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Organization Theory
Challenges and Perspectives
John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson
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This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of work that today qualify as constituting the subject of organisational theory. Whilst their writing is accessible and engaging, their approach is scholarly and serious. It is so easy for students (and indeed others who should know better) to trivialize
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This requires that they have a deeper than superficial understanding of management and organization issues. McAuley et al. helps student and managers understand organizational performance without having to go through extensive reading. It deepens their understanding of issues with which they are confronted in practice, by putting them into a larger context. This book really helps students and managers to become wiser. Professor René Tissen, Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands This book will appeal to the student who seeks a thorough and critical understanding of organization theory. It is both rigorous and accessible, clearly and unashamedly pitched for readers who wish to engage with theoretical issues whilst also maintaining a practical focus on why organization theory matters. I felt in good hands here, confident that I was being offered a deeply informed, reliable and intelligently constructed account. The opening chapter carefully and helpfully explains terms, including ‘theory’ and ‘epistemology’ that can form an unexplored bedrock to texts in the field. It then offers thoughtful, scholarly and well-illustrated discussions of prominent theoretical perspective, including managerialism and postmodernity, supported by specified learning outcomes and guides to further reading. Dr Paul Tosey, University of Surrey, UK The field of organization theory is extremely fragmented and there is no agreement concerning the underlying
A private sector is usually composed of organisations which are privately owned and not part of a government; whereas a public sector is composed of organisations that are owned by the government and voluntary sectors are composed of individuals of who seek help in charitable activities. Private sectors include corporations such as partnerships and charities, like the voluntary sectors, and the public sectors include corporations such as federal, provincial, state or municipal governments. An example of a private sector is a retail store or credit unions, and example of a public sector is an educational or
Organisations have changed significantly over the last 100 years, starting at the beginning with Max Weber, Taylorism and Fordism. Max Weber was a pioneer in bureaucratic management, but his theories and management styles played a huge impact on the scientific role that Taylor and ford would advance into. “For weber
7. Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., and Pitsis, T. (2011) Managing & Organisations: An Introduction to
Organizational theory studies the various variables that influence the behavior of an individual(s) working within an organization, but also, “prescribes how work and workers ought to be organized and attempts to explain the actual consequences of organizational behavior (including individual actions) on work being performed and on the organization itself.” (Milakovich & Gordon, 2013, p.145). Of the many approaches to organizational analysis, Classical Organizational theory has been, even to this day, extremely influential by focusing on more formal concepts such as bureaucracy, rationalization and scientific management. Although, over the decades organizational management has taken on a more human relations approach to getting more productivity out of employees, it is contributors like Max Webber, Fredrick Taylor, and Luther Gulick that laid down the basic foundation organizational theories by recognizing the need for control and procedures.
The twentieth century has brought in a number of management theories which have helped shaped our view of management in the present business environment. These emerging theories have enabled managers to appreciate new patterns of thinking, new ways of organising and new ways of managing organisations and people. Over the years these different theories have enabled the study
Organizational culture refers to a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that show employees what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior.[1]
This view of an organization can help us to draw useful inferences about its relationships with its environment, (Lawrence & Lorsch, 1967), the role of management (Eisenhardt, 1989), as an interdependent part of a system whose primary function is to exert authority and
Organisational structure, as defined by Hodge, Anthony & Gales (1996), is “the sum total of the way in which an organisation divides it’s labour into distinct tasks and then coordinates them” (p.32). It is a set of structural elements used to manage the total organisation
The collective programming of the organizational mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another.
Up until the 21 century, the majority of the published literature scrutinizing and modeling organizational theories and their use in the workplace to maximize performance, were developed exclusively in the United States. However, greater awareness of international workplace culture has made it clear that these theories, which were modeled after American companies, are not as universally applicable as researchers assumed. As American management and leadership theories, these philosophies reflect an inherent bias, incorporating American values, motivations, and expectations. As such, variations across cultures and their impact on organizations can make implementation of these concepts completely inappropriate in another culture, while fully
The beginning of administrative Wisdom is the awareness that there is no optimum type of management system. The different schools of organization theory provide a number of ways of analysing organizations from the point of view of the formal structure, individual behaviour, and the organization as a system and the environmental influences which affect the shape and climate of an organization.
Organizations have become important social institutions that affect nearly everyone's life in one way or another. However, there are many different perspectives that can be used in understanding these organizations. Theorists have produced many different ideas about the best vantage point in which to try to understand how an organization functions. Furthermore, it is important for leaders in the organization to understand these theories so that they can tailor their own concepts and theories and the organizations in which they are members of. This translates in the need for multiple perspectives to be used in the pursuit of understanding an organization and how it functions.
Organizational structures classify the manner in which activities, including job allocation, coordination, and management are planned in order to achieve organizational goals (Janićijević, 2011; Matis, 2014). Structures help define organizational culture and contribute to how individuals perceive the organization’s culture. Many models and theories provide insight and guidance on ways an organization’s culture can be modified (Janićijević, 2011; Matis, 2014).
An organization is built on many different pieces of a puzzle all pulled together by an effective management team. Chaos can arise if employees do not know what to do or who to follow, which instills the need for a leader in the work environment. Although anyone can step up and call him or herself a leader, it takes an individual with specific traits and characteristics to do the job effectively, additionally, one must be able to distinguish between the product and the people who make it possible. Understanding the difference between managing and leadership, task allocation to get the job completed in a timely manner, employee needs, knowing what motivates employees, communication, and problem solving are all part of the daily elements of any manager. Top priorities of an organization must be thoroughly acknowledged and conveyed to effectively manage day-to-day business, while keeping in mind the employees who make it all possible.
Control systems are formal, target-setting, monitoring, evaluation and feedback systems that provide managers with information about how well the organisation’s