1. Advanced Organization Theory & Inquiry ELAD 8043
2. The Development of Organization Theory Historical Milestones
&
Conceptual Background
3. Conceptual Perspectives Theory provides causal explanation about phenomena that are perplexing or enigmatic to the human observer; i.e., a cognitive problem, a practical problem
In the natural world, theory sheds causative light on physical occurrences or natural states that require new or greater understanding
In human affairs, a theory sheds light on psychological and behavioral events that require new or greater understanding
4. Theory offers a perspective or set of lenses through which to view a problem or phenomenon under consideration. It orders perception and organizes cognition
As in the taxonomy of life forms in biology to organize genre and species
As in Maslow’s hierarchy of need as a framework for viewing motivation
5. Theory, then, is a framework for seeing
Every person approaches the world of experience from their own unique set of frameworks or paradigms
Theory simultaneously enlightens and obscures
our vision is dominated by our own frameworks, which makes comprehension of alternative frameworks difficult
6. The truism -- “your stand on an issue depends on where you sit” -- is true
Did Clarence Thomas sexually harass Anita Hill? Was O.J. Simpson really guilty?
60% of females thought Thomas was guilty but 60% of males disagreed. He’s on the Supreme Court, she’s not. Why?
80% of whites thought Simpson was guilty but 80% of black Americans thought otherwise
7. Personal theories are values-based derivatives of personal experience and acculturation. As such, they...
engender commitment to themselves
guide thought and action
obscure from view alternative perspectives
determine personal receptivity to new ideas
provide the fodder for conflict or collaboration
are fundamental to change and innovation
8. Utility of Theory Theories are handy tools for ....
organizing and developing new conceptions
retrospective examination of old perspectives
combining old and new conceptions to build new theoretical frameworks for understanding
9. In the study of leadership and organizations
there are multiple frameworks (theories) for viewing the SAME phenomena; e.g.
Decision Making
Motivation
Communication
Power & Authority
Group Processes
Structuring the workplace
and on, and on, ad nauseam
10. In the area of decision making alone, we have (to name a few)
the logic of rational processes
contingency theory
path-goal theory
bounded rationality
successive limited comparisons (or successive approximations)
mixed scanning
garbage cans models of organizational choice
11. Applications Sense making in the workplace
understanding why things happen the way they do
increasing the chances of predicting what might happen in the future
Guiding your thinking about alternative courses of action
Conceptualizing and carrying out formal inquiry -- such a doctoral dissertation research
12. Chronological Milestones People and Events
In the Evolution of
Organization Studies
13. Organization studies can be divided into three broad categories Orthodox Organizational Thought or Organizational Classicism
Neo-Orthodox Organizational Thought or Neo-Classicism
Non Orthodox Thought
14. Newtonian Mechanics 1642-1727 Established that nature is governed by laws, that there is order to the universe and all natural phenomenon (in the physical world) conform to those laws. Natural motion is conceived in the image of a rational machine.
Science becomes identified with such concepts as linear causality, determinism, reductionism, and rationality
15. Militarism & Mechanization Frederick the Great 1740-1786 Frederick the Great (an early efficiency expert) redirected the structures and processes of waging war and created the elements of the machine organization as applied to the military establishment
elements included: Establishment of authority by a systematic hierarchy of ranks; identity by uniforms; standardization of regulations; task specialization; command language to reduce miscommunication and specialized training
16. Frederick revolutionized warfare and was successful because
Troops feared authority, not the enemy
Commanders had local autonomy of decision making under decentralized control
Parts (people) are interchangeable, easily replaced
17. Emergence of the Scientific Method Circa 1700 Science requests nature to manifest itself in terms of predictable forces; it sets up experiments for the sole purpose of asking whether and how nature follows the scheme (theory) conceived by science
A priori propositions are tested and the answers recorded precisely, but the relevance of those answers is assessed in terms of the idealizations that guided the experiment in the first place
The harmony of the world is mathematical and numbers are the key to understanding reality
18. Modern Social Science... Is dominated by the rational, linear-causal, logical-sequential approach to research evolving over time from the Newtonian model of discovering causality: This we call Logical Positivism
Identify a problem to study
Conceptualize it in terms of hypotheses that, if verified, might alleviate the problem
Design an experiment
Objectively collect objective data
Analyze data
Interpret the results objectively, of course
19. Scientific Management A.K.A., Taylorism Frederick Winslow Taylor (1910-1915) posited that greater industrial profitability results from increased productivity and simultaneous reduction of unit cost
Productivity is increased and unit cost reduced by increasing worker task efficiency
worker efficiency improves with the dispensation of rewards for volume and punishment for low productivity
Taylor was an engineer and self-styled consultant
20. Principles of Scientific Management Eliminate the guesswork of rule-of-thumb management of job procedures; use scientific measurement to break down the job into sequential component job tasks
Use scientific methods for selecting and training workers for specific jobs
Establish a clear division of responsibility between management and workers. Management does the goal setting and supervising; workers execute the tasks
Establish discipline to achieve worker cooperation
