Key concepts:
Administrative principles
· (subsystem of classical perspective)
· Design & function of organisation as a whole
· Bureaucratic organisations (grew from admin. Principles) – emphasised designing & managing organisations on impersonal, rational basis w. clearly defined authority & responsibility.
Bureaucratic
Bureaucratic organisations (grew from admin. Principles) – emphasised designing & managing organisations on impersonal, rational basis w. clearly defined authority & responsibility.
Organisation
1. Social entities (that are)
2. Goal directed
3. Designed as deliberately structures & co-ordinates activity systems
4. Linked to the external environment
Chaos theory
A scientific theory that suggests that relationships in complex, adaptive systems are made up of numerous interconnections that create unintended effects and render the environment unpredictable.
Closed system
A system that is enclosed, autonomous & not dependant on its environment.
Contextual dimensions
1. Size
2. Organisational technology
3. The environment
4. Goals & strategy
5. Culture
Contingency
What structure or system is appropriate or effective depends on the particular circumstances/context of its design.
Effectiveness
The degree to which an organisation achieves its goal
Efficiency
Amount of resources use to achieve organisations goals. Quantity of raw materials, money & employees.
Hawthorne Studies
Series of experiment at Chicago electrical company. Conclusion: positive treatment of employees (acknowledging work etc.) improved motivation & productivity. Laid groundwork for subsequent work examining the ‘human side’ of enterprise.
Learning organisation
An organisations in which everyone is engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organisation to continuously experiment, improve and increase its capability.
Open systems emphasis
A system that must interact with the environment to survive.
Organisation theory
A macro approach to organisations that analyses the whole organisation as a unit.
Role
part of a dynamic social system.
Discretion & responsibility
Scientific management
(Winslow Taylor): decisions about orgasniaations & job design should be based on a ‘scientific’ study of individual situations to determine which method of doing a job delivers the greatest output.
(based upon closed systems way of thinking)
Stakeholder
a group within/ outside the organisation that has a stake in its performance.
Stakeholder approach
balancing preferences of different group. Claim is to integrate diverse organisational activities by looking at various organisational stakeholders & what they want from the organisation.
Structural dimensions
Labels for key, internal characteristics of an organisation e.g. degree of formalisation
Basis for comparing organisations
1. Formalisation(reliance on written documents)
2. Specialisation (organisational tasks are subdivided into separate jobs)
3. Hierarchy of authority (who reports to whom & span of authority)
4. Centralisation (hierarchical level at which authority has to make a decision).
Subsystems
Divisions of an organisation that perform specific functions for the organisation’s survival; organisational subsystems perform the essential functions of boundary spanning, production, maintenance, adaptation and management.
System
A set of interacting elements that acquires inputs from the environment, transforms then, and discharges outputs to the external environment.
Task
narrowly defined piece of work assigned to a person. Broken down into specialised parts. Knowledge is centralised @ top of organisation.
