GROWTH RATE
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1493 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
The relative speed of growth by time unit.
According to K. BOULDING, every system has an optimum or equilibrated rate of growth. He adds: “…(a) higher or lower growth rate may seriously disturb the functioning of the system, even to the point of its collapse and ”death“. (1956, p.74).
BOULDING gives some examples from botanics and economy. Such abnormalities are obviously very frequent and could be generally named “disturbances of growth rates or rhythms”. They seem to be linked to disruptions of the equilibrium between the relative growth of various functions and structures (or subsystems), induced in some cases by internal causes and in other by environmental factors.
This phenomenon has been reported in quite different fields as, for example, in human biology, physical and mental lags because of a deficient alimentation during childhood; or in management, a crisis of general disorganization provoked by an excessive rate of growth.
Refering themselves to GOETHE (the so-called “Budget Law”) and Geoffroy de SAINT-HILAIRE (“Loi de balancement”), R.S. NAROLL and L.von BERTALANFFY write: “…in an organism, there is a characteristic and constant ”equilibrium“ between the organs and, as we may add, the chemical components as well. So overdevelopment of one part will be corrected by lack in an other part” (1956, p.79).
The subject is thus at the same time closely related to allometric growth.
K. BOULDING again writes: “Growth at any rate… cannot take place without the organism eventually becoming ”large“ and diseconomies of scale may set in. The ideal rate of growth, therefore, may properly be regarded as a diminishing function of the size of the organization and will eventually diminish to zero” (1956, p.39-40).
This affects organisms as well as organizations, and probably explains the very general transition of systems of many types from growth to dynamic stability. It could also be the basic reason why individuals of any type, limited in size, tend to socialize and form more complex systems on a higher level of organization.