Where does flexibility collide?

In structural mechanics, flexibility is the displacement a structure undergoes for each unit of force applied to it, the inverse of stiffness. Maxwell's 1864 On the calculation of the equilibrium and stiffness of frames derived the reciprocal relations between forces and displacements in a framework, giving the flexibility coefficients that let engineers solve a structure through the forces in its members rather than the movements of its joints. This origin grew into the flexibility method, also called the force method, of structural analysis. The referent is a measurable mechanical property of a beam or frame, how far it yields per newton of load, and it has nothing to do with a firm adjusting to a changing market or a person adjusting behavior to fit their values.[1]

Unit

Displacement per unit of applied force, for example millimetres per newton

Recovery means

An elastic structure returns to its original shape once the load is removed

Measured by

Read from flexibility coefficients or a flexibility matrix computed from geometry and material, or found by measuring deflection under a known load

In strategic management, flexibility is a firm's capacity to respond to changing conditions in its markets and technology. Sanchez's 1995 Strategic flexibility in product competition defined it as the firm's ability to respond to variation, arising from the range of options its resources permit and the speed with which it can switch among them, and tied it to competing through product variety and rapid model change. The referent is an organizational capacity, judged by how readily a company can shift products, resources, or strategy, and it is distinct from the deflection of a loaded beam or the behavioral capacity studied in therapy.[2]

Unit

A firm's capacity to shift resources and strategy in response to change

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Assessed through the range of available strategic options and the cost and time to switch among them, often via managerial survey or case analysis

In clinical psychology, psychological flexibility is the ability to stay in contact with the present moment and to persist with or change behavior in the service of one's chosen values. Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, and Lillis's 2006 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Model, processes and outcomes set out this idea as the core aim of acceptance and commitment therapy, contrasting it with rigid patterns driven by avoidance of unwanted thoughts and feelings. The referent is a person's behavioral and psychological capacity, gauged by questionnaire, and it is unrelated to how far a frame bends under load or how quickly a company can change its products.[3]

Unit

A person's capacity to act on values while open to present experience

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Assessed by self-report instruments such as the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire