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Organisation Theory
CONCEPTS AND CASES
5e
Stephen Robbins Neil Barnwell
Chapter two
Early contributions
The evolution of organisation theory has been influenced by current challenges facing organisations and by the interests of researchers Even in ancient times, organisations had clear hierarchies of management and division of labour The division of labour is a person concentrating on one job rather than a range of tasks
Frederick Taylor promoted scientific management where jobs were standardised, production systematised and production methods systematically examined
1900 to 1930s
continued:
Henri Fayol developed his principles of organisation which addressed the problems of managing large organisations His principles included the division of work, unity of command, a clear hierarchy of management and commitment to the organisation Max Weber described the principles of bureaucracy which considered to be an ideal way to manage
1900 to 1930s
continued:
Ralph Davis emphasised the importance of rational planning in an organisation The classical theorists of this period considered that organisations (and people) were easily understood and the challenge for management was developing appropriate management techniques
1930s to 1960s
continued:
Chester Barnard viewed the organisation as a cooperative system and urged that management should incorporate peoples needs when organising tasks
1930s to 1960s
continued:
The sociotechnical systems approach emphasised the interaction of motivation, challenging jobs and the quality of working life
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1960 to 1980
continued:
Woodward proposed that the organisations technology had a major influence upon structuring The Aston group suggested that size exerted a major influence Miles and Snow studied the influence of strategy
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Paradigm proliferation
continued:
Critical theory and post modernism highlight the negative aspects of organisational experience The symbolic-interpretive perspective proposes that the organisation be studied as a social construct Organisational economics applies economic theory, transactions costs and agency theory to organisations
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Paradigm proliferation
continued:
The study of gender in organisations investigates the different experiences of men and women as both workers and managers The emergence of popular management writers and the reflections of exCEOs brings current experience to organisational problems and acts as a counterpoint to academic theorising
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Discussion questions
Discuss whether the scientific management approach still applies today. Discuss whether there is an ideal way to manage. How would the study of organisations by managers and academics differ? How would this likely affect their writing on organisations? What factors have contributed to paradigm proliferation? What should be the main focus of organisational theory; the workers or the organisations output?
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