Chapter 1: Organization Theory: challenges and perspectives
Organization theory is a form of social science, that explores particular theories or bodies of theories
that have been developed in order to analyse, explain and influence what goes on in organizations.
It is a combination from social sciences (anthropology, psychology and sociology) and natural
sciences.
Organization theory begun as modernism, with the emphasis on the developments of organisation, a
clear order and structure, with the focus on rationality and system.
Later on scientist found this form of modernism ‘dehumanizing’ and started to discover the
connection between the way organizations were organised and the desire of employees to work
there. This was the starting point of neo-modernis, a humanized way of modernism.
Chapter 2: Organization theory: what is it and why does it
matter
People always come together to undertake various activities, often out of necessity, because we
couldn’t survive on our owns. This shows that many activities require people to socially interact in
different ways and to cooperate and coordinate their efforts with some sense of purpose
(government). Organizations are the outcomes of this collective behaviour as well as being significant
influences on that behaviour.
Nowadays, organizations are a central phenomenon in our lives. We go to school, listen to teachers
and give up our freedom and our autonomy and are being channelled into certain directions. We
don’t even recognize that this happens, because we consider it as normal.
Organizations organize most aspects of what we do and how we do it and also who decides what we
do and how we need to do it. Organizations define our identity: student, teacher, director.
Organization theory is important for 2 main reasons:
1. It helps us identify who we are and why
2. Organization theory is about how we interact together in different contexts
What do we mean by theory
Theories influence all aspects of our everyday lives and how we understand and act upon what is
going on around us. Theories are very practical: we often don’t see that the things we do and what is
going on around us is because we apply theories.
Theories help us to describe and understand what has happened and as well predict what will
happen in different circumstances.
Keynes claims that the theories we use says a lot about how we make sense of the world an the way
we act. Here lies the danger that when we are unaware of the source of the theories we apply,
because otherwise we would be applying it anywhere without knowing why it affects our behaviour.
Shortly said, it is important that you know why something triggers you and that you can reflect on it
in order to guide your activites.
3 domains of theory:
1. Total body of knowledge to which we can have access in order to develop our understanding and
knowledge of organizations
2. Within this body a lot of theories exist (modernism, neomodernism) that look from different
positions towards organizations
3. Within these theories lie individual theories, which provide for explanations for the things we see
,Example: Downsizing the number of people in a company
The phenomenon is the economic performance of organizations in relation to staff cost. The
economic performance is the dependent variable nad the staff cost the independent variable. If the
theory is correct, than downsizing the company would lead to less staff costs. But you could also say
that a better motivation of staff would lead to a better productivity, than the dependent variable
would be the motivation of the staff and the productivity of them as the independent one. If the
motivation goes down by the downsizing, the productivity will drop as well, if our theory is correct.
Independent variable causes dependent variable
When this occurs they will cause the phenomenon explained to occur
As seen, theories specify a concept (downsizing for example) and specify a set of conditions in which
the cause and effect relationship should actually work.
7 facts of theories:
1. They are conceptual devices, that try to tell us things about the world and presentate it in a causal
way.
2. Theories classify aspects of the world
3. Theories propose reasons in the form of cause and relation the why and how
4. They tell us when it will operate and when not tell us where they are applicable
5. Theories guide our actions and can predict based on what why how when and where
6. We use theory unconscious, by common sense
7. Theories matter because they influence what happens to use: they describe and explain certain
circumstances
Peer review: a theory is tested by researchers and reviewed. But the fact that they approve it, doesn’t
mean it is the one best way to do something. Not peer reviewed theories are very often used
What are organizations
There are different perspectives from organizations:
Positivist: the attainment of a goal or purpose is the defining characteristic of an organization
Functionalist: an organization takes it forms by itself, the environments where it needs to fit in. All
the subsystems all have a purpose in the development of the organization contingency theory
Silverman doesn’t agree with both of them, because he doesn’t believe that all people can have the
same goals and only the goals of the most overruling persons will rule.
Reification: we convert a person into a thing. Which means that we just say for person 1,2,3,4&5 that
they are the vessels and that the manager is the brain of the company. If worker 1 doesn’t act as the
manager (brain) wants it is seen as an illness.
Mainly:
Organization are human entities created and sustained by human interaction. It enables people, some
in a higher degree than others, to achieve certain goals or objectives which they wouldn’t have
reached alone. But we can’t say that everyone’s goals and priorities are the same. This is why some
members of a group have more power than others in order to channel those individual goals and
needs.
Relationships between social science and organization theory
Social sciences are about people, what they do and how it can be influenced. Much theories we use
daily is called common sense.
, This phenomenon is the double hermeneutic: the way we understand and interpret phenomena.
People and scientist can read and research a certain topic and then change their behaviour and
actions and that of others. This can work in 2 ways in organization theory:
1. Social scientists research something and affect and influence organizations and their members with
it
2. Organization members deploy theories from various sources themselves in order to change the
organization and others
Organization theory and management
Scientists and researchers study organizations in order to help them and to help create a better form
of management. This also creates a pop culture, bestseller books on the best way of managing. This
leads to the fact that people buy the books, but not the managers themselves. Problem with scientist
that want to help managers often write in a style that is more suited for academics and elite and not
the normal manager. Reserachers rather achieve a good research that is peer reviewed instead of
making a practical theory. It is hence highly doubted whether much organisation theories are actually
useful or just difficult and useless forms of researches.
Philosophical debates and organization theory
We discovered that we apply a lot of theories, because we see it as common sense. The philosophical
question is: why do we see certain things that way and how can we know it is true.
Ontology (het zijn): the way we think the world is
Epistomology (kennisleer): Epistemology is the study of the criteria we apply to establish true
knowledge (what is true and what is not).
The way we see the world (ontology) influences what we think can be know about it (epistemology)
and how this can be investigated (methodology and research)
Example:
The realist sees that an organization has goals, because there are documents that say so. The
structure of an organization is there, because people have roles. What you see, hear, smell and tastes
are real you are in touch with reality
The subjectivist sees that an organization has goals, because it is their mindset and people are there
to achieve their goals. They see the world as a thing that we interpret and understand and how you
interpret what you see, feel and smell.
Epistomology might be the theory of knowing things. But that way we study is also largely defined by
the way we see the world. If we think cows are green, we are likely to research like that. Your
epistomoly can be very different than from others.
2 forms:
Epistomogical objectivists: believe that we are able to judge neutrally
Epistomogial subjectivists: we assume thing the way we perceive them
Postivists: we can observe without influencing what we observe by correct methodologic research
and empirical data. But they also claim that if is’s not observable, it does not exist.
Subjectivs: let observations and common understanding come together. Double hermeneutic: we
research something and we try to change things with it. We understand by interpretating things and
not only observe it.
