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Microsoft is a name that can spark varying reactions from people. For some, the name means monopoly, unfair trade practices, unethical business policies, or "market bully." For others, Microsoft means innovation, opportunist, success, and capitalism personified. For third group the name is simply seen as a large part of their life like a car, phone, or some other quasi-necessity. There is, however, a different view of Microsoft from a group of people called population ecologists. Population ecologists are being treated to a historical dynamic as a dominant company, Microsoft, is being challenged by a small "movement", Linux, which is not your typical competitor.
In order understand the viewpoint of the population ecologists; it is important to understand the framework by which this group views the life cycle of an organization or organism. Organizational population ecologists view an organization (or market's) life cycle as a continuum from an aggressively growing upstart known as an r-strategy organization to a k-strategy organization (or market) which dominates and defends their market and resources. Organizational population ecologists compare the business environment to that of a living organism in an ecosystem. Let's use the deer population of Tom Green County as an example. It is no secret that the deer population in this county is growing almost at an alarming rate. Despite the attempts to keep the population "thinned" by hunting seasons and the like, the population continues to grow. What will happen to the deer population as it grows disproportionately large? Eventually, with limited amounts of ...