In population dynamics we often see periodic behavior.  So far, even if we add meme death to each of the growth equations we do not get periodic behavior.  Oscillatory behavior occurs when there is a feedback with delay.  In population dynamics the most discussed example is the prey-predator model.  This is often described with rabbits and foxes.  If the rabbit population is large and the fox population small, the foxes reproduce at a high rate until they reduce the rabbit population to a level below the level that will maintain the fox population.  This can happen only because the little foxes consume few rabbits until they grow to adulthood, thus the effect on the rabbit population has a delay associated with the maturation rate of the foxes. 

We do observe oscillatory behavior in organizations, but I can think of no clear example where it is caused directly by meme population dynamics.  It seems always to be associated with a re-evaluation of the value (the parameter) of a meme.  Examples are such things as “How should we structure our schools?”, “How should we structure healthcare?”, “What is the correct level of disaster preparedness?”, “How much should we invest in quality control or system improvement?, or “How should we structure the sales force?”  This last one is a simple example.

Should a sales force be organized by client industry or by geographic regions?  Technology companies that sell to multiple industries face the trade off between efficiency of a sales representative covering a small geographic territory versus improved client relations by specializing in a single industry but with a corresponding larger territory.  I have seen companies oscillate between these two.  A typical scenario is to start with the efficiency of the small geographic territory, only to find they are losing sales to a competitor whose sales representative specializes in a particular industry and establishes a better relation with and a better solution for prospects.  The company then restructures.  Since it takes time to change the sales force and or train them, there is a time delay before management can credit new sales to the new industry alignment.  After an initial improvement management begins to see that profits are adversely affected by the increased cost of sales representatives spending more time traveling and less time selling.  The company is restructured to gain the efficiency of small territories.  I have seen companies that oscillate between these and some that understand the trade off and develop a mixed strategy quickly. 

But all such cyclic behavior is caused by factors other than meme population dynamics.  Therefore I shall conclude that meme population dynamics do not lead to cyclic behaviors.  Thus both the mathematical description and the organization reality appear to be in agreement on this point.

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