"Organizational theory refers to a series of interrelated concepts that involve the sociological study of the structures and operations of formal social organizations."
The study of how organizations function, evolve, and adapt to their environment.
Organizational Structure: The ways in which an organization is arranged and the relationships between different parts of the organization.
Organizational Culture: The shared values, beliefs, and norms that define an organization and guide behavior within it.
Leadership: How leaders can influence and shape organizational behavior, and the different styles of leadership that can be effective in different contexts.
Decision-making: The processes and structures that organizations use to make decisions, including the role of power and authority in decision-making.
Technology and Innovation: How organizations can use technology and innovation to improve their operations and achieve their goals.
Management: The principles of effective management and the role of managers in shaping organizational behavior.
Communication: How organizations use communication to convey information, coordinate activities, and build relationships.
Power and Conflict: The ways in which power is distributed within organizations, and how conflicts can arise and be resolved.
Organizational Change: The strategies and processes for initiating and managing organizational change, including the challenges that organizations may face.
Workforce Diversity: The challenges and opportunities presented by a diverse workforce, including issues related to gender, race, ethnicity, and other factors.
Organizational Behavior: The study of individual and group behavior within organizations, including motivation, collaboration, and teamwork.
Human Resource Management: The practices and policies related to hiring, training, and managing employees within an organization.
Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility: The ethical considerations and social responsibilities faced by organizations, and the strategies they can use to address these issues.
Organizational Performance: The measurements and metrics used to evaluate a business or organization's success, and the different factors that contribute to performance.
Organizational Theory and Design: The different theoretical models and frameworks that can be used to understand organizational behavior and design, including systems theory, contingency theory, and resource dependence theory.
Contingency Theory: This theory argues that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to management. Instead, the most effective approach is based on the specific situation and context.
Systems Theory: This theory suggests that organizations are complex systems with interrelated parts. The organization must work in harmony to achieve the ultimate goals.
Institutional Theory: This theory emphasizes the importance of the environment or context within which the organization operates. Organizations must conform to the norms and values of the larger social system to survive.
Social Exchange Theory: This theory emphasizes social relationships and emphasizes the importance of negotiation and bargaining in achieving individual and organizational objectives.
Resource Dependence Theory: This theory focuses on the need for organizations to acquire resources from the environment, including money, labor, and raw materials. Organizations must develop strategies to obtain and sustain these resources.
Diffusion of Innovation Theory: This theory explains how new ideas, concepts, and innovations spread through society and how it may affect organizational change.
Organizational Culture Theory: This theory discusses the unique culture, values, beliefs, and assumptions shared by members of an organization, which shape behavior and decision-making.
Transaction Cost Theory: This theory focuses on the costs associated with transactions in the market and argues that organizations exist to reduce those costs.
Leadership Theory: This theory explores various approaches to leading and influencing people within an organization effectively.
Bureaucratic Theory: This theory emphasizes the importance of hierarchy, impersonality, and specific rules and regulations in organizational management.
"Organizational theory also seeks to explain how interrelated units of organization either connect or do not connect with each other."
"Organizational theory also concerns understanding how groups of individuals behave, which may differ from the behavior of an individual."
"The behavior organizational theory often focuses on is goal-directed."
"Organizational theory covers both intra-organizational and inter-organizational fields of study."
"Theories of organizations initially took a rational perspective."
"In a rational organization system, there are two significant parts: Specificity of Goals and Formalization."
"The division of labor is the specialization of individual labor roles, associated with increasing output and trade."
"Max Weber's conception of bureaucracy is characterized by the presence of impersonal positions that are earned and not inherited, rule-governed decision-making, professionalism, chain of command, defined responsibility, and bounded authority."
"Contingency theory holds that an organization must try to maximize performance by minimizing the effects of various environmental and internal constraints."
"Dwight Waldo in 1978 wrote that '[o]rganization theory is characterized by vogues, heterogeneity, claims and counterclaims.'"
"Organization theory cannot be described as an orderly progression of ideas or a unified body of knowledge."
"Suggestions to view organizations as a series of logical relationships between its participants have found its way into the theoretical relationships between diverging organizational theories as well."
"as explains the interdisciplinary nature of the field."
"The issues to which it should address itself (such as supervisory style and organizational culture)."
"the concepts and variables that should enter into such a theory."
"Modernization theorist Frank Dobbin wrote that 'modern institutions are transparently purposive.'"
"the ability to navigate this requisite variety may depend upon the development of a range of response mechanisms."
"The interdisciplinary nature of the field."