Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, And Postmodern Perspectives

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Marketing Area: Organization theory helps everyone understand the organization itself, its strategy and its brand. It has also enabled the work of virtual organizations and teams, as well as allowed for more decentralization. Socio-Technical Systems Theory: This theory is concerned with the relationship between technology and society (workers). It focuses on the effects of technology on productivity and motivation. The theory highlights the benefits of group work and delegation of responsibility. For instance, autonomous workgroups were investigated: these were groups of workers that were free to decide their division of work and their tasks. This resulted in improved motivation (this was also known as the short wall method). Individualism versus Collectivism: Individualistic cultures focus on making their own decisions and looking after themselves whereas in collectivistic cultures great importance is placed on the community and relationships with other people. The USA is an example of an individualistic culture and China an example of a collectivist culture.

The more activities the organization has across the world, the higher its geographic extent. This means that coordination and communication will become more complicated. System: made up of subsystems (which can also be defined as systems) and their relationships with one another. A system can only be understood fully only if all subsystems and their relationships are understood. A number of sociologists and psychologists made major contributions to the study of the neoclassical perspective, which is also known as the human relations school of thought. The human relations movement was a movement which had the primary concerns of concentrating on topics such as morale, leadership. This perspective began in the 1920s with the Hawthorne studies, which gave emphasis to "affective and socio-psychological aspects of human behavior in organizations." [11] The study, taking place at the "Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company between 1927 and 1932," would make Elton Mayo and his colleagues the most important contributors to the neoclassical perspective. [12] The most important physical elements include the organization’s geography, layout, landscaping and décor. There is dangerous risk of oversimplification in making Weber seem cold and heartless to such a degree that an efficiently-run Nazi death camp might appear admirable." [27] In reality, Weber believed that by using human logic in his system, organizations could achieve improvement of human condition in various workplaces.Weber tended to offer a teleological argument with regard to bureaucracy. Weber's idea of bureaucracy is considered teleological to the extent that he posits that bureaucracies aim to achieve specific goals. Weber claimed that bureaucracies are goal-oriented organizations that use their efficiency and rational principles to reach their goals. [25] A teleological analysis of businesses leads to the inclusion of all involved stakeholders in decision-making. [26] The teleological view of Weberian bureaucracy postulates that all actors in an organization have various ends or goals, and attempt to find the most efficient way to achieve these goals. [21] Criticism [ edit ] The main issue with ‘environmental complexity’ is that it suggests that there are no different reactions to the environment - everyone experiences it in the same way. Therefore, the information perspective on uncertainty was introduced. This highlights that rather than the environment being uncertain, the people who analyze the environment may feel uncertain about it. At this point, to regain control, rules and policies have to be implemented (bureaucratic features) - this is known as the formalization stage. However, too much of this bureaucratic control can result in the crisis of red tape. Task orientation is more common in production areas as there are specific targets that need to be met, whereas relationship orientation is more common in sales departments where customer relationships need to be strong. The Level of Analysis: This has to be defined when looking at a system. For example, if an organization is being analysed, then the organization is the system and the departments within the organization a subsystem. The organization is surrounded by a Super System, the environment, and the subsystems of an organization include:

Symbolic Conditioning: This refers to the way we automatically behave when we are in a certain place or observing a certain object - we have been conditioned to behave that way. In addition, the organization’s identity is influenced by spatial elements and relationships. Language Communities: different communities have different ways in which they use language to communicate - they have their own ‘jargon’. Discussed how organizations should be moulded into Cooperative Social Systems - This is similar to Follett’s idea of the organization as a community, as well as emphasis on employee involvement and motivation and communication of all organizational goals.The aspects of our culture that we fail to notice because we are so used to them are known as Basic Assumptions. You will only begin to realize what your culture is like and its assumptions when you experience a culture that is different to your own. Deductive Reasoning: using measurement and scientific research to prove against the inductive reasoning. Before you can start to analyze the environment, you need to know where the organizational boundary is - that is, where the organization stops and the environment starts. The boundary can differ depending on what you are trying to find out about the environment. a b Smith, Adam (1977) [1776]. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-76374-9. Modernists believe that by finding relationships between the organization’s structure and its performance, a recipe for an efficient and effective organizational structure can be found.

The contingency theory views organization design as "a constrained optimization problem," meaning that an organization must try to maximize performance by minimizing the effects of varying environmental and internal constraints. [43] Contingency theory claims there is no best way to organize a corporation, to lead a company, or to make decisions. An organizational, leadership, or decision making style that is effective in some situations, may not be successful in other situations. The optimal organization, leadership, or decision making style depends upon various internal and external constraints (factors). [44] Factors [ edit ] From this theory, critical organization theory emerged, concerning how power is delegated in an organization and the empowerment of employees. Classification of personnel as social beings and proposes that sense of belonging in the workplace is important to increase productivity levels in the workforce. Contingency theorists believe that the best performing organizations are those whose internal organizational structure fits their external environment. Based on classical and modern-day theory, this text examines the impacts organizations have on individuals and society.A polyphonic organization is an organization that is connected to several function systems without a predefined primary function system (multiple binary codifications). In other words, the polyphonic organization is an organization that describes itself through many codes. Waldo, Dwight. 1978. "Organization Theory: Revisiting the Elephant." Public Administration Review 38(November/December). p. 597 Social Structure: This includes the relationships amongst employees of the organization. In addition, the different departments or groups that people within the organization belong to. A rational organization system has two significant parts: (1) specificity of goals and (2) formalization. Goal specification provides guidelines for specific tasks to be completed along with a regulated way for resources to be allocated. Formalization is a way to standardize organizational behavior. As a result, there will be stable expectations, which create the rational organizational system. [31] [32] Simple Structure: This includes sole proprietorships, where the manager or owner makes the majority of decisions.