Organisation Theory
Table of Contents
0 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 2
1 Looking Back in History ............................................................................................ 2
1.1 The Rational Approach ................................................................................................. 2
1.2 The Human Relations Movement ................................................................................. 4
1.3 Sources of Knowledge and Inspiration .......................................................................... 5
2 The Employee in the Organisation ............................................................................ 6
2.1 The Personality of the Employee .................................................................................. 7
2.2 The Individual Concept of Self ...................................................................................... 7
2.3 Values and Behaviour .................................................................................................. 7
2.4 Leadership Characteristics ............................................................................................ 9
2.5 The Happiness and Wellbeing of the Employee ........................................................... 10
2.6 Mindfulness ............................................................................................................... 12
3 Groups and Teams in the Organisation ....................................................................13
3.1 Groups....................................................................................................................... 13
3.2 Teams........................................................................................................................ 14
4 Organisational Structure, Culture and Climate .........................................................16
4.1 Structure ................................................................................................................... 17
4.2 Culture and Climate ................................................................................................... 22
5 Performance Management......................................................................................25
5.1 Planning, Following Up and Evaluating Organisational Performance ............................ 26
5.2 Planning, Follow Up and Evaluating the Performance of Employee through an Employee
Performance Management System ......................................................................................... 27
6 Challenges and Change ...........................................................................................33
6.1 Digitalisation ............................................................................................................. 33
6.2 Diversity .................................................................................................................... 34
6.3 Generations ............................................................................................................... 36
6.4 Employability ............................................................................................................. 36
1
, 0 Introduction
Organization = “A system of consciously coordinated activities or forces
of two or more persons”
Behavior of the:
▪ The employee (micro)
▪ The group (meso)
▪ The organization (macro)
Interdisciplinary approach: i.e. insights from different fields of study, such as organizational
theory, organizational behavior, sociology, psychology, social psychology, economic,
anthropology, business administration and human resource management → look at different
streams!
Example: 2 monkeys were paid unequally excerpt from Frans de Waal’s TED Talk
Typical example of interdisciplinary approach: idea or concept of fairness has a major
importance: When feeling like treated unequally → worse performance → fairness is
necessary because people have to perceive as they are treated fairly
1 Looking Back in History
“There is only 1 thing that keeps your company alive, that is: the people you work with. All the
rest is secondary. You have to motivate people and attract the best. Every single employee
can make a difference (…) People are the essence of an organization and nothing else.” By
Richard Branson from Virgin. → this quote is about selection, training, keeping people on
track… But is this the reality?
People experience work pressure etc. → this creates lower wellbeing of the employee and
could lead to lower performance of the organization
Organisations: (Daft, 2009)
huge impact on the world but there are so many different kinds of organizations (for profit,
not for profit, international, small, huge, multinational, local…) characteristics in common are:
1. Are social entities; they have goals and objectives;
2. Are designed as a system of consciously structured and coordinated activities;
3. Operate in connectedness with the external environment (adaptation to external
environment is crucial)
→ always look at the context (eg hospital)
1.1 The Rational Approach
Context: The turn of the 20th century marked
an interesting turning point for organizations
• Steam driven machines: performed same
tasks as the factory workers but in a different
way that lead to larger production
• Technological innovations
2
Table of Contents
0 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 2
1 Looking Back in History ............................................................................................ 2
1.1 The Rational Approach ................................................................................................. 2
1.2 The Human Relations Movement ................................................................................. 4
1.3 Sources of Knowledge and Inspiration .......................................................................... 5
2 The Employee in the Organisation ............................................................................ 6
2.1 The Personality of the Employee .................................................................................. 7
2.2 The Individual Concept of Self ...................................................................................... 7
2.3 Values and Behaviour .................................................................................................. 7
2.4 Leadership Characteristics ............................................................................................ 9
2.5 The Happiness and Wellbeing of the Employee ........................................................... 10
2.6 Mindfulness ............................................................................................................... 12
3 Groups and Teams in the Organisation ....................................................................13
3.1 Groups....................................................................................................................... 13
3.2 Teams........................................................................................................................ 14
4 Organisational Structure, Culture and Climate .........................................................16
4.1 Structure ................................................................................................................... 17
4.2 Culture and Climate ................................................................................................... 22
5 Performance Management......................................................................................25
5.1 Planning, Following Up and Evaluating Organisational Performance ............................ 26
5.2 Planning, Follow Up and Evaluating the Performance of Employee through an Employee
Performance Management System ......................................................................................... 27
6 Challenges and Change ...........................................................................................33
6.1 Digitalisation ............................................................................................................. 33
6.2 Diversity .................................................................................................................... 34
6.3 Generations ............................................................................................................... 36
6.4 Employability ............................................................................................................. 36
1
, 0 Introduction
Organization = “A system of consciously coordinated activities or forces
of two or more persons”
Behavior of the:
▪ The employee (micro)
▪ The group (meso)
▪ The organization (macro)
Interdisciplinary approach: i.e. insights from different fields of study, such as organizational
theory, organizational behavior, sociology, psychology, social psychology, economic,
anthropology, business administration and human resource management → look at different
streams!
Example: 2 monkeys were paid unequally excerpt from Frans de Waal’s TED Talk
Typical example of interdisciplinary approach: idea or concept of fairness has a major
importance: When feeling like treated unequally → worse performance → fairness is
necessary because people have to perceive as they are treated fairly
1 Looking Back in History
“There is only 1 thing that keeps your company alive, that is: the people you work with. All the
rest is secondary. You have to motivate people and attract the best. Every single employee
can make a difference (…) People are the essence of an organization and nothing else.” By
Richard Branson from Virgin. → this quote is about selection, training, keeping people on
track… But is this the reality?
People experience work pressure etc. → this creates lower wellbeing of the employee and
could lead to lower performance of the organization
Organisations: (Daft, 2009)
huge impact on the world but there are so many different kinds of organizations (for profit,
not for profit, international, small, huge, multinational, local…) characteristics in common are:
1. Are social entities; they have goals and objectives;
2. Are designed as a system of consciously structured and coordinated activities;
3. Operate in connectedness with the external environment (adaptation to external
environment is crucial)
→ always look at the context (eg hospital)
1.1 The Rational Approach
Context: The turn of the 20th century marked
an interesting turning point for organizations
• Steam driven machines: performed same
tasks as the factory workers but in a different
way that lead to larger production
• Technological innovations
2
