THE STUDY OF ORGANIZATIONS
Organizations are institutions that enable society to pursue goals that could not be achieved by individuals alone (Ivancevich et al, 2004).
Organizations are *social entities that are **goal directed, are ***designed as deliberately structured and coordinated activity systems, and are ****linked to the external environment They are made up of people and their relationships with one another. An organization exists when people interact with one another to perform essential functions that help attain goals. Organizations also produce goods and services that customers want at competitive prices (Daft, 2010).
Organizational dimensions fall into two types: STRUCTURAL and CONTEXTUAL.
Structural dimensions provide labels to describe the internal characteristics of an organization and contextual dimensions characterize the whole organization, including its size, technology, environment, and goals.
Contextual dimensions can be confusing because they represent both the organization and the environment (Daft, 2010).
Structural dimensions:
1. Formalization
2. Specialization
3. Hierarchy of authority
4. Centralization
5. Professionalism
6. Personal ratios
Contextual dimensions:
1. Size
2. Organizational Technology
3. The environment
4. Organizational goals and strategy
5. Organizational culture
Importance of Organizations:
1. They bring together resources to achieve desired goals and outcomes.
2. They produce goods and services efficiently.
3. They facilitate innovation.
4. They use modern manufacturing and information technologies.
5. They adapt to and influence a changing environment.
7. They create values for owners, customers, and employees.
8. They Accommodate ongoing challenges of diversity, ethics, and the innovation and coordination of employees.
Organizational behavior (OB) is the micro approach to organizations because it focuses on the individuals within the organizations as the relevant units if analysis. OB examines concepts such as motivation, leadership style, and personality and is concerned with cognitive and emotional differences among people within organizations (Daft, 2010).
Organizational theory is a macro examination of organizations because it analyzes the whole organization as a unit. Organizational theory is concerned with people aggregated into departments and organizations and with the differences in structure and behavior at the organizational level of analysis. Organizational theory might be considered the sociology of organizations, while organizational behavior is the psychology of organizations (Daft, 2010).
Organizational theory gives us the tools to analyze and understand how a huge, powerful firm like Lehman Brothers can die and a company like Bank of America can emerge as an industry giant.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
Daft, R. L. (2010) Organizational theory and design (10th ed.) Nashville, TN: Vanderbuilt University.
Ivancevich, J., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M. T. (2004). Organizational behavior and management (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Organizations are *social entities that are **goal directed, are ***designed as deliberately structured and coordinated activity systems, and are ****linked to the external environment They are made up of people and their relationships with one another. An organization exists when people interact with one another to perform essential functions that help attain goals. Organizations also produce goods and services that customers want at competitive prices (Daft, 2010).
Organizational dimensions fall into two types: STRUCTURAL and CONTEXTUAL.
Structural dimensions provide labels to describe the internal characteristics of an organization and contextual dimensions characterize the whole organization, including its size, technology, environment, and goals.
Contextual dimensions can be confusing because they represent both the organization and the environment (Daft, 2010).
Structural dimensions:
1. Formalization
2. Specialization
3. Hierarchy of authority
4. Centralization
5. Professionalism
6. Personal ratios
Contextual dimensions:
1. Size
2. Organizational Technology
3. The environment
4. Organizational goals and strategy
5. Organizational culture
Importance of Organizations:
1. They bring together resources to achieve desired goals and outcomes.
2. They produce goods and services efficiently.
3. They facilitate innovation.
4. They use modern manufacturing and information technologies.
5. They adapt to and influence a changing environment.
7. They create values for owners, customers, and employees.
8. They Accommodate ongoing challenges of diversity, ethics, and the innovation and coordination of employees.
Organizational behavior (OB) is the micro approach to organizations because it focuses on the individuals within the organizations as the relevant units if analysis. OB examines concepts such as motivation, leadership style, and personality and is concerned with cognitive and emotional differences among people within organizations (Daft, 2010).
Organizational theory is a macro examination of organizations because it analyzes the whole organization as a unit. Organizational theory is concerned with people aggregated into departments and organizations and with the differences in structure and behavior at the organizational level of analysis. Organizational theory might be considered the sociology of organizations, while organizational behavior is the psychology of organizations (Daft, 2010).
Organizational theory gives us the tools to analyze and understand how a huge, powerful firm like Lehman Brothers can die and a company like Bank of America can emerge as an industry giant.
- Organizational challenges (Not an exhaustive list):
- Globalization
- Global outsourcing
- Strategic Partnering
- Intense competition
- Ethics and Social Responsibility
- Speed and Responsiveness
- The Digital Workplace
- Diversity
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
Daft, R. L. (2010) Organizational theory and design (10th ed.) Nashville, TN: Vanderbuilt University.
Ivancevich, J., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M. T. (2004). Organizational behavior and management (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.