Redefining Organization from an Evolutionary Perspective: The Consequences of Memes on the Survival of Competitive Companies.

摘要

This qualitative historical study was conducted to develop an understanding of the evolutionary nature and origin of organizations. The historical data of three American automobile makers, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, were collected and analyzed based on Dawkins' (2009) meme-centric principles. The data collected on the three companies' founders and epochal organizing endeavors were chronicled into four categories: meme, method of memetic transmission, survival machine, and cultural selection. The conclusions of this study invite speculation that both biological beings and organizations are survival vehicles created by their original genes and memes respectively for the same purpose of existence. The study concludes that social entities have the same strategies for survival as biological beings—that is, the pursuit of local optimization and short-term benefit, and that further interweaving of biology and organizational research is instrumental in extending human understanding of organizational complexity and leadership responsibility.