Organizational divisions outlive the realities that justified them and block adaptation

Evidence

Partition focus can be an especially insidious problem when the partitioning logic reflects idiosyncratic factors that no longer “map” onto current realities or needs (e.g., organizational divisions or norms that may no longer be relevant yet have the weight of tradition, precedent, and history behind them). For example, although the separation of national security threats as a function of their domestic versus foreign origins may have made considerable sense during the Second World War and again during the Cold War, these distinctions may no longer make sense in the global commons. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1992 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Outdated organizational partitions persist through tradition despite losing relevance — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1992; Inert organizational practices become visible mainly during radical change — Jörg Sydow, Georg Schreyögg, and Jochen Koch, Organizational Path Dependence: Opening…, 114; Institutionalized organizational forms sediment and become taken for granted across organizations over time. — Jörg Sydow, Georg Schreyögg, and Jochen Koch, Organizational Path Dependence: Opening…, 72 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Outdated organizational partitions persist through tradition despite losing relevance #corroborates (0.95) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1992