Strategic Management
Strategic Management
MGT680-1301D-02
Unit 1 DB
Amber Ingraham
The "boiled frog" phenomenon is a business metaphor that basically describes that if a frog is put in a pot of hot or boiling water, it will naturally try to jump out. However, if the frog is placed in a pot of cold water and the heat is slowly turned up to a boiling point, the frog will not only stay in the pot but it will gradually become unconscious to where when the water gets hot enough, the frog will actually allow itself to be boiled to death (Thinking Made Easy, 2008).
This same metaphor could be applied to strategic management as well. It can be used to describe the type of managers who may have a tendency of not making the right choices for their growing business as the risks around them. The "boiled frog" example explains what happens when the reactions are too slowly handled with minor issues within a company and the long term effect as a result. managers tend to remain in their comfort zones and simply maintain what is already being done on a daily basis versus taking the lead and looking out for the future of the company as well as the betterment of the company 's future. The problem lies with a company not always identifying the minor problems, if the problems are not addressed in a timely manner, this could play a huge part in the market in a very short amount of time (Thinking Made Easy, 2008).
Enron which is a major American energy company, buckled because they were experiencing extensive international issues all in the midst of various plans needing a great amount of support financially. Enron had started to address these issues when the company was not financially stable which resulted in the slowing of the company 's growth and started a chain reaction; wrong partnerships and investments. The business could have avoided the effects of the "boiled frog" phenomenon by sticking with their existing strategies and should have monitored and responded to these unexpected events much
MGT680-1301D-02
Unit 1 DB
Amber Ingraham
The "boiled frog" phenomenon is a business metaphor that basically describes that if a frog is put in a pot of hot or boiling water, it will naturally try to jump out. However, if the frog is placed in a pot of cold water and the heat is slowly turned up to a boiling point, the frog will not only stay in the pot but it will gradually become unconscious to where when the water gets hot enough, the frog will actually allow itself to be boiled to death (Thinking Made Easy, 2008).
This same metaphor could be applied to strategic management as well. It can be used to describe the type of managers who may have a tendency of not making the right choices for their growing business as the risks around them. The "boiled frog" example explains what happens when the reactions are too slowly handled with minor issues within a company and the long term effect as a result. managers tend to remain in their comfort zones and simply maintain what is already being done on a daily basis versus taking the lead and looking out for the future of the company as well as the betterment of the company 's future. The problem lies with a company not always identifying the minor problems, if the problems are not addressed in a timely manner, this could play a huge part in the market in a very short amount of time (Thinking Made Easy, 2008).
Enron which is a major American energy company, buckled because they were experiencing extensive international issues all in the midst of various plans needing a great amount of support financially. Enron had started to address these issues when the company was not financially stable which resulted in the slowing of the company 's growth and started a chain reaction; wrong partnerships and investments. The business could have avoided the effects of the "boiled frog" phenomenon by sticking with their existing strategies and should have monitored and responded to these unexpected events much
References: Thinking Made Easy. (2008). Sample Strategic Management: Boiled Frog Phenomenon. Retrieved March 26, 2013 from Http://www.ivythesis.typepad.com/boiled-frog-phe.html