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Sept. 6
Introduction
Contracting and overview of class.
Sept. 13
Understanding Organizations and Organizing
We will discuss
how management is a process of thinking, analyzing and acting. By drawing on
images as metaphors of organization representing a generative source of insight
and understanding for both theory and practice, we will note how different
images can individually and collectively help us understand and manage
organizations in different ways.
Readings:
§
Hatch, Mary Jo (1997) "Why study organization
theory?" (Chapter 1) and "Histories, metaphors, and perspectives in
organizational theory" (Chapter 2); Organizational theory - Modern, symbolic,
and postmodern perspectives; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
§
Morgan,
Gareth (1997) “Introduction” (Chapter 1) in Images of organization,
San Francisco:
Sage Publications.
§
Morgan,
Gareth (1997) “If you only have a hammer,” Imaginization, San Francisco:
Sage Publications.
Sept. 20
Mechanical Images of Organization
Next, let’s focus on reviewing the approaches to
organizational theory and behavior which implicitly assume that human beings
behave, or should behave, as parts of a machine. We will study primary sources
including Taylor’s “scientific management,” along with the work of the classical
theorists.
Readings:
§
Morgan,
Gareth (1997) “Mechanization takes command: organizations as machines,” (Chapter
2) in Images of organization,
San Francisco: Sage Publications.
§
Xenophon
(1869) “Socrates discovers generic management.” The anabasis or expedition of
Cyrus and the memorabilia of Socrates, trans. J.S.
Watson,
New York: Harper and Row.
§
Smith,
Adam (1776) “Of the division of labour,” The wealth on nations.
§
Taylor, Frederick Winslow (1916) “The principles of scientific
management,” Bulletin of the Taylor Society.
§
Weber,
Max (1946) “Bureaucracy,” Essays in sociology, edited and translated by
H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, Oxford University Press, Inc.
§
Fayol,
Henri (1949) “General principles of management,” General and industrial
management. Trans. Constance
Storrs, London: Pitman
Publishing, Ltd.
Sept. 27
The External Environment
If the role of management could be reserved for
internal purposes alone assuming “closed organizational systems,” mechanistic
models of organizations might have sufficed. What happens when the external
environment is added to the equation? Can any organization remain a closed
system? What happens when we enter the global arena?
Readings:
§
Hatch, Mary Jo (1997) "The environment of
organization," (Chapter 3); Organizational theory - Modern, symbolic, and
postmodern perspectives; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Oct. 4 Strategy and Structure
Strategy and structure provide
the direction and backbone to competing in a global arena. Let us look more
closely at the pattern of decisions and actions that managers make to use core
competencies to achieve a competitive advantage.
Readings:
§
Hatch, Mary Jo (1997) " Strategy and goals,"
(Chapter 4) and "Organizational social structure," (Chapter 6);
Organizational theory - Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives;
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Oct. 11
Organismic Images of Organization
Now, let’s view organizations and their members as
need-fulfilling organisms. Many organizational problems from this point of view
hinge on understanding the organization as an “open system.” This approach
results in a contingency theory of organization, emphasizing the importance of
achieving an appropriate fit between organization, environment, and employee
needs.
Readings:
§
Morgan, Gareth (1997) “Nature intervenes:
organizations as organisms,” (Chapter 3) in Images of organization,
San Francisco: Sage Publications.
§
Goleman, Daniel (November/December 1998) "What
makes a leader?" Harvard Business Review, pp. 93-102.
§
Reis, Dayr and Pena, Leticia (forthcoming)
“Reengineering the motivation to work.”
§
Burns, Tom and Stalker, G.M. (1961) “Mechanistic
and organic systems,” The management of innovation, London:
Tavistock Publications.
§
Follett,
Mary Parker (1926) “The giving of orders,” Scientific foundations of business
administration,
Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins Co.
§
Maslow,
Abraham H. (1943) “A theory of human motivation,” Psychological review,
50.
§
Mc Gregor,
Douglas, (1957) “The human
side of enterprise,” Management review, November 1957.
Assignment:
Primary source assignment is due today. Come prepared to discuss your
findings in class.
Oct. 18
Organizations as Cultures
We will look at approaches to organizational
theory and behavior, which attempt to make sense of how individuals construct
the reality of organizational life. Organization from this point of view does
not exist in any concrete sense; it rests in minds of people and the precarious
web of interpretations through which humans order their day-to-day
interactions. “Culture” stands as a metaphor for capturing the nature of
organization as a network of shared meaning.
Readings:
§
Hatch, Mary Jo (1997) "Organizational culture"
(Chapter 7); Organizational theory - Modern, symbolic, and postmodern
perspectives; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
§
Morgan,
Gareth (1997) “Creating social reality: Organizations as cultures” (Chapter 5)
in Images of organization,
San Francisco: Sage Publications.
§
Schein,
Edgar H. (1985) “Defining organizational culture,” Organizational culture
and leadership, San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Oct. 25
Organizational Technology
Technology converts an
organization's inputs (material, human, monetary) into outputs. As we will see,
the process may be mechanical, service-oriented, or mental.
Readings:
§
Hatch, Mary Jo (1997) "Technology" (Chapter 5);
Organizational theory - Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives;
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
§
Weick, Karl E. (1990) "Technology as equivoque:
Sensemaking in new technologies," in P.S. Goodman, L.S. Sproull, and Associates,
Technology and Organizations.
§
Reis,
Dayr, Pati, Niranjan, and Pena, Leticia (1999) “Problems of modern technology,”
International journal of technology management, Volume 17, No.3.
Assignment: Preliminary report of Case
Analysis is due today.
Nov. 1
Organizations as Brains
We will view organizations from
information processing and learning perspectives, paying particular attention to
the concepts of cybernetics, double-loop learning, the holographic structure and
Senge’s fifth discipline. These concepts address the importance of an ongoing
process of collective and individual learning, and the development of capacities
for self-managing, and self-designing organizations.
Readings:
§
Morgan, Gareth (1997) “Learning
and self-organization: organization as brains”(Chapter 4) in
Images of organization, San Francisco: Sage Publications.
§
Hatch, Mary Jo (1997) "Organizational change and
learning," (Chapter 12); Organizational theory - Modern, symbolic, and
postmodern perspectives; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
§
Senge, Peter M. (1990) “The fifth discipline: A
shift of mind,” The fifth discipline, Doubleday, Bantam Doubleday Dell
Publishing Group, Inc.
Nov. 8
Organizations as Political Systems
This section gives us a
perspective of the interplay between interests, conflict and power in the work
setting.
Readings:
§
Morgan,
Gareth (1997) “Interests, conflict, and power: Organizations as political
systems” (Chapter 6) in Images of organization,
San Francisco: Sage Publications.
§
Hatch, Mary Jo (1997) "Organizational
decision-making, power, and politics," (Chapter 9); Organizational theory -
Modern, symbolic, and
postmodern perspectives;
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
§
Pfeffer,
Jeffrey (1981) “Understanding the role of power in decision making.” Power in
organizations,
Marshfield, MA:
Pitman Publishing.
Nov.
15 MID-TERM EXAM
Nov.
20
Organizations as Psychic Prisons
(Tuesday)
We will view how people become trapped in ways of thinking and acting that often
causes problems, including stress.
Readings:
§
Morgan,
Gareth (1997) “Exploring plato’s cave: Organizations as psychic prisons”
(Chapter 7) in Images of organization,
San Francisco: Sage Publications.
§
Janis,
Irving L. “Groupthink,” (November 1971) Psychology Today.
§
Pena,
Leticia and Reis, Dayr (October 1997) “Fear, stress and quality of work,” The
quality observer.
Dec.
29
Organization as a Process of Transformation and Flux
This final metaphor gives us a brief look at the
deeper logics of change that underpin the dynamics of change and stability in
organization and society, including the introduction to the theory of
autopoiesis, chaos and complexity theory, and the logic of dialectical change.
Readings:
§
Morgan,
Gareth (1997) “Unfolding logics of change: The organization as flux and
transformation,” (Chapter 8) in Images of organization,
San Francisco:
Sage Publications.
§
Wheatley,
Margaret (1994) “Leadership and the new science: searching for a simpler way to
lead organizations.” Leadership and the new science.
San Francisco: Berret-Koehler
Publishers, Inc.
§
Bergquist, William (1993) "Postmodern thought in a
nutshell: Where art and science come together," The postmodern organization:
Mastering the art of irreversible change, Jossey-Bass, Inc.
Dec.
6 Integration and Critical Assessment
We will aim at bringing
key concepts and tools all together, to see how these ideas can help you analyze
and manage in creative ways.
Readings:
§
Morgan,
Gareth (1997) “The theory behind the practice,” Imaginization, San
Francisco: Sage Publications.
§
Drucker, Peter F. (March/April 1999) "Managing
oneself," Management challenges for the 21st century,
HarperCollins Publishers.
§
Mintzberg, Henry ( Spring 1999) "Managing
quietly," in Leader to leader, Volume 12.
§
Handy,
Charles (1998) "The search for meaning," The hungry spirit.
New York: Broadway Books.
§
Goleman, Daniel (November/December 1998) "What
makes a leader?" Harvard Business Review, pp. 93-102.
Dec. 15
FINAL REPORT OF CASE STUDY is due in my office by 9:00 pm today.
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