Organizations And Society

What are the costs and consequences of living in a society that has undergone an "organizational revolution"? To what extent is social life in the 21st century dominated by the rational control that is characteristic of bureaucratic organizations large and small? Organizations and Society addresses these broader human questions with a critical perspective, while at the same time explaining the main concepts and theories in the field. Students of all interests—those who wish to run organizations someday, study them, or simply understand their importance in the contemporary social order—will benefit from the insights and cogent arguments of this text for undergraduate classrooms.

Organizations are ubiquitous, from clubs and associations to firms and public agencies. They confer meaning to all of us, and our attachment to and membership of organizations have a profound effect on all areas of our lives. However, in our increasingly turbulent world, these organizations run the risk of disappearing or losing their legitimacy, creating a sense of pointlessness and absurdity. Organizations, Strategy and Society: The Orgology of Disorganized Worlds draws on neo-institutional and strategy theories of competitive advantage and develops an integrative approach to theorizing organizations and their behaviors, termed ‘orgology’. It explains that organizations can act strategically to protect and renew the meaning that individuals give to their lives. In so doing, organizations that survive and thrive impose their logics on society, thereby influencing what is legitimate or not. In turn, individuals must reinterpret their multiple associations with organizations and contribute to reinforcing or inhibiting social evolutions. This new way of understanding organizations’ relationships with society results in a reconsideration of management and the role of individuals in building their future. This book will be of interest to students at all levels, to researchers in organizational studies, strategic management and sociology, as well as to people willing to reorganize their world.

Includes bibliographic references and index.

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This book brings together recent theories and research in the study of organizations to provide a new perspective on the central role of organizations in modern societies. Particular attention is paid to developing a theoretical framework which integrates the analysis of organizations from different sectors (private, public and voluntary) and from different societies (special attention is paid to Japan and the USSR).

Widely known as a leading intellectual, Zygmunt Bauman’s thinking is often categorized as sociology or philosophy. But his work has been hugely influential in other fields as well, not least within organization studies. From increasing management control and growing standardization of work activities, to the increase in uncertainty and insecurity experienced by contemporary workers, organizations themselves are becoming ever more ephemeral entities. Bauman’s themes: globalization, liquid modernity and postmodern ethics are arguably fundamental to contemporary notions of organization and management and his thinking has never been more relevant. However, despite the obvious and continuing influence of Bauman’s ideas on business studies, there has been no comprehensive attempt to chart his impact on organization theory. In this innovative and insightful collection, an international selection of leading management scholars explore key topics in current organizational discourse, including networked organizations, control and ambiguity, technologies, work and responsibility, extending Bauman’s liquid modernity to the "liquid organization". The book will be essential reading for scholars and academics and students in management and organizational theory, and also sociology, managing culture and organizational ethnography.

"This book is an interdisciplinary analysis of big organizations and their influence upon the individuals who work in them. Conceptually, the analysis operates at three distinct but interrelated levels: society as a whole; the big, rational organization; and the individual. Organizations are defined as "miniature societies" in which the dominant values of society are inculcated and sought in a more structured, spatially restricted context. A major object is to show how individuals work out an accommodation in this milieu, and to develop a theory of organizational behavior that posits three ideal types of accommodation to big organizations: "upward-mobiles," "indifferents," and "ambivalents""--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

What are the costs and consequences of living in a society that has undergone an "organizational revolution"? To what extent is social life in the 21st century dominated by the rational control that is characteristic of bureaucratic organizations large and small? Organizations and Society addresses these broader human questions with a critical perspective, while at the same time explaining the main concepts and theories in the field. Students of all interests—those who wish to run organizations someday, study them, or simply understand their importance in the contemporary social order—will benefit from the insights and cogent arguments of this text for undergraduate classrooms.