Summary literature Sociology of
Organisations
Content
Summary literature Sociology of Organisations...............................................1
Content......................................................................................................... 1
CH2 Watson: Analysing work and organisation: scientific management, human
relations and negotiated orders......................................................................................2
CH4 Watson I: Industrialisation and the changing division of labour.............................13
CH3 Watson: Analysing work and organisation: institutionalism, labour process and
discourse analysis......................................................................................................... 15
Organization design: fashion or fit?..............................................................................27
Mechanists and Organic Systems.................................................................................35
CH5 Watson: Micropolitics, careers and unofficial management practices...................39
The dynamics of organizational identity.......................................................................44
CH7 Watson: Occupations and the social organization of work.....................................53
CH8 Watson: Aspects of occupations: from managers to exotic dancers, artists to
professionals and soldiers to investment bankers........................................................57
Why diversity programs fail..........................................................................................68
CH6 Watson: Control and variation in organizational shaping and human resourcing. .73
From street-level to system-level bureaucracies: how information and communication
technology is transforming administrative discretion and constitutional control..........83
Big other: surveillance capitalism and the prospects of an information civilization......93
CH9 Watson: Culture, work, orientations and the experience of working...................101
Quality-driven work..................................................................................................... 111
, CH4 Watson II: Industrial capitalism, change and the possibility of a fourth automation-
based industrial revolution......................................................................................... 123
Asian management research needs more self-confidence: Reflection on Hofstede
(2007) and beyond..................................................................................................... 135
Corporate social responsibility: review and roadmap of theoretical perspectives.......142
Videos Sociology of Organisations...............................................................148
2.2: The Invisible Hand............................................................................................... 148
2.3: The Division of Labour.........................................................................................148
6.2: Mechanic and Organic Solidarity..........................................................................149
5.1: The Unexpected Force of Social Thought.............................................................149
5.2: Economic Chains of Interdependency..................................................................150
5.3: Homo Faber......................................................................................................... 150
5.4: Alienation............................................................................................................. 150
5.5: Class Struggle...................................................................................................... 151
5.6: Caught in the Capitalist system...........................................................................151
7.6: The Three Ideal Types of Authority (Weber)........................................................152
CAPCO reshoring video...............................................................................................152
CH2 Watson: Analysing work and organisation: scientific
management, human relations and negotiated orders
Strands of thought and key theoretical perspectives in the
sociology of work and organization
There are six strands of thought (zes theoretische benaderingen die
worden gebruikt in de sociologie van werk en organisatie) that we need to
be aware of in the sociology of work and industry
The
arrows crossing some of the ‘boxes’ in the table indicate developments
which have been influenced by more than one of the theoretical strands
, In the case of three of the strands, we see approaches which have been
especially influenced by a particular founding figure of sociology,
Durkheim, Weber or Marx.
The managerial-psychologistic strand
Scientific management (Taylorism) and psychological humanism are not a
part of a sociology of work and organization, and there for non-sociological
approaches.
They are both relatively individualistic styles of thinking about work and
are both concerned to prescribe to managers how they should relate to
their employees and should organize worker’s jobs. They both concentrate
on questions of ‘human nature’ and fail to recognise the range of
possibilities for work organisation and orientation that people may choose
to adopt, depending on their priorities in life.
(= Ze gaan er allebei vanuit dat er één juiste manier is om werk en
organisaties te organiseren, gebaseerd op deze aannames over
"menselijke natuur". Maar in werkelijkheid verschilt wat mensen willen en
hoe ze werken enorm, afhankelijk van hun persoonlijke prioriteiten.
Mensen hebben verschillende motivaties, behoeften en manieren van
werken, afhankelijk van wat ze belangrijk vinden in hun leven.)
To this extent, they can be regarded as psychologistic.
Psychologism
= A tendency to explain social behavior solely in terms of the
psychological characteristics of individuals.
Scientific management
The leading advocate and systematiser of this approach was Taylor.
Taylorism encouraged a view of the industrial worker as an economic
animal who could be encouraged to act as a self-seeking hired hand and
who would allow managers to do their job-related thinking for them. If this
could be achieved, especially through the use of output-based and
potentially high-level rewards, the management would work out the most
efficient way of organising work, tying the monetary rewards of the work
to the level of output achieved by the individual. This would produce
results which would benefit employer and employee alike, removing the
likelihood of conflict and the need for trade unions.
(= Taylorisme ziet arbeiders vooral als economische wezens die gedreven
worden door persoonlijke financiële belangen. Het uitgangspunt is dat
arbeiders zich vooral zullen inspannen als ze directe beloningen
ontvangen die verbonden zijn aan hun productiviteit. In het Tayloristische
model hoeven arbeiders niet na te denken over hoe het werk het beste
gedaan kan worden; dat is de taak van de managers. Beloningen die direct
gekoppeld zijn aan hun prestaties zouden volgens Taylor niet alleen leiden
tot wederzijds voordeel: de werkgever krijgt meer productie, en de
werknemer krijgt een hogere beloning.)
, Scientific management involves:
- Scientific analysis of tasks: as efficient as possible
- Technical division of labor through job fragmentation (Kleine
specifieke handelingen)
- Seperation of planning and execution
- Reduction of skill requirements and learning time
- Mimimizing material handling (workers perform minimal physical
movements)
- Use of time studies and monitoring systems (measure how quickly
tasks are performed)
- Incentive payment systems (reward systems)
- Relationships between managers and workers are limited to what is
strictly necessary and is functional and formal
Although Taylorism is sometimes dismissed as an “outdated” concept, its
core principles, such as task fragmentation, minimum skill requirements,
and a focus on cost reduction, continue to have a significant influence on
modern job design. Braverman emphasized that these principles are
deeply embedded in the capitalist way of working and therefore difficult to
dislodge (moeilijk te verdwijnen), even in an era of increased focus on
worker autonomy and well-being.
Soldiering in Taylor’s sense is ‘the natural instinct and tendency of men to
take it easy’. When this is combined with people’s economic interests and
the failure of managers to design, allocate and reward work on a scientific
basis, it leads employees to get together and rationally conspire to hold
production down. They do this to maximise their reward without tempting
the incompetent management to come back and tighten the rate. This is
’systematic soldiering’. Taylor argued that if managers appeal directly to
the self-interest of individual employees, they can gain full cooperation.
This requires a scientific understanding of human nature.
Although scientific management is not spoken of in these terms in
contemporary times, it is important to recognise the extent to which its
working principles continue to underlie the design of ‘knowledge work’
activities across the world.
Psychological humanism
Psychological humanists argue for achieving organisational efficiency not
through the exclusion of workers from task-related decision-making but by
encouraging their participation in it. For example by:
non-managerial workers becoming involved in setting their own
objectives;
jobs being ‘enriched’ by reducing the extent to which they are
supervised and monitored; and
more open and authentic colleague relationships being developed,
particularly in ‘teams’.
Employees are no longer seen purely as performers, but as individuals
with more complex needs.
Organisations
Content
Summary literature Sociology of Organisations...............................................1
Content......................................................................................................... 1
CH2 Watson: Analysing work and organisation: scientific management, human
relations and negotiated orders......................................................................................2
CH4 Watson I: Industrialisation and the changing division of labour.............................13
CH3 Watson: Analysing work and organisation: institutionalism, labour process and
discourse analysis......................................................................................................... 15
Organization design: fashion or fit?..............................................................................27
Mechanists and Organic Systems.................................................................................35
CH5 Watson: Micropolitics, careers and unofficial management practices...................39
The dynamics of organizational identity.......................................................................44
CH7 Watson: Occupations and the social organization of work.....................................53
CH8 Watson: Aspects of occupations: from managers to exotic dancers, artists to
professionals and soldiers to investment bankers........................................................57
Why diversity programs fail..........................................................................................68
CH6 Watson: Control and variation in organizational shaping and human resourcing. .73
From street-level to system-level bureaucracies: how information and communication
technology is transforming administrative discretion and constitutional control..........83
Big other: surveillance capitalism and the prospects of an information civilization......93
CH9 Watson: Culture, work, orientations and the experience of working...................101
Quality-driven work..................................................................................................... 111
, CH4 Watson II: Industrial capitalism, change and the possibility of a fourth automation-
based industrial revolution......................................................................................... 123
Asian management research needs more self-confidence: Reflection on Hofstede
(2007) and beyond..................................................................................................... 135
Corporate social responsibility: review and roadmap of theoretical perspectives.......142
Videos Sociology of Organisations...............................................................148
2.2: The Invisible Hand............................................................................................... 148
2.3: The Division of Labour.........................................................................................148
6.2: Mechanic and Organic Solidarity..........................................................................149
5.1: The Unexpected Force of Social Thought.............................................................149
5.2: Economic Chains of Interdependency..................................................................150
5.3: Homo Faber......................................................................................................... 150
5.4: Alienation............................................................................................................. 150
5.5: Class Struggle...................................................................................................... 151
5.6: Caught in the Capitalist system...........................................................................151
7.6: The Three Ideal Types of Authority (Weber)........................................................152
CAPCO reshoring video...............................................................................................152
CH2 Watson: Analysing work and organisation: scientific
management, human relations and negotiated orders
Strands of thought and key theoretical perspectives in the
sociology of work and organization
There are six strands of thought (zes theoretische benaderingen die
worden gebruikt in de sociologie van werk en organisatie) that we need to
be aware of in the sociology of work and industry
The
arrows crossing some of the ‘boxes’ in the table indicate developments
which have been influenced by more than one of the theoretical strands
, In the case of three of the strands, we see approaches which have been
especially influenced by a particular founding figure of sociology,
Durkheim, Weber or Marx.
The managerial-psychologistic strand
Scientific management (Taylorism) and psychological humanism are not a
part of a sociology of work and organization, and there for non-sociological
approaches.
They are both relatively individualistic styles of thinking about work and
are both concerned to prescribe to managers how they should relate to
their employees and should organize worker’s jobs. They both concentrate
on questions of ‘human nature’ and fail to recognise the range of
possibilities for work organisation and orientation that people may choose
to adopt, depending on their priorities in life.
(= Ze gaan er allebei vanuit dat er één juiste manier is om werk en
organisaties te organiseren, gebaseerd op deze aannames over
"menselijke natuur". Maar in werkelijkheid verschilt wat mensen willen en
hoe ze werken enorm, afhankelijk van hun persoonlijke prioriteiten.
Mensen hebben verschillende motivaties, behoeften en manieren van
werken, afhankelijk van wat ze belangrijk vinden in hun leven.)
To this extent, they can be regarded as psychologistic.
Psychologism
= A tendency to explain social behavior solely in terms of the
psychological characteristics of individuals.
Scientific management
The leading advocate and systematiser of this approach was Taylor.
Taylorism encouraged a view of the industrial worker as an economic
animal who could be encouraged to act as a self-seeking hired hand and
who would allow managers to do their job-related thinking for them. If this
could be achieved, especially through the use of output-based and
potentially high-level rewards, the management would work out the most
efficient way of organising work, tying the monetary rewards of the work
to the level of output achieved by the individual. This would produce
results which would benefit employer and employee alike, removing the
likelihood of conflict and the need for trade unions.
(= Taylorisme ziet arbeiders vooral als economische wezens die gedreven
worden door persoonlijke financiële belangen. Het uitgangspunt is dat
arbeiders zich vooral zullen inspannen als ze directe beloningen
ontvangen die verbonden zijn aan hun productiviteit. In het Tayloristische
model hoeven arbeiders niet na te denken over hoe het werk het beste
gedaan kan worden; dat is de taak van de managers. Beloningen die direct
gekoppeld zijn aan hun prestaties zouden volgens Taylor niet alleen leiden
tot wederzijds voordeel: de werkgever krijgt meer productie, en de
werknemer krijgt een hogere beloning.)
, Scientific management involves:
- Scientific analysis of tasks: as efficient as possible
- Technical division of labor through job fragmentation (Kleine
specifieke handelingen)
- Seperation of planning and execution
- Reduction of skill requirements and learning time
- Mimimizing material handling (workers perform minimal physical
movements)
- Use of time studies and monitoring systems (measure how quickly
tasks are performed)
- Incentive payment systems (reward systems)
- Relationships between managers and workers are limited to what is
strictly necessary and is functional and formal
Although Taylorism is sometimes dismissed as an “outdated” concept, its
core principles, such as task fragmentation, minimum skill requirements,
and a focus on cost reduction, continue to have a significant influence on
modern job design. Braverman emphasized that these principles are
deeply embedded in the capitalist way of working and therefore difficult to
dislodge (moeilijk te verdwijnen), even in an era of increased focus on
worker autonomy and well-being.
Soldiering in Taylor’s sense is ‘the natural instinct and tendency of men to
take it easy’. When this is combined with people’s economic interests and
the failure of managers to design, allocate and reward work on a scientific
basis, it leads employees to get together and rationally conspire to hold
production down. They do this to maximise their reward without tempting
the incompetent management to come back and tighten the rate. This is
’systematic soldiering’. Taylor argued that if managers appeal directly to
the self-interest of individual employees, they can gain full cooperation.
This requires a scientific understanding of human nature.
Although scientific management is not spoken of in these terms in
contemporary times, it is important to recognise the extent to which its
working principles continue to underlie the design of ‘knowledge work’
activities across the world.
Psychological humanism
Psychological humanists argue for achieving organisational efficiency not
through the exclusion of workers from task-related decision-making but by
encouraging their participation in it. For example by:
non-managerial workers becoming involved in setting their own
objectives;
jobs being ‘enriched’ by reducing the extent to which they are
supervised and monitored; and
more open and authentic colleague relationships being developed,
particularly in ‘teams’.
Employees are no longer seen purely as performers, but as individuals
with more complex needs.
