Organizations and Organizing Rational, Natural and Open Systems Perspectives

by Scott, W Richard; Davis, Gerald F.

• ISBN13: 9780131958937
• ISBN10: 0131958933
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-05
• Publisher: ROUTLEDGE

Summary

This broad, balanced introduction to organizational studies enables the reader to compare and contrast different approaches to the study of organizations. This book is a valuable tool for the reader, as we are all intertwined with organizations in one form or another. Numerous other disciplines besides sociology are addressed in this book, including economics, political science, strategy and management theory.

Topic areas discussed in this book are the importance of organizations; defining organizations; organizations as rational, natural, and open systems; environments, strategies, and structures of organizations; and organizations and society.

For those employed in fields where knowledge of organizational theory is necessary, including sociology, anthropology, cognitive psychology, industrial engineering, managers in corporations and international business, and business strategists.

Features:

-Pays attention to organizational strategy, organizational conflict and political views of organizations

-Expansive coverage of globalization and the effects of trans-societal frameworks and processes.

-Written not exclusively from a management perspective, this text addresses managerial concerns while recognizing that all of us are legitimate stakeholders in organizations, whether as citizens, rank-and-file participants or customers/clients.

Author Biography

W. Richard Scott is a professor at Stanford University and is the author of numerous books, including the best-selling Organizations: Rational, Natural and Open Systems, which this new book replaces.

Gerald F. Davis is a professor of Management and Organizations in the University of Michigan Business School. He brings extensive knowledge of strategy, social networks and social movements to this new book.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
The Subject Is Organizations; The Verb is Organizing	p. 1
The Importance of Organizations	p. 2
Organizations as an Area of Study	p. 8
Common and Divergent Interests	p. 11
The Elements of Organizations	p. 19
Defining the Concept of Organization	p. 27
Summary	p. 33
Organizations as Rational Systems	p. 35
The Defining Characteristics	p. 36
Selected Schools	p. 40
Summary and Tentative Conclusions	p. 56
Organizations as Natural Systems	p. 59
Basic versus Distinctive Characteristics	p. 59
Selected Schools	p. 64
Summary and Tentative Conclusions	p. 83
Organizations as Open Systems	p. 87
System Levels	p. 88
Special Emphases and Insights	p. 90
Selected Schools	p. 98
Summary and Tentative Conclusions	p. 106
Combining Perspectives, Expanding Levels	p. 107
Attempts at Integration	p. 108
Glancing Back and Looking Forward	p. 113
Expanded Levels of Analysis	p. 115
Theories at the Ecological Level	p. 120
Concluding Comment	p. 122
Technology and Structure	p. 124
Organizations as Technical Adaptive Systems	p. 125
Technology and Structure: Natural System Formulations	p. 137
Summary	p. 149
Labor and Structure	p. 151
The Social Boundaries of Organizations	p. 151
Division of Labor	p. 158
Labor Markets and Organizational Boundaries	p. 164
High-Performance Work Organizations	p. 170
Problems for Participants	p. 173
Concluding Comments	p. 181
Goals, Power, and Control	p. 183
Goal Setting in Organizations	p. 183
Anarchies, Adhocracies, and Learning	p. 196
Control Systems	p. 202
Critical and Postmodern Conceptions of Power	p. 215
Summary	p. 218
The Dyadic Environment of the Organization	p. 220
Why Are There Organizations, and Where Do They Place Their Boundaries?	p. 221
Transaction Costs and the Origins of Firms	p. 221
How Do Organizations Manage Their Relations with Other Organizations?	p. 233
Resource Dependence and the Negotiated Environment	p. 233
Summary	p. 243
Organization of the Environment	p. 245
How Do New Organizations and New Populations of Organizations Arise, and Why Do They Fail?: Ecological Perspectives	p. 246
How Are Organizations Shaped by Broader Social-Political-Cultural Processes?: Institutional Perspectives	p. 258
Summary	p. 277
Networks In and Around Organizations	p. 278
Introduction: From Metaphor to Method to Worldview	p. 278
Network Thinking	p. 279
Interorganizational Networks	p. 285
Network Forms of Organization	p. 291
Sectoral and Societal Networks	p. 301
Summary	p. 307
Strategy, Structure, and Performance: The Sociology of Organizational Strategy	p. 310
Why Are Organizations in Some Industries More Profitable Than Those in Others?	p. 313
Organizational Performance	p. 326
Summary	p. 338
The Rise and Transformation of the Corporate Form	p. 340
Changing Forms of Organizations	p. 343
Are Organizations Still the Defining Structures of Society?	p. 361
Summary	p. 367
Changing Contours of Organizations and Organization Theory	p. 368
From Unitary to Multiparadigm	p. 369
From Monocultural to Multicultural Studies	p. 374
From Present-centered to Longitudinal and Historical Analysis	p. 376
From Micro- to Macro Units and Levels of Analysis	p. 381
From Structure to Process	p. 384
References	p. 391
Name Index	p. 439
Subject Index	p. 447
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