Organisation & management
Introduction
What is an organization?
Acoording to H&B an organization is a social arrangement for achieving controlled performance in
pursuit of collective goals.
- Social arrangement
- Collective goals
- Controlled performance
- H&B define an organization as 'a social arrangement for achieving controlled performance
in pursuit of collective goals'. The three core elements of this definition are: Collective
goals, Social Arrangements and Controlled performance. Find out in the book what these
three core issues entail. The clip explains how these core issues using the STAR model of
Galbraith (that you can find in chapter 16).
- How do you think collective goals, social arrangements, and controlled performance are
related to strategy, structure, people, processes, and rewards?
1
Chapter 1
Definition of organization
An organization is a social arrangement for achieving controlled performance in pursuit of collective
goals.
- Social arrangement
- Collective goals
- Controlled performance and cybernetics
o “the scientific study of control and communication in the animal and the machine”
o Regulative systems
,System = an interrelated set of elements that function as a whole.
2
Inputs: the organization’s managers then combine and transform these inputs and return them to
the environment in the form of products or services, employee behaviours, profits or losses, and
additional information.
Outputs: these products are sold to the consuming public.
Feedback: the system receives feedback from the environment regarding these outputs
Information:
- Information about the company and its operations is also released into the environment
- The environment, in turn, responds to these outputs and influences future inputs
The systems perspective is valuable to managers for a variety of reasons.
The central dilemma of organizational design:
The central dilemma of organizational design is how to reconcile inconsistency between individual
needs an aspirations and the collective purpose of the organization.
Human resource management:
Human resource management is the function responsible for establishing integrated personal
policies to support organizational strategy.
Employees must:
- Ability: have job skills and knowledge, including how to work well with others
, - Motivation: feel motivated to do the work and do it well
- Opportunity: be able to use skills, and contribute to team and organizational success
The idea of the Bath Model is that high performance work practices increase organizational
profitability.
What is an organization.. Eight metaphors
1. A machine
2. A living organism
3. A brain
4. A culture
5. A political system
6. A psychic prison
7. Flux and transformation
8. An instrument of domination
The managerial perspective
.. and why it is inadequate
- Power
- The agenda
- Multiple stakeholders
- Fashion victims
Study behaviour so that management is based on evidence.
Explaining organizational behaviour
- Positivism
- Constructivism 3
The problem with social science
Organizational Metephors (lenses for examining the organization)
- Machine
- Organism
- Political system
, - Culture
- Family
- Brain
- Psychic Prison
Organization as a Machine
- Clear hierarchy
- Lines of authority
- Responsibility
- Discipline
- Stability
What do we see through the Machine Metaphor?
- Routine, efficiency, reliability, prediction, and control
- People being expected to fit the requirements of the machine
We don’t see:
- The human element
- The informal networks
- The creativity and innovation of the workers
Strengths:
Works well in a stable environment and/or when personnel can be trained to perform repeatable
tasks.
Weaknesses:
Can dehumanize the work and the workers. People become replacable “cogs”. Limited adaptability.
Mindless bureaucracy.
4
Organization as an Organism
- Survival
- Relationship between environment and the organization
- Effectiveness as opposed to efficiency
- Systems Approach:
o Open system that is self-regulating, includes requisite variety, and will evolve and
adapt as the environment changes
Strengths:
Openness and flexibility that emphasizes human capacities. Works in turbulent environments that
require adaptation.
Weaknesses:
Easy to extoll its virtues and overlook its own built in conflict potential. Organisms aren’t infinitely
adaptable. Organisms can become obsolete and die.
Organization as a Political System
- Key construct is interests
o Individual interest
o Departmental interest
o Management interests
o Employee interests
- All interest bring potential for conflict
- Interests compete for position, space and resources
- Conflict arises when interests collide
- Power is the medium through which conflicts of interest are resolved
Strengths:
Brings attention to the reality of organizational politics. Asks whose interests are being served.
Introduction
What is an organization?
Acoording to H&B an organization is a social arrangement for achieving controlled performance in
pursuit of collective goals.
- Social arrangement
- Collective goals
- Controlled performance
- H&B define an organization as 'a social arrangement for achieving controlled performance
in pursuit of collective goals'. The three core elements of this definition are: Collective
goals, Social Arrangements and Controlled performance. Find out in the book what these
three core issues entail. The clip explains how these core issues using the STAR model of
Galbraith (that you can find in chapter 16).
- How do you think collective goals, social arrangements, and controlled performance are
related to strategy, structure, people, processes, and rewards?
1
Chapter 1
Definition of organization
An organization is a social arrangement for achieving controlled performance in pursuit of collective
goals.
- Social arrangement
- Collective goals
- Controlled performance and cybernetics
o “the scientific study of control and communication in the animal and the machine”
o Regulative systems
,System = an interrelated set of elements that function as a whole.
2
Inputs: the organization’s managers then combine and transform these inputs and return them to
the environment in the form of products or services, employee behaviours, profits or losses, and
additional information.
Outputs: these products are sold to the consuming public.
Feedback: the system receives feedback from the environment regarding these outputs
Information:
- Information about the company and its operations is also released into the environment
- The environment, in turn, responds to these outputs and influences future inputs
The systems perspective is valuable to managers for a variety of reasons.
The central dilemma of organizational design:
The central dilemma of organizational design is how to reconcile inconsistency between individual
needs an aspirations and the collective purpose of the organization.
Human resource management:
Human resource management is the function responsible for establishing integrated personal
policies to support organizational strategy.
Employees must:
- Ability: have job skills and knowledge, including how to work well with others
, - Motivation: feel motivated to do the work and do it well
- Opportunity: be able to use skills, and contribute to team and organizational success
The idea of the Bath Model is that high performance work practices increase organizational
profitability.
What is an organization.. Eight metaphors
1. A machine
2. A living organism
3. A brain
4. A culture
5. A political system
6. A psychic prison
7. Flux and transformation
8. An instrument of domination
The managerial perspective
.. and why it is inadequate
- Power
- The agenda
- Multiple stakeholders
- Fashion victims
Study behaviour so that management is based on evidence.
Explaining organizational behaviour
- Positivism
- Constructivism 3
The problem with social science
Organizational Metephors (lenses for examining the organization)
- Machine
- Organism
- Political system
, - Culture
- Family
- Brain
- Psychic Prison
Organization as a Machine
- Clear hierarchy
- Lines of authority
- Responsibility
- Discipline
- Stability
What do we see through the Machine Metaphor?
- Routine, efficiency, reliability, prediction, and control
- People being expected to fit the requirements of the machine
We don’t see:
- The human element
- The informal networks
- The creativity and innovation of the workers
Strengths:
Works well in a stable environment and/or when personnel can be trained to perform repeatable
tasks.
Weaknesses:
Can dehumanize the work and the workers. People become replacable “cogs”. Limited adaptability.
Mindless bureaucracy.
4
Organization as an Organism
- Survival
- Relationship between environment and the organization
- Effectiveness as opposed to efficiency
- Systems Approach:
o Open system that is self-regulating, includes requisite variety, and will evolve and
adapt as the environment changes
Strengths:
Openness and flexibility that emphasizes human capacities. Works in turbulent environments that
require adaptation.
Weaknesses:
Easy to extoll its virtues and overlook its own built in conflict potential. Organisms aren’t infinitely
adaptable. Organisms can become obsolete and die.
Organization as a Political System
- Key construct is interests
o Individual interest
o Departmental interest
o Management interests
o Employee interests
- All interest bring potential for conflict
- Interests compete for position, space and resources
- Conflict arises when interests collide
- Power is the medium through which conflicts of interest are resolved
Strengths:
Brings attention to the reality of organizational politics. Asks whose interests are being served.
