...Organizational Theory Taxonomy Organizational Theory Taxonomy Title and Theorist Name | General Description | Example of Theory | Other Attributes | Agency Theory, Jensen & Meckling, 1972-1976 | The agency theory applies classical economic thinking to problems of organizational control and design (Tosi, 2009). Agency theory offers a useful way of understanding the complex authority relationship between top management and the board of directors. An agency relationship is when one personal “the principal” delegates decision-making authority or control to another “the agent” (Jones, 2010). | In 2005, Time Warner came under attack because top management had made many acquisitions such as AOL that did not led to increased innovation, efficiency, and higher profits which creates an agency problem that the agency theory addresses (Jones, 2010). | Agency theory views a firm as a legal entity that serves as a nexus for a complex set of formal and informal contracts among different individuals. A typical firm consists of the shareholders or the boards of directors are principals, and top managers or CEOs are agents (Jones, 2010). Agency theory dictates that principals will try to bridge the informational asymmetries by installing information systems for monitoring (Shapiro, 2005). | Contingency Theory, Burns & Stalker, 1961 | The contingency theory shows how some organizational designs will adapt to the environment, depending on the nature of the environment. The contingency...
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...clarifies why such a program will become a mainstream requirement for successful small and midsized businesses in the future. Summary: According to Harpst, excellence is the enduring pursuit of balanced strategy and execution. Strategy requires choosing what promises to make to all stakeholders and a roadmap for delivering on those promises. Execution requires getting there, while overcoming unending surprises. Excellence is a journey – not a destination. A business excellence model tells organizations as to how they should operate relative to the two dimensions of strategy and execution. (See figure 1, Exhibit 1) Quadrant I: Strong Strategy/Weak Execution: In this quadrant, a business has a strong strategy, which means a competitive advantage. Regardless of whether a company is a start-up or a seasoned business, strong strategy usually leads to growth in sales. A key point to understand is that success and the results of growth start the journey but this often leads an organization into Quadrant IV. | Quadrant II: Strong Strategy/Strong Execution: Quadrant II...
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...Increases Performance 3 Excess control often stifles innovation. 4 Employee motivation: The crisis of bureaucratic control 5 Summary 8 Reference 10 Abstract In this paper I will critically evaluate the statement “Organizations seek to control” from both mechanistic and culture perspective, using my own placement experience in Great Eastern Life Assurance (Singapore) as an example to examine the extent of compatibility and conflict between these two perspectives in the sense of control. Introduction Control is a set of activities to determine an actual state of affairs, compare it to appropriate models, and then formulate conclusions which should contribute to assure efficient and effective functioning of an organization. A mechanistic view of organizations assumes that organizations operate in a consistent machine-like manner. Control in mechanisms perspective, primarily aimed at detecting irregularities. A culture view of organizations treats organizations as mini societies which have a system of strongly-held shared value among members. Control by corporate culture views people as emotional, symbol-loving, and needing to belong to a superior entity or collectivity. Great Eastern Life Assurance provides an interesting case study in mechanism and culture perspectives for third primary reasons: First, its structure is...
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...improve the performance of the organization or functions of the organization, such as a group or a practice. The goal of organizational change is to increase the effectiveness of the change effort, while decreasing employee opposition and the cost associated with the change. Change is inevitable in today’s business community if an organization wants to remain competitive and to increase profits. With an increase in globalization and advancements in technology, companies are forced to make changes if they want to stay in business. Unfortunately, most change efforts fail due to resistance and lack of support. Most people are afraid of change, and managers have to be very skilled in getting the employees to commit to implementing the changes. Successful change efforts are based on individuals at the organization responding positively to the transformation. So what can an organization do to bring about successful change? Research suggests that change is more effective when it’s driven from within by the upper management team of the organization. Employees are more than likely to buy into the effort if they feel it’s being supported by the top brass. If the employees get a sense that upper management is not championing the cause, then they will not support it. In addition, the change effort must also tie in with the culture of the organization. Management must find a way to connect it with the values, beliefs and behaviors of the organization. Otherwise, the effort will...
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...Power and Politics : Chapter 19 Power and politics are among the most important concepts in the study of organization behavior. Both power and politics are dynamic concepts and are a function of the interaction between different elements in organizations. Power has been defined as "the ability to influence and control anything that is of value to others." It is the ability to influence the behavior of other people in the organization and to get them to do what they otherwise would not have done. Although the terms power, authority and influence are often used synonymously, there is a difference between them. Power is the ability to effect a change in an individual or a group in some way. Power may or may not be legitimate. That is, power need not correspond with a person's organizational position. Authority, on the other hand, is legitimate. It is the power which is sanctioned by the organization and is often the 'source' of power. Influence is a much broader concept than both power and authority. French and Raven, social psychologists, identified five sources of power - coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and referent. Coercive power is based on fear and is the ability to influence another person through threats or fear of punishment. Reward power is a positive power which refers to the ability to get things done through others on the basis of one's power to grant rewards. Legitimate power depends on organizational position and authority. It refers to the power conferred by...
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...Decision making Individuals, in and out of an organization, have different attitudes towards many circumstances they face in life. With these attitudes towards an object or situation, whether positive or negative, the individual will have a set behavior for a certain circumstance, thus saying that behavior follows attitudes; which were assumed by researchers in the late 1960’s. But one researcher, Leon Festinger , argued that it is the other way around, that attitudes follow behavior and that people change what they say so it does not contradict what they do. Yet recent research, based on Festinger’s Moderating Variables, show how strong moderating variables tend to strengthen the link and prove that attitudes do in fact predict future behavior. Attitudes and behavior in this sense are intricately related. Managers must understand this complicated relationship in order to measure and determine job satisfaction and its relationship to employees’ job attitudes, involvement and satisfaction in order to optimum productivity. Attitudes are thoughts about a particular object in which then is reflected emotionally through an individual finally realizing a certain behavior. They reflect how we feel about something. Researchers have assumed that attitudes have three components which are; cognition component – the aspect of an attitude that is a description of or belief in the way of an attitude – affect component – is the emotional or...
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...Creating a Plan for Positive Influence Daniel E Fulgencio Mota University of Phoenix LDR/531 Organizational Leadership March 28, 2013 Prof. Miguel A Rodriguez, PhD Creating a Plan for Positive Influence Business model has change dramatically lately. These days are more common for the organizations to use team work or small subunits, also known as department or section formed specifically to perform specific task for achieving different goals in the company. This document proposes will cover several topics concerning to the design of an effective plan to increase team motivation, satisfaction and performance. How the different attitudes, emotions and, personalities may affect the good performance of group and the tools managers can use to alleviate this situations. Designing and effective Team Before defining a strategy to form and effective team it is important to know fundamentals aspects about team or groups. There are two types of groups formal and informal. This document focused on formal groups. Formal groups are those defined by organizations with the purpose of assigning task to the members of the team for achieving specifics goals. Other important aspect on forming and managing effective teams is the role a leader has for ensuring success of the team. Leaders may improve team performance by influencing and motivating each member of the group. Team performance is strongly related to the level of commitment and motivation members have to achieve...
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...emphasized. It is said that any thing minus management amounts to nothing. There is no more important area of human activity than management since its task is that of getting things done through others. Some underestimate the importance of management in business but the latest researches have shown that it is certainly not the case. The input of the labor, capital and raw materials can never become production without the catalyst of management. Management is a dynamic life-giving element in an organization. In its absence, the resources of production remain underutilized and can never become production. In fact, without efficient management, no country can become a nation. Business is basically a group activity and management plays an important role in making it more effective. The group as a whole cannot realize its objectives unless and until there is mutual cooperation and coordination among the members of the groups. Management creates teamwork and team spirit in an organization by developing a sound organizational structure. It brings the human and material resources together and motivates the people for the achievement of goals. The available resources of production are put to use in such...
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...influence on the company renders the political and legal component of environment consisting of the legislation at federal and local levels, and also the general political climate. The economic component of environment (rates of inflation, a rate of unemployment and wages, a trend of economic growth, specificity of competitors, features of suppliers etc.) appears the important factor. The technological component covers specificity of technological process. The Welfare component means demographic shifts. The organizations functioning in the conditions of the changeable environment, require the structures adapted for acceptance of flexible decisions. Under the influence of changes in an environment the organization constantly develops. As a result, former elements and communications die off and new components are formed , corresponding to new conditions. Strategy states the plan according to which the organization intends to reach the purposes. I think the main purpose of this conglomerate can be the increase in sales volumes at the expense of fast and qualitative service of sellers and clients of the company that is one of the primary factors promoting achievement of strategy of reception and maximization of a corporate income in the short-term and long-term period. For achievement of the...
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...Organizational studies encompass the study of organizations from multiple viewpoints, methods, and levels of analysis. For instance, one textbook[1] divides these multiple viewpoints into three perspectives: modern, symbolic, and postmodern. Another traditional distinction, present especially in American academia, is between the study of "micro" organizational behaviour — which refers to individual and group dynamics in an organizational setting — and "macro" strategic management and organizational theory which studies whole organizations and industries, how they adapt, and the strategies, structures and contingencies that guide them. To this distinction, some scholars have added an interest in "meso" scale structures - power, culture, and the networks of individuals and i.e. ronit units in organizations — and "field" level analysis which study how whole populations of organizations interact. Whenever people interact in organizations, many factors come into play. Modern organizational studies attempt to understand and model these factors. Like all modernist social sciences, organizational studies seek to control, predict, and explain. There is some controversy over the ethics of controlling workers' behavior, as well as the manner in which workers are treated (see Taylor's scientific management approach compared to the human relations movement of the 1940s). As such, organizational behaviour or OB (and its cousin, Industrial psychology) have at times been accused of being the...
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...and explain how Kaiser Permanente uses the terminology and concepts in our hospital. Organizational Culture Organizational culture is the shared beliefs and values that make a difference in the behavior of organizational members. Culture plays an important role in stability and safety in an organization. Organization culture defines an organization's leadership and in order to understand its leadership, it is a must to first understand its culture. “Although it is relatively easy to conclude that what works well in one culture may not work as well in another, it is far harder to specify exactly how cultural differences affect things like motivation, job satisfaction, and ethical behavior.” (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). The organizational culture at Kaiser Permanente has started a program called “Live Well Be Well” for their employees. This program has really made a big difference at our facility. The employees have better understanding of their health, motivated to come to work everyday and work ethics have improved as well. . Employees rely on culture for the ability to respond to any circumstances, culture becomes hard core in many organizations, which put fear in employees when change takes place; therefore leaders must take on the role of creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture. Organizational Behavior Organizational behavior is as an academic that is laid out to understand individual and group behavior, interpersonal...
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...strategic plan that focuses on what the users need to get their jobs done, the kinds of infrastructure that are already in place and can be leveraged, and how business needs will change over the next few years. This last component of a mobile strategy is particularly important because it will determine not only what gets implemented now but what degree of flexibility will be required to enhance and improve the applications over time. Failure to take into account the needs of the business in the long term will mean a mobile solution that is unable to change or grow with the business, representing a less-than-optimum investment strategy and potentially requiring rip-and-replace of the solution within a short time. Extending email Most organizations that have deployed even simple mobile applications can leverage those applications to encompass a broader reach of user and company needs. For instance, enterprises that have a...
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...and highly competitive corporate environment. Paramount to this success is the application of organizational psychology which focuses on the human factor of business. Close examination of the root definition, roles of research and statistics, and utilization of organizational psychology within organizations will provide insight into just how the human factor contributes to the failure or success of an organization. The finely tuned sports team, that just achieved greatness, or the corporation that collapsed due to corruption contained one thing, people who had either a positive or negative impact on an organization. “Organizational psychology is field that utilizes scientific methodology to better understand the behavior of individuals working in organizational settings” (Jex & Britt, 2008, p.1). The simple explanation is to understand what makes people tick in an organizational environment such as a business. Once understood, the challenge to organizational psychology is to capitalize on dynamics of individual behaviors and build upon the success of the organization. The role of research and statistics in organizational psychology is crucial to understanding how an organization functions. Research is accomplished in numerous ways; archival data studies, survey studies, and observational studies gather information for researchers about employees in a business setting (Gantly, 2010). Information gathered through this type of research is utilized to determine data applicable...
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...aware of the fact that these very issues could occur and must be ready to resolve any and all problems. Effective conflict resolution means being able to use differences in ways that strengths rather than divide. Develop clear purposes and goals, design and conduct effective meetings, ensure appropriate representation and understanding of roles. There must also be some education, and this is done through training. The training should equip the individuals with the right tools to educate as well as inspire everyone. Source:Hellriegel, D.,& Slocum, J.W.Jr.(2011) Organizational Behavior: 2011 Custom Edition(13th ed.). The key attributes of the diversity competency include the knowledge, skills and abilities of individuals, teams, and the organization to perform effective in doing the following: fostering; learning; embracing and developing; communicating and personally practicing; providing leadership and applying governmental laws and regulations as well as organizational policies and regulations concerning diversity. (Pg. 14-15) The levels of conflict that may be present when individuals embrace the attributes of diversity competency are listed below. (Pg. 386) Intrapersonal Conflict occurs within an individual and usually involves some of goal cognitive, or affective conflict. The...
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...Effective Communications Paper Your Name Course # Date Instructor: Today’s growing businesses are often requiring employees to work in teams to meet project deadlines. Working in teams comes with many benefits, such as building employee relationships and knowledge sharing. Unfortunately, teamwork has its negative aspects, such as tension or anxiety, which almost always derives from poor communication. Effective communication within an organization often determines an organizations fate. This article gives an overview of effective communication through knowledge sharing, effective and ineffective techniques, using effective techniques in a health care environment, and technological impacts. Effective Knowledge Sharing Techniques Knowledge is often seen as a rich form of information. This differentiation, however, is not terribly helpful. A more useful definition of knowledge is that it is about know-how and know-why. A metaphor is that of a cake. An analysis of its molecular constituents is data – for most purposes not very useful – one may not even be able to tell it were a cake. A list of ingredients is information – more useful – an experienced cook could probably make the cake – the data has been given context. The recipe though would be knowledge – written knowledge - explicit knowledge – it tells how to make the cake. An inexperienced cook however, even with the recipe might not make a good cake. A person, though, with relevant knowledge, experience...
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