Week 8 ............................................................................................................................ 38
Readings for week 8 ..................................................................................................................38
Robbins & Barnwell – Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................. 38
Schein & Schein – Chapter 6 ....................................................................................................................... 47
Hofstede – Dimensionizing cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context ....................................................... 49
Blue = concept
Orange = lecture
Green = note
1
, Last exam
Readings for last exam
Robbins & Barnwell – Chapter 1
Some basic definitions
What is an organization?
Organization: a consciously coordinated social entity,
with a relatively identifiable boundary, which functions
on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common go
al or set of goals.
‘Consciously managed and coordinated’ implies
that there is a management hierarchy involved in
decision making in the organization. Social entity means
that the unit is composed of (groups of) people who
interact with each other. An organization has an
identifiable boundary which can change over time and may not always be perfectly clear.
However, a boundary is needed in order to distinguish members from non-members and tends
to be created through explicit or implicit contracts between members and their organization.
People in an organization also have some continuous bond and organizations exist to achieve
something. What they set out to achieve is reflected in the organization’s goals and they are
usually unattainable by individuals working alone, or, if attainable individually, are achieved
more efficiently through group effort.
What is organization structure?
Organization structure: the degree of (1) complexity, (2) formalization, and (3) centralization in
an organization
1. Complexity considers the extent of differentiation within the organization. This includes
the degree of specialization or division of labor; in other words, how many different
occupations and tasks exist in the organization, the number of levels in the
organization’s management hierarchy and the extent to which the organization’s units
are dispersed geographically.
2. Formalization is the degree to which an organization relies on rules and procedures to
direct the behavior of employees. Not all formalization exists as written rules and
regulations. Much formalization is internalized through the socialization process which
establishes what behaviors are acceptable.
3. Centralization considers where the responsibility for decision-making authority lies. In
some organizations, decision making is highly centralized (e.g., one person makes
decisions), in other cases it is decentralized (greater number of people are involved).
Centralization and decentralization represent two extremes on a continuum.
What is organization design?
Organization design: the construction and change of an organization’s structure to achieve the
organization’s goals. Organizations can be designed to facilitate the attainment of their goals.
What is organization theory?
Organization theory: the discipline that studies the structure and design of organizations. There
is both a cultural and political element in organizational theory.
Contrasting organization theory and organizational behavior
Organizational behavior and theory emphasize different levels of organizational analysis.
Organizational behavior: a field of study that investigates the impact of individuals and
small-group factors on employee performance and attitudes. Thus, it studies the way in which
2
,individuals and teams behave in the workplace and focuses on a narrow set of employee
performance and attitude variables. Organizations theory takes a macro-perspective and focuses
on the organization itself or its primary subunits, such as departments or divisions. It is not only
concerned with employee performance and attitudes (like organizational behavior) but also
with the overall organization’s ability to achieve its goals and adapt to its environment.
This micro-macro distinction creates some overlap (e.g., the way an organization is
structured has an impact on employee behavior).
The biological metaphor
Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a descriptive term is used to refer to another object which
it seems to bear no relationship. The biological metaphor links living organisms (e.g., plants,
animals or human beings) with organizations. Criticism of this metaphor: death is not inevitable
for organizations as it is for biological life.
Do not know if we have to know this:
This chapter explains two metaphors: (1) the
systems perspective, which views the organization as
a system which interacts with its environment in a
repetitive cycle of events, and (2) the life-cycle
perspective, which views the organization as a living
organism which grows, passes through predictable
states of development, undergoes a series of
predictable transitions and deteriorates if the
energy used in daily activities is not replaced by new
outputs.
The systems perspective
Definition of a system
System: a set of interrelated and interdependent parts arranged in
a manner that produces a unified whole. Inputs go through a
transformation process to emerge as outputs, which are different
in form to the inputs.
Every system is characterized by two diverse forces:
differentiation and integration. A system is differentiated into
specialized functions. In order to maintain unity and purpose
among the differentiated parts, every system has a process of
integration. This is often achieved through coordinating devises
(i.e., rules, policies, etc.).
Types of systems
Closed system: a self-contained system that has no interaction with its environment. This
perspective is more of a conceptualization, as it doesn’t
really apply to organizations.
Open system: a dynamic system that interacts with and
responds to its environment. All systems must have some
interaction with their environment if they are to survive.
The degree to which a system is open or closed, varies
between systems and can vary with time.
3
, Characteristics of an open system
Environmental The organization Movement The more sophisticated the
awareness consistently interacts towards growth system, the more likely it is to
with its environment and expansion grow and expand
Feedback The system adjusts Balance of To be effective the system
to information from maintenance and must ensure that its subparts
its environment adaptive are in balance and that it
activities* maintains its stability to adapt
to the environment
Cyclical The system consists Equifinality There are a number of ways
character of cycles of events to achieve the same objective
Tendency Without active Steady state There is an input or energy to
towards intervention, the counteract the winding-down
growth system runs down or properties
disintegrates
*Balance of maintenance and adaptive activities: maintenance activities: activities that provide
stability to a system and preserve the status quo. This prevents rapid changes that may
unbalance the system. Adaptive activities: change activities that allow the system to adapt over
time.
Importance of the systems perspective
The systems point of view is useful for numerous reasons. For example, it makes it possible to
conceptualize organizations and to see them as interdependent subsystems which need to be
integrated to form a complete and effective system. It also prevents people from viewing their
jobs as managing static, isolated elements of the organization. However, one of the greatest
limitations is that it is an abstract concept. People tend to think that everything depends on
everything else, which makes it difficult to isolate specific problems and offer solutions. Another
problem is that this model has poor explanatory power as to how and why organizations change
over time.
The life-cycle perspective
Definition of a life cycle
Organizational life cycle: the pattern of predictable change
through which the organization moves from start-up to
dissolution. It is suggested that organizations evolve through
a standardized sequence of transitions as they develop over
time. There are distinct stages through which organizations
proceed, which follow a consistent pattern and the transition
from one stage to another is predictable (and not random).
Through these stages, the strength of the leader and the
organizational culture will change and develop as well.
4
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