Organizations in Action

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Apr 26, 2016 - James D. Thompson´s Organizations in Actions has been very important in the development of organization theory and research since 1967.
Organizations in Action Social Bases of Administrative Theory Scott, R. 2008. Introduction. Organizations in Action by James Thompson. Transaction Publishers. xv-xxiii.

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

Introduction James D. Thompson´s Organizations in Actions has been very important in the development of organization theory and research since 1967. According to Scott, the author undertakes three tasks in his book: ▪ To portray the field of organization studies before Thompson (BT) ▪ To describe Thompson´s seminal contributions (CT) ▪ To note developments in organization studies subsequent to Thompson´s work (AT)

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

BT: Organizational Studies Before Thompson Prior to 1950 ▪ Comparative studies of Max Weber ▪ Scientific management work by Frederick Taylor ▪ Human relations studies by Elton Mayo and William Whyte ▪ Adaptive system views of Chester Barnard and Philip Selznik

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

BT: Organizational Studies Before Thompson Comparative studies of Max Weber ▪ Considered as “grand theory”. ▪ Weber observed that the West was leading the way with the rise of the nation-state and its rapid industrialization overseen by corporate organizations.

▪ In Weber´s formulation, rationalized legal and administrative systems were replacing traditional and charismatic models of administration, and the rise of public and private sector bureaucracies were and important indicator and carrier of their new beliefs and values. PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

BT: Organizational Studies Before Thompson Scientific management work by Frederick Taylor ▪ Taylor observed and wrote about the same transformations Weber observed, however, as an engineer, he focused primarily on changing approaches to production within factories, rather than being content describing and understating these developments, Taylor was deeply engaged in advancing them. ▪ Taylor´s ideas spread to guide reorganizations of work in other arenas, such as schools and other service organizations.

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

BT: Organizational Studies Before Thompson Human relations studies by Elton Mayo and William Whyte ▪ Challenged the view that factories were simply production systems and worker economic entities. ▪ Noted the importance of social ties among workers (and later among managers) and documented the role of informal structure and non-rational motivations in organizing work.

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

BT: Organizational Studies Before Thompson Adaptive system views of Chester Barnard and Philip Selznik ▪ Advanced the view of organizations as adaptive systems attempting to survive in their environment. ▪ Organizations are not simply technical systems, but political and social systems embodying norms and values of importance to their participants and a wider circle of constituents.

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

BT: Organizational Studies Before Thompson Goulder´s models ▪ Rational: viewed organizations as instruments that could be shaped and molded to accomplish given ends, assuming that participants can control developments. ▪ Natural: viewed organizations as organic systems that evolve via spontaneous, indeterminant processes.

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

BT: Organizational Studies Before Thompson Ludwig von Bertalanffy, W. Ross Ashby and Norbert Wiener

▪ General Systems Theory – Many scientific phenomena from microorganisms to planets operate as systems. – Systems vary in level of complexity, reactivity and degree of coupling. – Organizations are open systems (Boulding, 1956). – The open systems conception directed the attention toward recognizing the importance of organizationenvironment connection. PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

CT: Thompson´s Contributions ▪ Decision Theory: decision making by individuals in organizations.

▪ Variation among Organizations – Different types of environments (levels of complexity and uncertainty) give rise to different types of organizations. – Organizations with more turbulent and complex environments develop “organic” structures. – Organizations with simpler and more stable environments develop “mechanistic” structures by higher levels of specialization and formalization.

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

CT: Thompson´s Contributions Variation within Organizations ▪ A “levels” model that proposes: – All organizations are by their nature, open to the environment. – All organizations must adapt by crafting appropriate structure. – Organizations are differentiated systems, and some sub components are designed to be more open and some more closed to environmental influences than others.

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

CT: Thompson´s Contributions ▪ Embraced a three-level distinction developed by Parsons(1960): production, managerial and institutional components or organizations. ▪ In Thompson´s model, all organizations are simultaneously rational and natural systems; and all are both open and closed systems.

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

AT: After Thompson ▪ Contingency Theory of Organizations: size, environmental, structural , task complexity ▪ “Configurational” version of Contingency Theory of Organizations: organizational adaptation is not driven by a single variable but by a combination of conditions.

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

AT: After Thompson ▪ Ecology Theory: organizations can readily change their structures to adapt to changing circumstances. New types or organizations arise to meet new circumstances rather than existing ones altering their structures. ▪ Institutional Theory: legal systems, widely shared belief systems and norms define the environments of organizations and shape the response repertory available to any given organization.

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

Concept Map

By Nadia Rodriguez

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016

Gracias

PRESENTED BY NADIA K. RODRÍGUEZ

4/26/2016