Introduction to Organization Theory. What is Theory? Theory is: “a plan or scheme existing in the...
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Transcript of Introduction to Organization Theory. What is Theory? Theory is: “a plan or scheme existing in the...
Introduction toOrganization Theory
What is Theory?
• Theory is: “a plan or scheme existing in the mind only, but based on principles verifiable by experiment or observation” (Funk & Wagnalls page 1302
• ).
What is an Organization?
• “Organizations are social entities that are goal-oriented; are designed as deliberately structured and coordinated activity systems, and are linked to the external environment” (Daft, 2004).
Definition of Organization Theory
• Organization theory: is the set of propositions (body of knowledge) stemming from a definable field of study which can be termed organizations science (Kast&Rosenzweig1970).
• The study of organizations: is an applied science because the resulting knowledge is relevent to problem solving or decision making in ongoing enterprises or institutions (Kast&Rosenzweig1970).
Definition of Organization Theory Cont..
• Two things: – Knowledge
• Knowledge generated by practical experience and scientific research
– Solving problems & managing resources (Kast&Rosenzweig1970).
Definition of Organization Theory Cont..
• “It is the application of scientific knowledge in engineering and other forms of technology that has brought such spectacular changes in the material context of our lives over the past century” (Kast&Rosenzweig1970).
Organization theory and Management
• “Management technology stems from organization theory and even more applied in the sense that it focuses on the practice of management in ongoing organizations” (Kast&Rosenzweig1970).
Micro Perspective of Organizations
• Simplifying Assumptions:– Firms viewed as an individual entrepreneur– Profit maximization– Rationality in achieving firm goals– Firms function is to transform inputs into outputs– Staple environment in which firm operates– Concerned only with changes in prices and
quantities of inputs and outputs
Organization Theory from a Historical Perspective
• Throughout history most managers operated strictly on a trial-and-error basis
• The management profession as we know it today is relatively new– wide swings in management approaches over the
last 100 years– parts of each approach have survived and been
incorporated into modern perspectives on management
Evolution Of Management Thought
1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Systematicmanagement
Administrativemanagement
Quantitativemanagement
Systemstheory
Current andfuture revolutions
Scientificmanagement
Humanrelations
Organizationalbehavior
Bureaucracy
Classical Approaches Contemporary Approaches
Contingencytheory
Early Management Concepts And Influences
• Industrial revolution– minor improvements in management tactics produced
impressive increases in production quantity and quality– economies of scale - reductions in the average cost of a unit
of production as the total volume produced increases– opportunities for mass production created by the industrial
revolution spawned intense and systematic thought about management problems and issues
• efficiency• production processes• cost savings
Systematic Management
Systematized manufacturing operations
Coordination of procedures and processes built into internal operations
Emphasis on economical operations, inventory management, and cost control
Beginning of formal management in the United States
Promotion of efficient, uninterrupted production
Ignored relationship between an organization and it environment
Ignored differences in managers’ and workers’ views
Key concepts
Limitations
Contributions
Scientific Management (The Classical Organization Theory)
• Advocated the application of scientific methods to analyze work and to determine how to complete production tasks efficiently
• Four principles– develop a scientific approach for each element of one’s work– scientifically select, train, teach and develop each worker– cooperate with workers to ensure that jobs match plans and principles– ensure appropriate division of labor
• Personalities– Frederick W. Taylor– Frank and Lillian Gilbreth– Henry Gantt
Scientific Management (cont.)
Used scientific methods to determine the “one best way’
Emphasized study of tasks, selection and training of workers, and cooperation between workers and management
Improved factory productivity and efficiency
Introduced scientific analysis to the workplace
Piecerate system equated worker rewards and performance
Simplistic motivational assumptions
Workers viewed as parts of a machine
Potential for exploitation of labor
Excluded senior management tasks
Key concepts
Limitations
Contributions
Administrative Management
• Emphasized the perspective of senior managers• Five management functions
– planning– organizing– commanding– coordinating– controlling
• Fourteen principles of management• Personalities
– Henri Fayol– Chester Barnard– Mary Parker Follet
Administrative Management (cont.)
Fayol’s five functions and 14 principles of management
Executives formulate the organization’s purpose, secure employees, and maintain communications
Managers must respond to changing developments
Viewed management as a profession that can be trained and developed
Emphasized the broad policy aspects of top-level managers
Offered universal managerial prescriptions
Universal prescriptions need qualifications for environmental, technological, and personnel factors
Key concepts
Limitations
Contributions
Human Relations
• Aimed to understand how psychological and social processes interact with the work situation to influence performance
• Hawthorne Studies– Hawthorne Effect - workers perform and react differently
when researchers observe them
• Argued that managers should stress primarily employee welfare, motivation, and communication
• Personalities– Abraham Maslow
Human Relations (cont.)
Productivity and employee behavior are influenced by the informal work group
Cohesion, status, and group norms determine output
Social needs have precedence over economic needs
Psychological and social processes influence performance
Maslow’s hierarchy of need
Ignored workers’ rational side and the formal organization’s contributions to productivity
Research overturned the simplistic belief that happy workers are more productive
Key concepts
Limitations
Contributions
Bureaucracy
• Bureaucratic structures can eliminate the variability that results when managers in the same organization have different skills, experiences, and goals
• Allows large organizations to perform the many routine activities necessary for their survival
• People should be treated in unbiased manner
• Personalities– Max Weber
Bureaucracy (cont.)
Structured network of relationships among specialized positions
Rules and regulations standardize behavior
Jobs staffed by trained specialists who follow rules
Hierarchy defines the relationship among jobs
Promotes efficient performance of routine operations
Eliminates subjective judgment by employees and management
Emphasizes position rather than the person
Limited organizational flexibility and slowed decision making
Ignores the importance of people and interpersonal relationships
Rules may become ends in themselves
Key concepts
Limitations
Contributions
Quantitative Management
• Teams of quantitative experts tackle complex issues facing large organizations
• Helps management make a decision by developing formal mathematical models of the problem
• Personalities– military planners in World War II
Quantitative Management (cont.)
Application of quantitative analysis to management decisions
Developed specific mathematical methods of problem analysis
Helped managers select the best alternative among a set
Models neglect nonquantifiable factors
Managers not trained in these techniques may not trust or understand the techniques’ outcomes
Not suited for nonroutine or unpredictable management decisions
Key concepts
Limitations
Contributions
Organizational Behavior
• Studies management activities that promote employee effectiveness – investigates the complex nature of individual, group, and
organizational processes– Theory X
• managers assume that workers are lazy, irresponsible, and require constant supervision
– Theory Y • managers assume employees want to work and control themselves
• Personalities– Douglas McGregor
Organizational Behavior (cont.)
Promotes employee effectiveness through understanding of individual, group, and organizational processes
Stresses relationships among employees, managers, and work performed
Assumes employees want to work and can control themselves
Increased participation, greater autonomy, individual challenge and initiative, and enriched jobs may increase participation
Recognized the importance of developing human resources
Some approaches ignored situational factors, such as the environment and technology
Key concepts
Limitations
Contributions
Systems Theory
Organization is viewed as a managed system
Management must interact with the environment
Organizational goals must address effectiveness and efficiency
Organizations contain a series of subsystems
There are many avenues to the same outcome
Synergies enable the whole to be more than the sum of the parts
Recognized the importance of the relationship between the organization and the environment
Does not provide specific guidance on the functions of managers
Key concepts
Limitations
Contributions
Contingency Perspective
Situational contingencies influence the strategies, structures, and processes that result in high performance
There is more than one way to reach a goal
Managers may adapt their organizations to the situation
Identified major contingencies
Argued against universal principles of management
Not all important contingencies have been identified
Theory may not be applicable to all managerial issues
Key concepts
Limitations
Contributions
Organizing For Environmental Response (cont.)
• Organizing for customer responsiveness (cont.)– Total Quality Management (TQM) - comprehensive
approach to improving quality and customer satisfaction• characterized by a strong orientation toward internal and external
customers
• involves people across departments in improving all aspects of the business
• requires integrative mechanisms that facilitate group problem solving, information sharing, and cooperation across business functions
– Baldrige award - given to U.S. companies that achieve quality excellence
W. Edwards Deming’s “14 Points” Of Quality
• Create constancy of purpose• Don’t tolerate delays or mistakes• Cease dependencies on mass inspection• Don’t award business on price tag alone• Constantly and forever improve the system of production or service• Institute training and retraining• Institute leadership• Drive out fear• Breakdown barriers among departments• Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and arbitrary targets• Eliminate numerical quotas• Remove barriers to pride in workmanship• Educate your people who should be viewed as assets, not commodities• Provide a structure that enables quality
Organizing For Environmental Response (cont.)
• Organizing for customer responsiveness (cont.)– ISO 9000 - a series of quality standards developed by a
committee working under the International Organization for Standardization
• intended to improve total quality in all businesses• companies that comply with standards entitled to certification
– reengineering - revolutionizes key organizational systems and processes
• based on a vision for how the organization should run• completely overhauls the operation in revolutionary ways
A Dynamic Network
DistributorsSuppliers
Brokers
ProducersDesigners
Macro Perspective of Organizations
• Organizations are open systems– affected by, and in turn affect, their external
environments
• External environment– all relevant forces outside a firm’s boundaries
• relevant - factors to which managers must pay attention
– two elements comprise the external environment• competitive environment - immediate environment
surrounding a firm
• macroenvironment - fundamental factors that generally affect all organizations
Laws andpolitics
Economy
Technology
DemographicsSocialvalues
MacroenvironmentCompetitiveEnvironment
OrganizationSuppliers
NewEntrants
SubstitutesRivals
Buyers
The External Environment
The Macroenvironment• The macroenvironment
– most general elements in the external environment that can potentially influence strategic decisions
– all organizations are affected by the general components of the macroenvironment
• Laws and regulations– impose strategic constraints and provide opportunities– regulators - specific government organizations in a
firm’s more immediate task environment• have the power to investigate company practices and take
legal action to ensure compliance with the laws
The Macroenvironment (cont.)• The economy
– created by complex interconnections among economies of different countries
– important elements include interest rates, inflation rates, unemployment rates, and the stock market
– economic conditions change and are difficult to predict
• Technology– creates new products, advanced production techniques, and
improved methods of managing and communicating– strategies that ignore or lag behind competitors in
considering technology lead to obsolescence and extinction
The Macroenvironment (cont.)
• Demographics– measures of various characteristics of the people comprising
groups or other social units• age, gender, family size, income, education, occupation
– workforce demographics must be considered in formulating human resources strategies
• population growth influences the size and composition of the labor force
– immigration also is a significant factor• increasing diversity of the labor force has both advantages and
disadvantages– must assure equal employment opportunity
The Macroenvironment (cont.)
• Social issues and the natural environment– management must be aware of how people
think and behave• the role of women in the workplace
• providing benefits for domestic partners of employees
• protection of the natural environment
Competitive Environment
• Competitive environment– comprises the specific organizations with
which the organization interacts• Michael Porter - defined the competitive
environment
– successful managers:• react to the competitive environment; and
• act in ways that actually shape or change the competitive environment
Rival firms
Newentrants
Suppliers Customers
Substitutes
Competitive Environment
Competitive Environment (cont.)
• Competitors– competitors within an industry must deal with one another– organizations must:
• identify their competitors• analyze how competitors compete• react to and anticipate competitors’ actions
– competition is most intense:• where there are many competitors• when industry growth is slow• when the product or service cannot be differentiated
Competitive Environment (cont.)
• Threat of new entrants– barriers to entry - influence the degree of threat
• conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry• include government policy, capital requirements, and brand
identification, cost disadvantages, and distribution channels
• Threat of substitutes– technological advances and economic efficiencies may
result in substitutes for existing products– substitutes can limit another industry’s revenue potential– companies need to think about potentially viable substitutes
Competitive Environment (cont.)
• Suppliers– provide the resources needed for production– powerful suppliers can reduce an organization’s profits
• international labor unions are noteworthy suppliers
– dependence on powerful suppliers is a competitive disadvantage
• power of supplier determined by:– availability of other suppliers from whom to buy
– the number of customers for the supplier’s products
• switching costs - fixed costs buyers face if they change suppliers
– close supplier relationship is the new model for organizations
Competitive Environment (cont.)
• Customers– purchase the products or services the organization offers
• final consumers - purchase products in their final form• intermediate consumers - buy raw materials or wholesale
products before selling them to final consumers
– customer service - giving customers what they want, the way they want it, the first time
– disadvantageous to depend too heavily on powerful customers
• powerful customers make large purchases and/or have other suppliers