Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199261185
- eISBN:
- 9780191601507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261180.003.0021
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
New public management–the new discipline that serves as an intellectual basis for public management reform–is far from constituting a unified intellectual field. New public management ...
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New public management–the new discipline that serves as an intellectual basis for public management reform–is far from constituting a unified intellectual field. New public management theoretical–ideological orientations vary also according to the different national realities that analysts face. We have, for instance, an Anglo-Saxon, a Continental European, and a Scandinavian tradition of approaching government and the state. It is possible to discern at least three orientations in the literature on managerial public administration, which I propose to the call ‘technical’, ‘economic’, and ‘political and sociological’ approaches. The political and sociological approach is the one that I adopt in this book. This approach founds inspiration rather in political theory and in the sociology of organizations than in rational choice theory.Less
New public management–the new discipline that serves as an intellectual basis for public management reform–is far from constituting a unified intellectual field. New public management theoretical–ideological orientations vary also according to the different national realities that analysts face. We have, for instance, an Anglo-Saxon, a Continental European, and a Scandinavian tradition of approaching government and the state. It is possible to discern at least three orientations in the literature on managerial public administration, which I propose to the call ‘technical’, ‘economic’, and ‘political and sociological’ approaches. The political and sociological approach is the one that I adopt in this book. This approach founds inspiration rather in political theory and in the sociology of organizations than in rational choice theory.
Johan P. Olsen
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199593934
- eISBN:
- 9780191594632
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593934.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, European Union
Chapter 2 examines the claim that mainstream interpretations of political organization and governing, their basic assumptions, conceptual language, and theoretical ideas, developed in the context of ...
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Chapter 2 examines the claim that mainstream interpretations of political organization and governing, their basic assumptions, conceptual language, and theoretical ideas, developed in the context of the sovereign state are outdated in the context of the emerging European polity and a globalized world. The chapter explores what new insights studies of recent European experiments in political integration through institution building and polity formation have delivered back to institutional analysis and to political science at large. This long chapter first attends to the shifting fortunes of institutionalism in political science over the last sixty years, starting with the behavioural revolution's criticism of the formal-legal analysis of political institutions as a ‘typical European way’ of looking at politics, and ending up in a cacophony of new institutionalisms. Then an organization theory-based institutional approach is presented, before the next three sections explore possible theoretical ideas, empirical insights, and agenda-setting effects in terms of bringing up some fundamental issues and enduring controversies in the study of political organization and government. In the concluding section ten lessons in political organization and governing through institution building are outlined.Less
Chapter 2 examines the claim that mainstream interpretations of political organization and governing, their basic assumptions, conceptual language, and theoretical ideas, developed in the context of the sovereign state are outdated in the context of the emerging European polity and a globalized world. The chapter explores what new insights studies of recent European experiments in political integration through institution building and polity formation have delivered back to institutional analysis and to political science at large. This long chapter first attends to the shifting fortunes of institutionalism in political science over the last sixty years, starting with the behavioural revolution's criticism of the formal-legal analysis of political institutions as a ‘typical European way’ of looking at politics, and ending up in a cacophony of new institutionalisms. Then an organization theory-based institutional approach is presented, before the next three sections explore possible theoretical ideas, empirical insights, and agenda-setting effects in terms of bringing up some fundamental issues and enduring controversies in the study of political organization and government. In the concluding section ten lessons in political organization and governing through institution building are outlined.
Michael D. Cohen, Roger Burkhart, Giovanni Dosi, Massimo Egidi, Luigi Marengo, Massimo Warglien, and Sidney Winter
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269426
- eISBN:
- 9780191710179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269426.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter reports and extends discussions at a workshop held at the Santa Fe Institute in August 1995. It considers the following topics: the importance of carefully examining research on routine, ...
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This chapter reports and extends discussions at a workshop held at the Santa Fe Institute in August 1995. It considers the following topics: the importance of carefully examining research on routine, the concept of ‘action patterns’ in general and in terms of routine, the useful categorization of routines and other recurring patterns, the research implications of recent cognitive results, the relation of evolution to action patterns, the contributions of simulation modelling for theory in this area, examples of various approaches to empirical research that reveal key problems, and a possible definition of ‘routine’. The chapter also includes an extended lexicon on synonyms and opposites of the word ‘routine’.Less
This chapter reports and extends discussions at a workshop held at the Santa Fe Institute in August 1995. It considers the following topics: the importance of carefully examining research on routine, the concept of ‘action patterns’ in general and in terms of routine, the useful categorization of routines and other recurring patterns, the research implications of recent cognitive results, the relation of evolution to action patterns, the contributions of simulation modelling for theory in this area, examples of various approaches to empirical research that reveal key problems, and a possible definition of ‘routine’. The chapter also includes an extended lexicon on synonyms and opposites of the word ‘routine’.
Christopher K. Ansell
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199772438
- eISBN:
- 9780199918997
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199772438.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter builds on the work of Mary Parker Follett and Philip Selznick to anchor a tradition of Pragmatist organizational theory. In contrast with Max Weber’s image of bureaucracy, Follett and ...
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This chapter builds on the work of Mary Parker Follett and Philip Selznick to anchor a tradition of Pragmatist organizational theory. In contrast with Max Weber’s image of bureaucracy, Follett and Selznick reject the dualism of formal versus informal organization. Doing this allows them to imagine a different relationship between central control and decentralized discretion in organizations. Selznick’s perspective on “responsive organizations” supports a problem-solving perspective on organizations and an emphasis on developing the competency and character of organizational communities.Less
This chapter builds on the work of Mary Parker Follett and Philip Selznick to anchor a tradition of Pragmatist organizational theory. In contrast with Max Weber’s image of bureaucracy, Follett and Selznick reject the dualism of formal versus informal organization. Doing this allows them to imagine a different relationship between central control and decentralized discretion in organizations. Selznick’s perspective on “responsive organizations” supports a problem-solving perspective on organizations and an emphasis on developing the competency and character of organizational communities.
John Mullarkey
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199594566
- eISBN:
- 9780191595721
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199594566.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
What happens when a new philosophy emerges from a supposedly non‐philosophical field? Must it follow the norm whereby a form of philosophy is recognized to be at work in this area (by a recognized ...
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What happens when a new philosophy emerges from a supposedly non‐philosophical field? Must it follow the norm whereby a form of philosophy is recognized to be at work in this area (by a recognized philosopher, but one operating as an outsider), or by some kind of philosopher manqué (a native within the field) being discovered at work there (by this same outsider)? In other words, can something only be deemed “philosophical” in view of an implied subject who thinks in a particular way, discovering thoughts similar to those found in established positions of philosophy? What, alternatively, would it mean to think of a supposedly non‐philosophy realm, such as process organization theory, as immanently philosophical? This chapter explores the conditions by which, far from merely illustrating or applying extant philosophy (“Theory”), Process Organization Theory might actually be seen to create its own novel philosophical thoughts, immanently. By examining the non‐philosophy forwarded by François Laruelle, and the manner in which time and process resist any attempts to theorize them (to make sense out of them), we will outline a way of seeing process as a kind of resistant thinking (an idea first put forward by Henri Bergson) and, therewith, Process Organization Theory as a new form of philosophy. Interdisciplinary thought, on this view, is not about applying philosophy, but consists in philosophy renewing itself (making itself unrecognizable) by acknowledging how non‐philosophical realms (art, technology, science) might be capable of creating new philosophical thoughts. With that, however, must also come a transformation of what we mean by philosophy and even thought itself.Less
What happens when a new philosophy emerges from a supposedly non‐philosophical field? Must it follow the norm whereby a form of philosophy is recognized to be at work in this area (by a recognized philosopher, but one operating as an outsider), or by some kind of philosopher manqué (a native within the field) being discovered at work there (by this same outsider)? In other words, can something only be deemed “philosophical” in view of an implied subject who thinks in a particular way, discovering thoughts similar to those found in established positions of philosophy? What, alternatively, would it mean to think of a supposedly non‐philosophy realm, such as process organization theory, as immanently philosophical? This chapter explores the conditions by which, far from merely illustrating or applying extant philosophy (“Theory”), Process Organization Theory might actually be seen to create its own novel philosophical thoughts, immanently. By examining the non‐philosophy forwarded by François Laruelle, and the manner in which time and process resist any attempts to theorize them (to make sense out of them), we will outline a way of seeing process as a kind of resistant thinking (an idea first put forward by Henri Bergson) and, therewith, Process Organization Theory as a new form of philosophy. Interdisciplinary thought, on this view, is not about applying philosophy, but consists in philosophy renewing itself (making itself unrecognizable) by acknowledging how non‐philosophical realms (art, technology, science) might be capable of creating new philosophical thoughts. With that, however, must also come a transformation of what we mean by philosophy and even thought itself.
Edward Brech, Andrew Thomson, and John F. Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199541966
- eISBN:
- 9780191715433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199541966.003.0010
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History, Strategy
This chapter covers a selection of Urwick's writings from the Second World War onwards. There are twelve subsections, some dealing with individual books, others topic areas, and in all covering a ...
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This chapter covers a selection of Urwick's writings from the Second World War onwards. There are twelve subsections, some dealing with individual books, others topic areas, and in all covering a very wide range of areas within management. It starts with an edited book of Mary Parker Follett's writings, ‘Dynamic Administration’, moves to perhaps his best‐known book (jointly with Edward Brech) ‘The Making of Scientific Management’, then to his synthesis of theory, ‘Elements of Administration’. These are followed by a section on leadership, ‘The Pattern of Management’, his excellent work on management pioneers, ‘The Golden Book of Management’, ‘Notes on the Theory of Organization’, and ‘Staff in Organizations’. Finally, there are sections on management as a profession, management education, personnel management, and semantics, his participation in the debate about the meaning of the term ‘organization’.Less
This chapter covers a selection of Urwick's writings from the Second World War onwards. There are twelve subsections, some dealing with individual books, others topic areas, and in all covering a very wide range of areas within management. It starts with an edited book of Mary Parker Follett's writings, ‘Dynamic Administration’, moves to perhaps his best‐known book (jointly with Edward Brech) ‘The Making of Scientific Management’, then to his synthesis of theory, ‘Elements of Administration’. These are followed by a section on leadership, ‘The Pattern of Management’, his excellent work on management pioneers, ‘The Golden Book of Management’, ‘Notes on the Theory of Organization’, and ‘Staff in Organizations’. Finally, there are sections on management as a profession, management education, personnel management, and semantics, his participation in the debate about the meaning of the term ‘organization’.
Edward Brech, Andrew Thomson, and John F. Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199541966
- eISBN:
- 9780191715433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199541966.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History, Strategy
This chapter starts with the state of the ‘management movement’ in Britain in the interwar period as a background context, but mainly deals with Urwick's early writings, starting with four books or ...
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This chapter starts with the state of the ‘management movement’ in Britain in the interwar period as a background context, but mainly deals with Urwick's early writings, starting with four books or contributions to books written when he was still at Rowntree's. One article in particular, on ‘The Principles of Direction and Control’ has been seen as a seminal synthesis of organizational ideas. While at the International Management Institute (IMI) he wrote ‘Management of Tomorrow’, his most comprehensive book, reflecting on four key dimensions of management at the time. Then in 1937, he was invited by Luther Gulick, the Director of the American Institute of Public Administration, to co‐edit what is recognized as one of the most important books of management thought of the 1930s, ‘Papers on the Science of Administration’.Less
This chapter starts with the state of the ‘management movement’ in Britain in the interwar period as a background context, but mainly deals with Urwick's early writings, starting with four books or contributions to books written when he was still at Rowntree's. One article in particular, on ‘The Principles of Direction and Control’ has been seen as a seminal synthesis of organizational ideas. While at the International Management Institute (IMI) he wrote ‘Management of Tomorrow’, his most comprehensive book, reflecting on four key dimensions of management at the time. Then in 1937, he was invited by Luther Gulick, the Director of the American Institute of Public Administration, to co‐edit what is recognized as one of the most important books of management thought of the 1930s, ‘Papers on the Science of Administration’.
Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198288787
- eISBN:
- 9780191684630
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198288787.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Organization Studies
First published in 1961, this book is a very influential book on organization theory and industrial sociology. The central theme of the book is the relationship between an organization and its ...
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First published in 1961, this book is a very influential book on organization theory and industrial sociology. The central theme of the book is the relationship between an organization and its environment — particularly technological and market innovations. Based on first-class scholarship, the book presents the now famous and ubiquitous classifications of ‘mechanistic’ and ‘organic’ systems. For this it has become justly famous, but the book is also a penetrating study of social systems within organizations and organizational dynamics.Less
First published in 1961, this book is a very influential book on organization theory and industrial sociology. The central theme of the book is the relationship between an organization and its environment — particularly technological and market innovations. Based on first-class scholarship, the book presents the now famous and ubiquitous classifications of ‘mechanistic’ and ‘organic’ systems. For this it has become justly famous, but the book is also a penetrating study of social systems within organizations and organizational dynamics.
Oliver E. Williamson
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198290964
- eISBN:
- 9780191596162
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198290969.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This paper focuses on connections between transaction cost economics and organization theory, and argues that a three‐part relation is taking shape. The first and most important of these is that ...
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This paper focuses on connections between transaction cost economics and organization theory, and argues that a three‐part relation is taking shape. The first and most important of these is that transaction cost economics has been (and will continue to be) massively influenced by concepts and empirical regularities that have their origins in organization theory. Second, there are key concepts out of which transaction cost economics works to which organization theorists can (and many do) productively relate. Third, healthy tension survives – as revealed by an examination of phenomena for which rival interpretations have been advanced, remain unsolved, and provoke controversy. The essay is arranged as follows: some background is presented on institutional economics; a three‐level schema is proposed for studying economic organization; some of the more important ways in which transaction cost economics has benefitted from organization theory are examined; the key concepts in transaction cost economics are sketched; empirical regularities, as discerned through the lens of transaction cost economics, that are pertinent to organization theory are discussed; contested terrain (unresolved tensions) is surveyed; and concluding remarks are made.Less
This paper focuses on connections between transaction cost economics and organization theory, and argues that a three‐part relation is taking shape. The first and most important of these is that transaction cost economics has been (and will continue to be) massively influenced by concepts and empirical regularities that have their origins in organization theory. Second, there are key concepts out of which transaction cost economics works to which organization theorists can (and many do) productively relate. Third, healthy tension survives – as revealed by an examination of phenomena for which rival interpretations have been advanced, remain unsolved, and provoke controversy. The essay is arranged as follows: some background is presented on institutional economics; a three‐level schema is proposed for studying economic organization; some of the more important ways in which transaction cost economics has benefitted from organization theory are examined; the key concepts in transaction cost economics are sketched; empirical regularities, as discerned through the lens of transaction cost economics, that are pertinent to organization theory are discussed; contested terrain (unresolved tensions) is surveyed; and concluding remarks are made.
Johan P. Olsen
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199593934
- eISBN:
- 9780191594632
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593934.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, European Union
This book is about political organization and organizing. It is about the role of formally organized political institutions in contemporary democracies and the democratic‐instrumental vision that ...
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This book is about political organization and organizing. It is about the role of formally organized political institutions in contemporary democracies and the democratic‐instrumental vision that citizens and their representatives might and ought to decide how they shall be organized and governed. The main argument is that to the extent that the future of democracies depends on the quality of their political institutions and deliberate institution-building capabilities, there is a need for an improved theoretical understanding of political institutions. There is a need for a better comprehension of the nature, architecture, dynamics of change, performance, and effects of institutions, and the possibilities and limitations of achieving intended, anticipated, and desired effects through institutional design and reform. The aspiration is to contribute to such an understanding. The book addresses the organization of government and public administration, the mechanisms through which these institutions change and the mechanisms through which they make a difference—in particular how institutions contribute to organized rule, orderly change, civilized coexistence, and the ability to accommodate and continuously balance rather than eliminate what John Stuart Mill called ‘standing antagonisms’. The book offers an organization theory‐based institutional approach and assumes that a fruitful route to improved understanding is to observe large-scale institutional reforms. The primary source of insight is the grand experiment in political integration through institution building and polity formation in Europe—the European Union. Yet the book relates to century‐long controversies concerning what is good government and how best to organize common affairs.Less
This book is about political organization and organizing. It is about the role of formally organized political institutions in contemporary democracies and the democratic‐instrumental vision that citizens and their representatives might and ought to decide how they shall be organized and governed. The main argument is that to the extent that the future of democracies depends on the quality of their political institutions and deliberate institution-building capabilities, there is a need for an improved theoretical understanding of political institutions. There is a need for a better comprehension of the nature, architecture, dynamics of change, performance, and effects of institutions, and the possibilities and limitations of achieving intended, anticipated, and desired effects through institutional design and reform. The aspiration is to contribute to such an understanding. The book addresses the organization of government and public administration, the mechanisms through which these institutions change and the mechanisms through which they make a difference—in particular how institutions contribute to organized rule, orderly change, civilized coexistence, and the ability to accommodate and continuously balance rather than eliminate what John Stuart Mill called ‘standing antagonisms’. The book offers an organization theory‐based institutional approach and assumes that a fruitful route to improved understanding is to observe large-scale institutional reforms. The primary source of insight is the grand experiment in political integration through institution building and polity formation in Europe—the European Union. Yet the book relates to century‐long controversies concerning what is good government and how best to organize common affairs.
William H. Starbuck
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199288533
- eISBN:
- 9780191700521
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199288533.003.0002
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, Knowledge Management
This chapter discusses a variety of problems that were experienced regarding research methodology and the conceptualizations of topics from the 1950s to the 2000s. Although a chronological approach ...
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This chapter discusses a variety of problems that were experienced regarding research methodology and the conceptualizations of topics from the 1950s to the 2000s. Although a chronological approach may cause confusion, the book uses this approach because it will allow the readers to relate through their own experience. Although the book has attempted to report personal experiences accurately, this chapter explains that our brains alter our memories for the events to seem more logical. Objective facts regarding several of the events that the book enlists therefore did not existed as some people may have observed and they may have remembered the events differently. The book assumes that generalizations about organizations are based on changes in education, occupational and task specialization, technologies, and other such social and technological changes during the last half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.Less
This chapter discusses a variety of problems that were experienced regarding research methodology and the conceptualizations of topics from the 1950s to the 2000s. Although a chronological approach may cause confusion, the book uses this approach because it will allow the readers to relate through their own experience. Although the book has attempted to report personal experiences accurately, this chapter explains that our brains alter our memories for the events to seem more logical. Objective facts regarding several of the events that the book enlists therefore did not existed as some people may have observed and they may have remembered the events differently. The book assumes that generalizations about organizations are based on changes in education, occupational and task specialization, technologies, and other such social and technological changes during the last half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.
David J. Teece, Gary Pisano, and Amy Shuen
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199248544
- eISBN:
- 9780191596155
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199248540.003.0013
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
The chapter tries to conceptualize different forms of competence and relate them to both organization theory and strategic management. A general premise is that organizations embody coherent ...
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The chapter tries to conceptualize different forms of competence and relate them to both organization theory and strategic management. A general premise is that organizations embody coherent structures of tasks and competences, with distinctive governance modes, which do not replicate either pure market arrangements or any ‘nexus of contracts’. The authors identify the specificities of each firm in terms of (1) organizational processes (including their operating routines), (2) positions (broadly defined to cover their specific assets, their location along the value chain, and their relationships with suppliers and customers), and (3) paths (i.e. their patterns of change in the former two sets of characteristics). The chapter emphasizes the stickiness over time of distinct organizational capabilities and, thus, also the constraints that the past learning history of the organization puts upon the degrees of discretionality of strategic management. This perspective on organizations and organizational learning clearly shifts the focus of analysis from rather product positioning or ‘clever strategizing’ to the process of problem‐solving and organizational governance, and, dynamically, to competence‐enhancing strategies.Less
The chapter tries to conceptualize different forms of competence and relate them to both organization theory and strategic management. A general premise is that organizations embody coherent structures of tasks and competences, with distinctive governance modes, which do not replicate either pure market arrangements or any ‘nexus of contracts’. The authors identify the specificities of each firm in terms of (1) organizational processes (including their operating routines), (2) positions (broadly defined to cover their specific assets, their location along the value chain, and their relationships with suppliers and customers), and (3) paths (i.e. their patterns of change in the former two sets of characteristics). The chapter emphasizes the stickiness over time of distinct organizational capabilities and, thus, also the constraints that the past learning history of the organization puts upon the degrees of discretionality of strategic management. This perspective on organizations and organizational learning clearly shifts the focus of analysis from rather product positioning or ‘clever strategizing’ to the process of problem‐solving and organizational governance, and, dynamically, to competence‐enhancing strategies.
Henk W. Volberda
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198295952
- eISBN:
- 9780191685163
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198295952.003.0015
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Strategy, Organization Studies
Flexibility is found to be presented as an essentially new strategic challenge that can be explained through demonstrating some of the main changes in the competitive environment and providing a ...
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Flexibility is found to be presented as an essentially new strategic challenge that can be explained through demonstrating some of the main changes in the competitive environment and providing a description of these changes in terms of organization and management. In this chapter, we look into the importance of flexibility through first demonstrating how some of the objective changes imply organizational effectiveness. For this task, we also have to be able to develop a more appropriate world view since managers would prefer to associate their organizations today with novelty, diversity, chaos, and creativity rather that the traditional uniformity, stability, order, and optimality. This chapter provides a description of the changes in commonplace management thinking regarding key organization and management theories.Less
Flexibility is found to be presented as an essentially new strategic challenge that can be explained through demonstrating some of the main changes in the competitive environment and providing a description of these changes in terms of organization and management. In this chapter, we look into the importance of flexibility through first demonstrating how some of the objective changes imply organizational effectiveness. For this task, we also have to be able to develop a more appropriate world view since managers would prefer to associate their organizations today with novelty, diversity, chaos, and creativity rather that the traditional uniformity, stability, order, and optimality. This chapter provides a description of the changes in commonplace management thinking regarding key organization and management theories.
Keith Grint
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198775003
- eISBN:
- 9780191695346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198775003.003.0029
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, HRM / IR
Looking at historical circumstance may be a useful exercise when attempting to identify the ways to change an organization radically and quickly. This chapter shifts attention away from change and ...
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Looking at historical circumstance may be a useful exercise when attempting to identify the ways to change an organization radically and quickly. This chapter shifts attention away from change and instead considers the possible impacts and relevance of leadership. Although leadership may imply change, the chapter looks into how leadership plays no small part in various contemporary theories. Although traditional models associated integral roles with leaders, some approaches do not give as much credit to leadership or even attempt to reconstruct the term's meaning. Leadership proves to be one of the more narrow aspects of management knowledge, while organizational theory is found to be the opposite. This chapter attempts to determine the practical impact on the theoretical account of personality on the notion of leadership, as well as the effect of a theory of organizations on leadership.Less
Looking at historical circumstance may be a useful exercise when attempting to identify the ways to change an organization radically and quickly. This chapter shifts attention away from change and instead considers the possible impacts and relevance of leadership. Although leadership may imply change, the chapter looks into how leadership plays no small part in various contemporary theories. Although traditional models associated integral roles with leaders, some approaches do not give as much credit to leadership or even attempt to reconstruct the term's meaning. Leadership proves to be one of the more narrow aspects of management knowledge, while organizational theory is found to be the opposite. This chapter attempts to determine the practical impact on the theoretical account of personality on the notion of leadership, as well as the effect of a theory of organizations on leadership.
Yehouda Shenhav
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199250004
- eISBN:
- 9780191697869
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199250004.003.0008
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, Business History
This chapter summarizes the genealogy of management ideology from the Civil War until the Great Depression, and emphasizes the conflictive biography of management rhetoric and practice. It further ...
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This chapter summarizes the genealogy of management ideology from the Civil War until the Great Depression, and emphasizes the conflictive biography of management rhetoric and practice. It further points to the cultural idiosyncrasy of American management and provides an international comparative framework. The chapter ends with the argument that much of management and organization theory is epistemologically infused with the ideological parameters that were born during the efforts to establish the legitimization of management. This is illustrated with a discussion of three key managerial concepts: system, rationality, and uncertainty, and their canonization in organization theory.Less
This chapter summarizes the genealogy of management ideology from the Civil War until the Great Depression, and emphasizes the conflictive biography of management rhetoric and practice. It further points to the cultural idiosyncrasy of American management and provides an international comparative framework. The chapter ends with the argument that much of management and organization theory is epistemologically infused with the ideological parameters that were born during the efforts to establish the legitimization of management. This is illustrated with a discussion of three key managerial concepts: system, rationality, and uncertainty, and their canonization in organization theory.
Barbara Townley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199298358
- eISBN:
- 9780191700880
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199298358.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
The first embedded mode of reasoning to be examined is institutional rationality. Its significance lies in its critique of a universalistic concept of rationality. Interrogating the fiction of the ...
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The first embedded mode of reasoning to be examined is institutional rationality. Its significance lies in its critique of a universalistic concept of rationality. Interrogating the fiction of the disembedded individual, it recognizes that ‘the rational individual is, and must be, an organized and institutionalized individual’. An institutional rationality acknowledges that there are different spheres of society reflected in the major institutions that organize social life (government, law, the family, religion, etc.), and that of these each has its own inherent or immanent logic. The individual is thus embedded in different institutional modes of reasoning. This chapter outlines the extent to which this institutional rationality has been recognized in organization theory.Less
The first embedded mode of reasoning to be examined is institutional rationality. Its significance lies in its critique of a universalistic concept of rationality. Interrogating the fiction of the disembedded individual, it recognizes that ‘the rational individual is, and must be, an organized and institutionalized individual’. An institutional rationality acknowledges that there are different spheres of society reflected in the major institutions that organize social life (government, law, the family, religion, etc.), and that of these each has its own inherent or immanent logic. The individual is thus embedded in different institutional modes of reasoning. This chapter outlines the extent to which this institutional rationality has been recognized in organization theory.
Graham M. Winch
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198288411
- eISBN:
- 9780191684593
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198288411.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter discusses the existing approaches to technological and organizational change. The diffusion approach, impact approach, and social shaping approach are reviewed and criticized for their ...
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This chapter discusses the existing approaches to technological and organizational change. The diffusion approach, impact approach, and social shaping approach are reviewed and criticized for their various inadequacies. An implementation approach is then proposed that emphasizes the totality of technological change as a process. A review of the more general literature on organizational change takes the view that the linearity of much of the literature is a weakness and argues for a contextualist, processual approach. It is then suggested that technological change is merely a special case of organizational change, and not a qualitatively different organizational phenomenon, despite the almost complete separation of the two literatures. Finally, the chapter reviews existing approaches to organization theory and finds them either too general, or too detailed. A tectonic approach to the analysis of organizations is then proposed, which is deployed in the following discussions.Less
This chapter discusses the existing approaches to technological and organizational change. The diffusion approach, impact approach, and social shaping approach are reviewed and criticized for their various inadequacies. An implementation approach is then proposed that emphasizes the totality of technological change as a process. A review of the more general literature on organizational change takes the view that the linearity of much of the literature is a weakness and argues for a contextualist, processual approach. It is then suggested that technological change is merely a special case of organizational change, and not a qualitatively different organizational phenomenon, despite the almost complete separation of the two literatures. Finally, the chapter reviews existing approaches to organization theory and finds them either too general, or too detailed. A tectonic approach to the analysis of organizations is then proposed, which is deployed in the following discussions.
John Child, David Faulkner, and Stephen Tallman
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199266241
- eISBN:
- 9780191699139
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199266241.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Strategy, Organization Studies
Strategic alliances are increasingly common, as many organizations look towards various partnering arrangements. This second edition of this text extends the first edition's comprehensive survey of ...
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Strategic alliances are increasingly common, as many organizations look towards various partnering arrangements. This second edition of this text extends the first edition's comprehensive survey of strategic alliances. It presents different disciplinary perspectives (economics, strategy, organization theory) and numerous examples from the corporate world. The text has been revised and updated, taking account of new theoretical models, and its coverage of case studies has been extended.Less
Strategic alliances are increasingly common, as many organizations look towards various partnering arrangements. This second edition of this text extends the first edition's comprehensive survey of strategic alliances. It presents different disciplinary perspectives (economics, strategy, organization theory) and numerous examples from the corporate world. The text has been revised and updated, taking account of new theoretical models, and its coverage of case studies has been extended.
Brian P. Bloomfield (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198289395
- eISBN:
- 9780191684692
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198289395.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology
This book is concerned with the ways in which organizations design, build and use information technology (IT) systems. In particular it looks at the interaction between these IT-centred activities ...
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This book is concerned with the ways in which organizations design, build and use information technology (IT) systems. In particular it looks at the interaction between these IT-centred activities and the broader management processes within organizations. The authors adopt a critical social science perspective on these issues, and are primarily concerned with advancing theoretical debates on how best to understand the related processes of technological and organizational change. To this end, the book examines and deploys recent work on power/knowledge, actor-network theory and critical organization theory. The result is an account of the nature and significance of information systems in organizations, which is an alternative perspective to pragmatic and recipe-based approaches to this topic that dominate much contemporary management literature on IT.Less
This book is concerned with the ways in which organizations design, build and use information technology (IT) systems. In particular it looks at the interaction between these IT-centred activities and the broader management processes within organizations. The authors adopt a critical social science perspective on these issues, and are primarily concerned with advancing theoretical debates on how best to understand the related processes of technological and organizational change. To this end, the book examines and deploys recent work on power/knowledge, actor-network theory and critical organization theory. The result is an account of the nature and significance of information systems in organizations, which is an alternative perspective to pragmatic and recipe-based approaches to this topic that dominate much contemporary management literature on IT.
Richard S. Rosenbloom and Clayton M. Christensen
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198290964
- eISBN:
- 9780191596162
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198290969.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
Innovations based on radically new technologies are believed to create advantages for entrants over incumbents in the relevant markets. This essay asks under what circumstances this is true, and to ...
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Innovations based on radically new technologies are believed to create advantages for entrants over incumbents in the relevant markets. This essay asks under what circumstances this is true, and to what extent do the disadvantages of incumbent firms stem from their failure to make timely commitments to new capabilities and new strategies as opposed to their inability to implement those commitments effectively. These questions are explored in relation to recent literature in economics and organization theory, and the concept of the ‘value network’ is introduced. Historical evidence suggests that entrants find greatest advantage when innovations disrupt established trajectories of technological progress, a circumstance that is associated with moves to new value networks. The incumbent's disadvantage, hence, seems to be associated with an inability to change strategies rather than technologies.Less
Innovations based on radically new technologies are believed to create advantages for entrants over incumbents in the relevant markets. This essay asks under what circumstances this is true, and to what extent do the disadvantages of incumbent firms stem from their failure to make timely commitments to new capabilities and new strategies as opposed to their inability to implement those commitments effectively. These questions are explored in relation to recent literature in economics and organization theory, and the concept of the ‘value network’ is introduced. Historical evidence suggests that entrants find greatest advantage when innovations disrupt established trajectories of technological progress, a circumstance that is associated with moves to new value networks. The incumbent's disadvantage, hence, seems to be associated with an inability to change strategies rather than technologies.
