Kirjahaku

This book offers a critique of recent developments in the study of organizational structure in the USA. There has been a profusion of new paradigms offered in the USA and this has fragmented the field. Many of these paradigms share an anti-management quality, painting managers in an increasingly negative light. This book examines five major, contemporary US organizational theories: population-ecology, institutional, resource dependence, agency and transaction cost economics. Each of these theories and their attendant research is critically examined and severe problems are identified in either theoretical coherence or empirical validity. Lex Donaldson argues that it is possible to reintegrate the field by taking structural contingency theory as the core theory and adding on to it selective propositions from the newer paradigms. He also offers suggestions for needed reforms in the US academic cultural and institutional system.

In Performance-Driven Organizational Change, Lex Donaldson, one of the leading scholars in the field of organizational theory, introduces a thought-provoking theory of performance-driven organizational change. He argues that recurrent crises of poor organizational performance are required to trigger adaptive organizational change in many aspects of the organization. Moreover, the adaptive change induced by each crisis creates the capacity for fresh organizational growth. Hence, through a series of adaptations and resulting growth spurts, the organization grows larger and more effective. He notes that while there has been much research into optimal management and human resource practices resulting in prescriptive advice, that without performance crises there is a good chance that needed organizational change will not be forthcoming. This book is highly recommended for advanced students, researchers, and scholars in the areas of organization theory, organizational change, strategy, human resource management, and economics.

Written by one of the foremost scholars in the field, this volume presents a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the theories, evidence and methodological issues of contingency theory - one of the major theoretical lenses used to view organizations. It includes both an appreciation of the coherency of contingency theory overall and a frank recognition of some of the deficiencies in contingency theory research. The coherent underlying model provides the platform from which to make good some of the deficiencies through a series of improvements in theory and method that chart the course for future research. The opening chapter presents a theoretical integration to provide the reader with an overview that makes sense of what is a large literature. It also argues that there is an underlying core paradigm that renders contingency theory coherent. The next chapters lay out the foundations of contingency theory by reviewing the pioneering contributors to theory and empirical research. This is followed by an examination of the causal models in the received bureaucracy research literature and an attempt to put them on a more truly contingency theory base. Chapters 7 and 8 examine in detail the concept of fit and its relationship with performance, including the empirical research studies. Chapter 9 presents possible new developments for contingency theory, to make it more coherent and, hopefully, valid. These new developments include the concepts of disequilibrium, quasi-fit and hetero-performance. All three are novel concepts that substantially revise and improve contingency theory. The final chapter offers suggestions on how to operationalize the ideas in this book in terms of hypotheses for future empirical research.

Written by one of the foremost scholars in the field, this volume presents a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the theories, evidence and methodological issues of contingency theory - one of the major theoretical lenses used to view organizations. It includes both an appreciation of the coherency of contingency theory overall and a frank recognition of some of the deficiencies in contingency theory research. The coherent underlying model provides the platform from which to make good some of the deficiencies through a series of improvements in theory and method that chart the course for future research. The opening chapter presents a theoretical integration to provide the reader with an overview that makes sense of what is a large literature. It also argues that there is an underlying core paradigm that renders contingency theory coherent. The next chapters lay out the foundations of contingency theory by reviewing the pioneering contributors to theory and empirical research. This is followed by an examination of the causal models in the received bureaucracy research literature and an attempt to put them on a more truly contingency theory base. Chapters 7 and 8 examine in detail the concept of fit and its relationship with performance, including the empirical research studies. Chapter 9 presents possible new developments for contingency theory, to make it more coherent and, hopefully, valid. These new developments include the concepts of disequilibrium, quasi-fit and hetero-performance. All three are novel concepts that substantially revise and improve contingency theory. The final chapter offers suggestions on how to operationalize the ideas in this book in terms of hypotheses for future empirical research.

Organization theory is presently dominated by theories of strategic choice and politics. Managers are seen as exercising a wide choice and maximizing their personal self-interest through complex power struggles. This stimulating volume challenges these views, arguing instead that managerial decisions are determined by the situation and serve the interests of the whole organization. Showing that organizations follow laws which generalize across organizations of many different kinds in many different national cultures, the book rejects the model of organizational configurations or types. The author offers a critical assessment of leading organization theorists such as Henry Mintzberg, John Child, Michael Hannan and Danny Miller - and also of the satirist Northcote Parkinson.

The Meta-Analytic Organization: Introducing Statistico-Organizational Theory develops new organizational theory based upon ideas from statistics and methodology.There have been previous organizational theories based on academic disciplines such as biology, economics, and sociology. Statistico-organizational theory uniquely constructs a new organizational theory derived from ideas in statistics and psychometrics. The core idea is that errors known to occur in social science research must also occur when managers look at their data and seek to make inferences about cause and effect. Statistico-organizational theory uses methodological principles to predict when errors will occur and how great they will be.The book offers new theoretical propositions about organizational strategy and structure, human resource management, international business and franchising.

The Meta-Analytic Organization: Introducing Statistico-Organizational Theory develops new organizational theory based upon ideas from statistics and methodology.There have been previous organizational theories based on academic disciplines such as biology, economics, and sociology. Statistico-organizational theory uniquely constructs a new organizational theory derived from ideas in statistics and psychometrics. The core idea is that errors known to occur in social science research must also occur when managers look at their data and seek to make inferences about cause and effect. Statistico-organizational theory uses methodological principles to predict when errors will occur and how great they will be.The book offers new theoretical propositions about organizational strategy and structure, human resource management, international business and franchising.