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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 14 page paper. The catalyst for this paper is an article entitled The Architecture Of Simplicity written by Professor Danny Miller in 1993. Miller offers a theory that is contrary to what most other writers in terms of what causes a company to fail. Miller argued that successful companies cause their own failure because they focus on one narrow simple theme, activity, product or issue to the exclusion of other activities or products. In other words, the company moves into a mode of simplicity and this will eventually cause the company to fail. The writer overviews the article and presents comments from other writers both on Miller's theories and on other issues, such as the product life cycle. The writer responds to this question: Over time, does a successful dominant firm's narrow focus fail to recognize the end of a product life cycle or is the firm a victim of simplicity? and makes a final conclusion based on all the literature presented, which is that there is a causative relationship between simplicity and the product life cycle. Bibliography lists 10 sources.
Page Count:
14 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MM12_PGmlsmpl.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
one narrow simple theme, activity or issue. This article has been cited in numerous documents since it was written. This essay reviews and comments on the article and addresses
the question: Over time, does a successful dominant firms narrow focus fail to recognize the end of a product life cycle or is the firm a victim of simplicity? To
address this question, Millers article will be reviewed along with comments about Millers ideas as well as theories from other writers, such as the concept of product life cycle. The
thesis for this essay is that companies fail for two reasons: they do not consider the product life cycle and they fall into the simplicity trap. In effect, these two
reasons may well be causative. By that I mean that companies that specialize too much and that become so narrow in their focus would naturally fail to consider a products
life cycle. The Architecture of Simplicity While most researchers conclude that successful companies lose their edge because they become stale, Miller argues that they lose their edge
because they concentrate on one single strength to the exclusion of others and develop too great an edge (Miller, 1993). These successful companies who were once complex become simple and
then fail (Miller, 1993). It is that excessive simplicity that eventually causes their ruin (Miller, 1993). Miller offers Polaroid, Wang Labs and Control Data as examples of this premise; these
companies were known for their innovation and because this is what led to their initial successive, they emphasized technological innovation to the neglect of everything else (Miller, 1993). They focused
all efforts on the innovative process and did not tend to marketing, production or even fiscal considerations in their quest for more and better scientific innovations (Miller, 1993). Miller
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