WE HANG TOGETHER

• Inter-organizational relationships can be competitive, interdependent or a combination of the two
• Organizations are interdependent in terms of their performance & organizational cultures
• In the late 80's & 90's this shifted to corporate strategy & association b/c of global marketing, converging tastes, ever-shortening lives of technology & product cycles & large capital investment demands
• Strategic alliance: various collaborative relationships & endeavors
• When executives & managers are forced to create strategies for partnership & cooperation they must  do it in a way that fits their organization & human resources
• Corporate leaders, academics & pundits often mistakenly characterize business endurance as competition rather than dependence
• Darwin's model of evolution illustrates the natural tendencies of organisms to create relationships, networks & communities
• The "fittest" are not necessarily self-sufficient but diverse, most adaptable & interdependent
• Human factors such as trust & communication play a significant role in the successful implementation of interdependent effort
• They will also naturally sabotage any initiative that does not fit their value systems
• Collaboration unless required or sanctioned by an authority figure is considered cheating
• To achieve ideal independence, something must be sacrificed & what is lost is the sense of teamwork, belonging to something that is greater than oneself
• A collaborator must be able to justify his investment in a strategic relationship by promoting the benefits of creating a strategic relationship or create fear for the ramifications of acting w/o it
• Acting out of self-interest can conflict w/ what is good for the alliance; which is influenced by societal, cultural & organizational influences
• By allowing & encouraging relationships to take place among companies, departments, individuals & other members of online, market, & geographical communities, companies can achieve multiple goals in marketing, PR & good will of altruism
• Effective interdependence facilitates not only business success, but the preservation of an environment in which for-profit & non-profit ventures thrive