Organisational diversity, evolution and cladistic classifications

This article presents a case for the construction of a formal classificatio n of manufacturing systems using cladistics, a technique from the biologica l school of classification. A seven-stage framework for producing a manufac turing cladogram is presented, along with a pilot case study example. This article describes the role that classification plays in the pure and applie d sciences, the social sciences and reviews the status of existing manufact uring classifications. If organisational diversity and organisational chang e processes are governed by evolutionary mechanisms, studies of organisatio ns based on an evolutionary approach such as cladistics could have potentia l, because as March [March JG. The evolution of evolution. In: Baum JAC, Si ngh JV, editors. Evolutionary dynamics of organizations. Oxford University Press, 1994. p. 39-52], page 45, states "there is natural speculation that organisations, like species can be engineered by understanding the evolutio nary processes well enough to intervene and produce competitive organisatio nal effects". It is suggested that a cladistic study could provide organisa tions with a "knowledge map" of the ecosystem in which they exist and by us ing this phylogenetic and situational analysis, they could determine cohere nt and appropriate action for the specification of change. (C) 2000 Elsevie r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.