K - STRATEGY
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1806 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
A system's strategy that aims at having fewer, larger and higher energy-using elements whose life spans are long and rate of replacement low (adapted from R.N. ADAMS, 1988, p.134).
ADAMS explains as follows this concept, borrowed from ecology: \term“{Hierarchical structures} behave (according to) K-strategy: they are large but consume more energy” and “They take a longer time to come into being” (p.134).
K-strategy is better adapted in conditions of general environmental stability, where elements or parts are in less danger of individual destruction.
However, when systems constructed according to a K-strategy dissolve in parts due to some considerable environmental disturbance these parts “…often cannot sustain themselves and thus need to reorganize along different lines in order to survive” (Ibid).
In many cases, they are not able to do this: scattered populations close to extinction, imperial structures losing control, disorganized conglomerates are examples.