Understanding Organizational Theories: A Comprehensive Overview

1. Chapter 14 The Organization of Work Behavior C. Borland/PhotoLink/Getty Images

2. Module 14.1: Conceptual & Theoretical Foundations of Organizations • Organization • Group of people who have common goals & who follow a set of operating procedures to develop products & services • Org. needs strategic planning • Buying from & selling to the unorganized

3. Sopranos as an “Organization” • Organizations are a way of life – in virtually all sectors of life. Picture 14.2

4. Organization as Integration • Successful organizations are able to integrate many different organizing forces • e.g., HR, finance, marketing, production

5. Classic Organizational Theory • Emphasized architecture of organization rather than processes of operation • Bureaucracy as the ideal form • Methods of describing an organization: • Division of labor • Delegation of authority • Span of control

6. Classic Organizational Charts for Large & Small Span of Control Figure 14.1 Organization Charts for Large and Small Span of Control

7. Classic Organizational Theory (cont’d) • Constrained in 2 ways • Assumed there was one best configuration for an organization • Assumed that organizations affected behavior of their members but not the other way around

8. Human Relations Theory • Added human element to study of organizations • McGregor’s Theory X & Theory Y • Theory X: Managers believe subordinate behavior has to be controlled • Theory Y: Managers believe subordinates are active & responsible

9. Human Relations Theory (cont’d) • Growth perspective of Argyris • Suggested there is natural developmental sequence in humans that can either be enhanced or stunted by organization • Proposed growth is a natural & healthy experience for an individual

10. Critical View of Behavior in Org. built using Classic Org. Theory Figure 14.2

11. Contingency Theories • Woodward described 3 org. types: • Small batch organization • Large batch & mass production organization • Continuous process organization • Span of control varies systematically by type of organization • Introduced concept of technology

12. Contingency Theories (cont’d) • Lawrence & Lorsch • Mechanistic organizations • Depend on formal rules & regulations • Small span of control • Organic organizations • Less formal procedures • Large span of control • Identified the department as an important level for understanding organizations

13. Contingency Theories (cont’d) • Tavistock Institute’s Sociotechnical approach • Uncovered # of dramatic changes in social patterns of work that accompany technological change • Includes joint consideration of technology & social patterns

14. Sytsems View of an Organization Figure 14.3

15. Systems Theory Figure 14.4

16. Leadership and Systems Theory Figure 14.5

17. Systems Model ofthe HRM Process Figure 14.6

18. Figure 14.7 (Pugh, 1999)

19. Recent Approaches • Resource theory: Pfeffer • Organization must be viewed in context of connections to other organizations • Key to organizational survival is ability to acquire & maintain resources

20. Recent Approaches (cont’d) • Ecological/Evolutionary approach • Adopts biological model concentrating on why some organizations thrive & diversify while others atrophy & disappear • 2 basic mechanisms • Random variation • Natural selection

21. Ecological/Evolutionary Approach (cont’d) • Argues that organizations change slowly, but environments change rapidly • Has little regard for power of individual to affect change

22. Conclusions About Theories of Organization • Motivation metaphors can be applied to organizational theories • Discrepancy b/w many org. theories & current organizational interventions • Six Sigma, TQM, MBO, & lean production

23. Module 14.2: Some Social Dynamics of Organizations • Climate & culture • Brief history of climate • Lewin’s autocratic vs. democratic climate • Recent suggestion that multiple climates exist within any organization • Service climate • Safety climate

24. Decomposition of Climate Factors Figure 14.8

25. Brief history of culture • Term culture introduced to address issues of value & meaning of actions in org’s not encompassed in climate • Measuring culture in organizations • Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) • Effects of culture “clash”

26. Climate & Culture (cont’d) • Integration of concepts • Climate is about context in which actions occur • Created at lower levels of organization • Culture is about meaning intended by & inferred from those actions • Created & communicated from higher levels of organization

27. Climate & Culture Strength • Extent to which members share a perception or a value/belief pattern • Implications of lack of consensus among organization members regarding presence of climate

28. Organizational Climate & Culture From the Multicultural Perspective • When cultures clash • Models under which multinational corporations operate • Ethnocentrism • Polycentrism • Regiocentrism • Geocentrism • Important for multinational corporations to acknowledge existence of different cultures PhotoLink/Getty Images

29. Socialization & Concept of Person-Organization (P-O) Fit • Organizational socialization • Process by which new employee becomes aware of values & organizational procedures • Recruitment as socialization • Compelling research findings

30. Organizational Socialization (cont’d) • Socialization & P-O fit models • Extent to which skills, abilities, & interests of individual are compatible with job demands (person-job fit) • Broadened to include fit between person & organization (P-O fit) • Work adjustment model

31. Three Stages of Socialization Figure 14.9

32. Mentoring: A 4-Stage Process Figure 14.10

33. Prediction of Work Adjustment (Dawis & Lofquist, 1984) Figure 14.11

34. Schneider’s attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) model • Organizations attempt to attract and select particular types of people • Attrition occurs through direct or indirect actions

35. ASA Model: Simplified Version Figure 14.12 Simplified Version of the ASA Model

36. Module 14.3: Organizational Development & Change • Organizational change • Lewin’s 3-stage process 1. Unfreezing: Become aware of values & beliefs 2. Changing: Adopt new values, beliefs, & attitudes 3. Refreezing: Stabilization of new attitudes & values

37. Episodic Change • Infrequent, discontinuous, & intentional • Embraced because it is focused, time urgent, & minimizes feelings of uncertainty • Often self-propagating • Can be stressful & disruptive for employees • Most commonly managed

38. Continuous Change • Ongoing, evolving, & cumulative • More likely to be improvised rather than intentional • Lewin’s model needs to be reworked in this environment Freeze Rebalance Unfreeze

39. Resistance to Change • Barriers to change include: • Economic fear • Fear of unknown • Fear of altered social relationships • Structural inertia • Work group inertia • Threats to power balance • Prior unsuccessful change efforts

40. Large-Scale Organizational Change Initiatives • Management by objectives (MBO) • Concept to define & measure employee performance • Precursor to team-based quality improvement programs • Matrix organizations • Individuals have dual reporting relationships: • Reporting to project manager • Reporting to home department manager • Efforts of leaders/managers must be integrated

41. Example of a Matrix Organization Figure 14.13

42. Large-Scale Organizational Change Initiatives (cont’d) • Total quality management (TQM) • Emphasizes team-based behavior directed toward improving quality & meeting customer demands • Six Sigma systems • Provide training in statistical analysis, project management, & problem-solving methods to reduce defect rate of products

43. Large-Scale Organizational Change Initiatives (cont’d) • Lean production manufacturing • Focuses on reducing waste in every form • Just-in-time (JIT) production • Detailed tracking of materials & production • Draws both suppliers & customers into organizational circle • Often requires radical redesign of HRM systems to be successful John A. Rizzo/Getty Images

44. Emerging Commonalities Among Organizational Interventions 1. They are strategic 2. They are team centered 3. They are statistical 4. They are participatory 5. They are quality-focused

45. Organizational Development (OD) • Action oriented rather than research oriented • 3 different settings for use of OD: • Episodic change • Unfreezing Change Refreezing • Continuous change • Freezing Rebalancing Unfreezing • Evolving from episodic to continuous change • Unfreezing Change Rebalance

46. Examples of OD techniques • Survey feedback • Team building • Process consultation