New Directions for Organization Theory Problems and Prospects

by Pfeffer, Jeffrey

• ISBN13: 9780195114348
• ISBN10: 0195114345
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-06-05
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In New Directions for Organization Theory , Jeffrey Pfeffer offers a comprehensive analysis and overview of the field of organization theory and its research literature. This work traces the evolution of organization studies, particularly its more recent history, and highlights the principle concepts and controversies characterizing the study of organizations. Pfeffer argues that the world of organizations has changed in several important ways, including the increasing externalization of employment and the growing use of contingent workers; the changing size distribution of organizations, with a larger proportion of smaller organizations; the increasing influence of external capital markets on organizational decision-making and a concomitant decrease in managerial autonomy; and increasing salary inequality within organizations in the US compared both to the past and to other industrialized nations. These changes and their public policy implications make it especially important to understand organizations as social entities. But Pfeffer questions whether the research literature of organization studies has either addressed these changes and their causes or made much of a contribution to the discussion of public policy. New Directions for Organization Theory provides a clear, accessible summary of the current state of organization studies, skillfully synthesizing diverse research and presenting it in an orderly, insightful manner. It offers suggestions for the development of the field, including a call to focus more on issues of design and to use the ability to understand real phenomena to help distinguish among theoretical approaches. A major scholar in the field of organization theory, Jeffrey Pfeffer offers a perspective on its current state that will be of interest and value to scholars and graduate students interested in organizations.

Author Biography

Jeffrey Pfeffer is Thomas D. Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford. He is the author of six books, 90 articles and book chapters and has won numerous academic awards and honors for his research.

Table of Contents

1 The Development and Scope of Organization Studies	3	(22)
Organizations Defined	7	(2)
The Evolution of Research and Writing on Organizations	9	(9)
The Changing Organizational Landscape	18	(7)
2 Understanding the Causes of Behavior	25	(17)
The Search for Individual Dispositions	27	(7)
Problems with the Dispositional Perspective	34	(3)
Person by Situation Interaction and Fit	37	(3)
The Costs and Benefits of the Person-Situation Debate	40	(1)
Some Lessons Learned	41	(1)
3 Five Models of Behavior	42	(39)
Economic Models of Organizational Behavior	44	(11)
The Social Model of Behavior	55	(10)
The Retrospectively Rational Model of Behavior	65	(8)
The Moral Model of Behavior	73	(4)
The Interpretive, Cognitive Model of Behavior	77	(2)
Conclusion	79	(2)
4 The Effects of Organizational Composition	81	(19)
Organizational Demography	82	(7)
Top Management Teams	89	(4)
Gender, Networks, and Careers	93	(5)
Conclusion	98	(2)
5 Mechanisms of Social Control	100	(36)
Rewards, Incentives, Sanctions, and Surveillance	103	(3)
Commitment and Socialization Processes	116	(4)
Organizational Culture	120	(6)
Leadership	126	(9)
Conclusion	135	(1)
6 Developing and Exercising Power and Influence	136	(20)
Power and Influence	137	(13)
Negotiation in Organizations	150	(5)
Conclusion	155	(1)
7 Organizational Performance	156	(21)
Structural Contingency Theory	158	(5)
Organizational Ecology	163	(6)
Human Resource Practices and Performance	169	(7)
Conclusion	176	(1)
8 Organizations from a Critical Theory Perspective	177	(12)
Marxist Versions of Organization Theory	179	(7)
Other Critical Theory	186	(1)
The Role of Critical Theory in Organization Studies	187	(2)
9 New Directions for Organization Theory	189	(16)
How Is Organization Studies Doing?	190	(2)
Avoiding the Dangerous Liaison with Economics	192	(1)
Avoiding Fads and Fashion by Pursuing a Strong Inference Research Strategy	193	(3)
The Advantage of Being Phenomenon Driven	196	(2)
The Relevance of Design-Physical and Organizational	198	(4)
Conclusion	202
References	205	(40)
Index	245