<P> Subsequently, much research has been done on the organizational life cycle theory, and can be found in various literature on organizations . Examples include the various stages in an organization's life cycle, phases of growth experienced by an organization during expansion and implications for these phases of growth . </P> <P> Generally, there are five stages to an organization's life cycle </P> <Ul> <Li> Stage 1: Existence: Commonly known as the birth or entrepreneurial stage, "existence" signifies the start of an organization's expansion . The main importance is centered around the acknowledgement of having an adequate number of customers to keep the organization or business active . </Li> <Li> Stage 2: Survival: At this stage, organizations look to pursue growth, establish a framework and develop their capabilities . There is a focus on regularly setting targets for the organization, with the main aim being to generate sufficient revenue for survival and expansion . Some organizations enjoy adequate growth to be able to enter the next stage, whilst others are unsuccessful in achieving this and consequently fail to survive . </Li> <Li> Stage 3: Maturity: This stage signifies the organization entering a more formal hierarchy of management (hierarchical organization). A frequent problem encountered at this stage would be those associated with "Red Tape". Organizations look to safeguard their growth as opposed to focusing on expansion . Top and middle level management specialize in different tasks, such as planning and routine work respectively . </Li> <Li> Stage 4: Renewal: Organizations experience a renewal in their structure of management, from a hierarchical to a matrix style, which encourages creativity and flexibility . </Li> <Li> Stage 5: Decline: This stage initiates the death of an organization . The decline is identified by the focus on political agenda and authority within an organization, whereby individuals start to become preoccupied with personal objectives, instead of focusing on the objectives of the organization itself . This slowly destroys the functionality and feasibility of the entire organization . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Stage 1: Existence: Commonly known as the birth or entrepreneurial stage, "existence" signifies the start of an organization's expansion . The main importance is centered around the acknowledgement of having an adequate number of customers to keep the organization or business active . </Li>

What are the stages of organizational life cycle