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The evolution of Organisation Theory

Q: What are the characteristics of Chester Barnard's cooperative systems (1930-1960)?

Organizations are seen as cooperative systems , made up of tasks and people (merging the ideas of Taylor, Fayol and Weber). He also challenged the classical view that authority flowed from the top down by arguing that the response of the subordinate determines the authority. He introduced the role of the informal organization : he proposed that the mangers' roles were to facilitate communication and stimulate workers.

23 important questions on The evolution of Organisation Theory

What does the rational planning perspective of Ralph Davis state (1900-1930)?

The development of clear goas and plans to achieve those goals. Management plans the organization's objectives, which defines at the same time the development of structure, the flow of authority and other relationships

What did the behaviouralists/humanists/human relations school (1930-1960) focus on, and what impact did their background have?

The motivations and actions of employees have a major impact on organizational effectiveness. They viewed organizations as both tasks and people. In contrast to classical theorists, who were practical people and adapted to the needs of WWI which required extensive coordination and planning, the behaviouralists had a background in the behavioral sciences.

What are the characteristics of Elton Mayo's Hawthorne studies (1930-1960)?

They were focused on the human aspects of the job, they discovered observer's effect (people behave differently if they are being watched).They initiated the era of organizational humanism. This discovery meant that managers would no longer consider the issue of organization design without including the effects on work groups, employee attitudes and relationships.

What are the characteristics of Chester Barnard's cooperative systems (1930-1960)?

Organizations are seen as cooperative systems, made up of tasks and people (merging the ideas of Taylor, Fayol and Weber). He also challenged the classical view that authority flowed from the top down by arguing that the response of the subordinate determines the authority. He introduced the role of the informal organization: he proposed that the mangers' roles were to facilitate communication and stimulate workers.

What are the characteristics of Warren Bennis and the death of bureaucracy (1930-1960)?

Flexible adhocracies are the ideal organizational form. Replace centralized decision-making, impersonal submission to authority and narrow division of labor by decentralized and democratic structures organized around flexible groups. Influence derived from expertise replaced influence based on authority.

List the 4 assumptions of Theory X and the 4 assumptions of Theory Y by Douglas McGregor (1930-1960). What is the application of these theories?

Theory X:
1. Employees dislike work
2. Employees must be coerced, controlled and threatened to achieve goals
3. Employees avoid responsibilities and seek formal direction
4. Employees prefer security over ambition
Theory Y:
1. Employees can view work as being natural
2. Humans will exercise self-direction if they are committed to the objectives
3. The average person can learn to accept and seek responsibility
4. Creativity (the ability to make good decisions) is not only for managers
Managers' view of employees is based on a certain grouping of assumptions and they tend to subordinate behavior towards these assumptions.

What are the characteristics of sociotechnical systems by the Tavistock Insitute (1930-1960)?

Sociotechnical systems was an approach to organizing, which attempted to make work more interesting and challenging by improving the quality of working life, since at that time, much of the work undertaken in organizations was extremely tedious and lacked opportunity for advancement (factory production line was typical). Jobs should be designed: reducing the amount of repetitive, short-cycle work and increasing worker involvement. Organizations are still seen as closed systems, but they stress the social aspects of the system.

What characterized the period from 1950-1970, the unmanageable organization and decision making?

Very large and complex organizations had emerged by the 1950s, and they still acted as closed systems, which resulted in their focus often being to look into processes rather than to customers or the environment. Organizations had many employees of which controlling was difficult. A number of theorists highlighted the difficulties that came with managing these organizations. So, this period was concerned with improving manageability and decision-making processes.

Which 2 approaches are there for studying organizations in 1950-1970?

1. Populist approaches: use humor and mockery to draw the reader's attention
2. Academic approaches: seek specific underlying themes which lack general appeal and require more knowledge to interpret.

What does the Peter principle imply (1950-1970)?

In large hierarchical bureaucracies, which often offered lifetime employment, managers would be promoted until they became incompetent. Lateral arabesque is the following process, in which incompetent managers are moved between positions at the same level in the organization, and often get longer job titles in the process.

What did the Parkinson's laws imply (1950-1970)?

Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Work contracts fit in the time we give it or the demand upon a resource tends to expand to match the supply of the resource. Another law is that in meetings, time spent on any item on the agenda is in inverse proportion to its importance.

What did Herbert Simon imply with his satisficing theory (1950-1970)?

Decision-making cannot be done completely rationally because it is impossible to process all the available information. The administrative man aims for sufficient solutions that are 'good enough' (satisficing = satisfy + suffice). He suggested that advances in information technology would lead to a move towards more programmed and greater rationality in decision-making.

What did the complexity of decision making by James March imply (1950-1970)?

A firm is constrained by the problems of coordinating the flow of information, constantly changing environments, and limitations in the capacity to process, store and utilize information. Organizations faced a 'garbage can of choices' in which decision-making was not linked to the decisions made. Decision-making was too complex and too influence by political considerations for rationality to prevail.

What is characteristic for contingency studies (1960-1980)?

The contingency approach studies the structure of organizations, to determine the most appropriate structural form. This implies that the open-systems perspective is used to achieve rational goals, as structures depend on environmental factors. It views the structure of organizations as contingent, which means dependent on pressures that can be identified and analyzed. In this period, there were stable social and political conditions, technological change was slow, and there were high levels of government ownership of business and regulation of industry.

What did Herbert Simon mean with his principles backlash (1960-1980)?

He argued that organization theory needed to go beyond oversimplified principles to a study of the conditions under which competing principles were applicable.

What did Katz and Kahn mean with their environmental perspective (1960-1980)?

They emphasized the advantages of an open-systems perspective and the need for organizations to adapt to changing environments.

What did Miles and Snow imply with the strategic imperative (1960-1980)?

Successful implementation of the chosen strategy required an appropriate organizational structure. The strategic imperative means that organizational structure should reflect the strategy the company adopts.

What does paradigm proliferation suggest (1980-present)?

Paradigm proliferation refers to the emergence of a number of frameworks to use when analyzing organizations. It has emerged because researchers approach their task from varying perspectives. Mostly it has emerged from the limitations of the search for a general theory of management. During this period, elements of organization theory intersected with elements of philosophy. We must bear in mind the influence of the researcher's political orientation. They find what they are looking for (searchlight theories).

How did classical theorists, behavioural theorists and contingency theorists view power?

Classical: ignored power issues by concentrating on the scientific structuring of jobs, all power should stay at management
Behavioural: power issues could be solved by creating more people-friendly organizations and developing power to work groups and other structures lower in the organization
Contingency: did not take power into account

What did March and Simon imply with their limits to rationality (1980-present)?

They argued for a revised model of organization theory, one very different from the classic rational cooperative systems view. The revised model would recognize the limits of rationality and acknowledge the presence of conflicting interests.

What did Pfeffer's organizations as political arena imply (1980-present)?

It contains power coalitions, inherent conflict over goals and organizational design decision that favor the self-interest of those in power. If we want to understand how organizations are designed, we need to assess the preferences and interests of those in the organization who have influence over the design decisions.

What is typical for postmodernism (1980-present)?

Postmodernism wants to progress from the ideas of modernism, on which our current society is based. Redefining equality, reinventing power relationships and reducing the rol of science in relation to symbolism. It is more a philosophy than an actual approach. It rejects the modern world based on selective assessment of aspects that it considers disadvantageous. Organization theory is prominent in critical and postmodern school because organizations are more powerful than individuals. They have a major influence in shaping the society.

What did the symbolic-interpretive perspectives (1980-present) imply?

The symbolic-interpretive perspective views the organization as a social construct. Its members largely define the organization. It focuses on how participants of an organization interpret language and symbols in the organization and attribute meanings to relationships between people. It then examines how these interpretations and meanings influence the interactions between those people in the organization.

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The evolution of Organisation Theory

23 important questions on The evolution of Organisation Theory

What does the rational planning perspective of Ralph Davis state (1900-1930)?

What did the behaviouralists/humanists/human relations school (1930-1960) focus on, and what impact did their background have?

What are the characteristics of Elton Mayo's Hawthorne studies (1930-1960)?

What are the characteristics of Chester Barnard's cooperative systems (1930-1960)?

What are the characteristics of Warren Bennis and the death of bureaucracy (1930-1960)?

List the 4 assumptions of Theory X and the 4 assumptions of Theory Y by Douglas McGregor (1930-1960). What is the application of these theories?

What are the characteristics of sociotechnical systems by the Tavistock Insitute (1930-1960)?

What characterized the period from 1950-1970, the unmanageable organization and decision making?

Which 2 approaches are there for studying organizations in 1950-1970?

What does the Peter principle imply (1950-1970)?

What did the Parkinson's laws imply (1950-1970)?

What did Herbert Simon imply with his satisficing theory (1950-1970)?

What did the complexity of decision making by James March imply (1950-1970)?

What is characteristic for contingency studies (1960-1980)?

What did Herbert Simon mean with his principles backlash (1960-1980)?

What did Katz and Kahn mean with their environmental perspective (1960-1980)?

What did Miles and Snow imply with the strategic imperative (1960-1980)?

What does paradigm proliferation suggest (1980-present)?

How did classical theorists, behavioural theorists and contingency theorists view power?

What did March and Simon imply with their limits to rationality (1980-present)?

What did Pfeffer's organizations as political arena imply (1980-present)?

What is typical for postmodernism (1980-present)?

What did the symbolic-interpretive perspectives (1980-present) imply?

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