maintain order and structure. The essence of life is resisting entropy, or creating order out of chaos. Living things do not just react to their environment; rather, they participate in complex feedback loops that shape their environment. Mammals, fish, and insect colonies build elaborate physical structures and social networks that enable them to replicate and flourish. Likewise, business enterprises and human communities create orderly structures and networks that enable them to grow and flourish. Here’s the problem, though: The extraordinary success of humans may come at the expense of natural systems, ironically undermining our own resilience.

Joseph Fiksel

Practicing Enterprise Resilience

Frontmatter

Chapter Five. Generating Business Value

Abstract

The case for enterprise resilience is clear: corporations need to improve their capacity to survive, adapt, and flourish in the face of unexpected disruptions. Resilience, however, is a relatively new concept that is still being explored and digested by mainstream business leaders. Putting it into practice will be a challenge for large organizations with well-established business processes.

Joseph Fiksel

Chapter Six. Resilience in Supply Chain Management

Abstract

Contemporary supply chain managers face a variety of global forces that increase the potential for unforeseen disruptions. Of all the enterprise functions, supply chain management is the most vulnerable to external stresses and shocks. Supply chain disruptions—even minor shipment delays—can cause significant financial losses for companies and substantially affect shareholder value.

Joseph Fiksel

Chapter Seven. Resilience in Environmental Management

Abstract

In today’s tightly coupled global economy, the definition of national security is changing. Security is no longer merely concerned with defense against hostile regimes and terrorist attacks; now it also includes protection of our sources of food, energy, water, and materials, which are the foundation of economic growth and community prosperity. In 2014, the US Department of Defense identified climate change as one of the greatest immediate threats to national security. According to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel:

Joseph Fiksel

Chapter Eight. Organizational Resilience

Abstract

Most companies are far better at executing their current activities than at adapting to long-term changes in the business environment. Very few can do both well.

Joseph Fiksel

Chapter Nine. Tools for Managing Resilience

Abstract

The concept of resilience may seem intuitively clear, but it is daunting from an engineering, design, and management point of view because of its breadth and multifaceted nature. To incorporate resilience thinking into the day-to-day work of a business will require several supporting tools. The five main requirements for a resilience toolkit are as follows:

Joseph Fiksel

Designing Resilient Systems

Frontmatter

Chapter Ten. Design for Resilience

Abstract

We have looked at many examples of resilient behaviors that enable companies to avoid damaging disruptions and seize opportunities for competitive advantage. Unlike biological systems, companies have the capability to redesign themselves rapidly. We do not have to wait for natural selection to reveal the winners and losers. Companies are self-organizing systems that can anticipate future challenges and deliberately transform their structure and function to increase their resilience. That being the case, it seems only natural that resilience should become part of every company’s approach to innovation.

Joseph Fiksel

Chapter Eleven. Connecting with Broader Systems

Abstract

In chapter 5, we saw that enterprise resilience extends well beyond product development, touching on virtually every business process from supply chain management to capital investment. Through resilience awareness, companies are able to harness the unique capabilities of human beings to reflect on experience, interpret new information, recognize systemic patterns, envision alternative futures, avoid unexpected consequences, and creatively adapt to unforeseen situations. These capabilities can be leveraged through the practice of DFR: examining every decision through a resilience lens and developing guidelines for building inherent resilience into the structure and function of all enterprise systems.

Joseph Fiksel

Chapter Tweleve. Looking Ahead: From Resilience to Sustainability

Abstract

We live in a crowded world of ever-increasing connectivity, with both cooperation and conflict occurring on a global scale. Individuals, companies, and communities are linked through worldwide systems of communication, transportation, and commerce. Similarly, individual products and services are linked to the global value chains in which they are created, delivered, and used. As we have seen, this connectivity presents daunting challenges to the design and deployment of new products, processes, and assets. Instead of focusing purely on the function and form of a product or service, design teams today must consider a broad range of system-level issues, including safety, security, manufacturability, serviceability, material and energy efficiency, end-of-life recovery, environmental emissions, and long-term impacts on quality of life for future generations.

Joseph Fiksel

Backmatter

Titel: Resilient by Design
verfasst von: Joseph Fiksel
Verlag: Island Press/Center for Resource Economics
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-61091-588-5
Print ISBN: 978-1-61091-684-4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-588-5