Manufacturing competitiveness and fitness landscape theory

Manufacturing organisations recognise that the business environment has varying levels of unpredictability. To serve such unpredictability, they utilise forecasting and decision modelling techniques at all levels (strategic to operational), but with business and customer demands intensifying, the levels of unpredictability have been increasing and the confidence in such techniques is reducing. In order to satisfy customers and remain competitive, manufacturing organisations must be able to “sense and respond”. This paper provides an introduction to the concept of developing and applying fitness landscape theory to help manufacturing managers make decisions in such a manner. This approach treats the organisational system and its decisional situation as a complex adaptive system, which is continually co-evolving with its environment, whilst searching for solutions and making decisions. Although this theory has biological origins, it has been applied to various areas including economic and organisational studies. In summarising, this paper argues that managers should learn from nature and develop decisions, which rely less on inaccurate forecasts and more on the ability to sense and respond (adapt). The paper concentrates on the process of making strategic decisions and the resulting organisational forms.