The Adaptive Corporation

Alvin Toffler
Reviewed By: Rijuta Joshi

INTRODUCTION
The book “The Adaptive Corporation” is a publication of a report submitted by the
author the communication giant ‘Bell System/ AT&’. In the book the author elaborates what
the organisation had to do in order to cope with the changing environment of business. The
period in which the report (on which the book is based) the American business environment
was undergoing a rough patch. Through this book the author intends to improve the way in
which the organisations handle stress by giving example of the AT&T Corporation. In the
book the author describes the shift from the Industrial era to the next step in industrialisation
and into the era of ‘'super-industrialisation’ a term penned by the author to describe the next
generation of industrialisation that the country was stepping into.

WHAT THEODORE VAIL KNEW?

The book begins by describing what the present assumptions of the company are and
what the current mission and vision of the company is. The structure of AT&T in the 1970s
(the time period in which the report is based) was majorly based on the strategy put forth by
the CEO of the company in the 1940s Mr. Theodore Vail. The environmental conditions then
was pro-standardisation and the customers were happy with products that weren’t different
from each other and thus the strategy of the company became process standardisation leading
to a vision of capturing a major share in the communications market with a mission of
providing universal service i.e. a policy of one size fit all.

THE OVERHAULING OF THE AMERICAN VALUE SYSTEM

During the 1970s American a country was undergoing a process of complete revamp
of its values. It was during this period that the consumers started becoming more aware of
their rights and thus there was a rise in consumerism. Earlier where the American consumers
were happy with a simple black box telephone now demanded a more personalised phone as
well as a more personalised service. Thus, the company started to give its customers a wide
variety of phone and services to choose from depending on their needs. Thus, the policy of
the ‘Pink Princess’ was formed. Apart from a rise in consumerism the American consumer
was also awakening to issues like “Preservation of environment” etc. The political scenario
too was shifting with more and more Blacks, and women taking an active part in politics
bringing about various. On the social front with the emergence of the Hippie culture the
manager were facing a tough time in accustoming themselves with this major change in work
culture. On looking at these changes individually we may not be able to join the dots and
realise that all these changes stem from a single change in the American system; but when we
take a holistic view of the various changes taking place we can observe that all these changes
are result of a reduced novelty ration in the society. That is, the life cycle of the products had
reduced thus the American consumers wanted a frequent change in what was offered to them.
Thus, one can conclude that the entire country was undergoing an overhauling process. The
Author observed that AT&T being in the communication business would be the hub for the
change and an active participant in bringing not only itself but also the entire country from
the Industrial Era to the Super-Industrial Era. Thus, the author believed that company needed
to rejuvenate itself to thwart the country in the next era of industrialisation

THE ROAD AHEAD

Further the Author compares the current environment that the company was
experiencing to that environment in the 1940s when its strategies, mission and vision had
formed. The author then observed that the mission and vision of the organisation were no
more helping the employee of the organisation to take business decision thus the author
suggested that the company should change its vision from universal service to “specialised”
service.
The Author also suggested that company structure should change from a “tall
hierarchy” structure to a conglomerate structure where the company is divided into smaller
organisation loosely connected to each other. According to the author such an organisational
structure would improve the company’s efficiency and overall effectiveness.

READER’S OBSERVATIONS
On reading the preface of the book I realised that the company had not implemented
any of the suggestions given by the author. One of the reasons for this is that the
organisations top management itself could not foresee a future similar to that of the author.
This reduced the inclination on part of the top management to implement the suggestions
given in the report. Further, the change agent in this case as external thus, he did not have a
link with the company this added with the lack of enthusiasm on part of the top management
deterred the acceptance of the report in the organisation. It is interesting to note that the
company went through the same changes that the author had suggested at a later date. But,
this was more of a reactive approach than a proactive one.