Organizational theory

1
Organizational theory

• Many ways of organizing the members of an
  organization to achieve the desired ends
• Many different personalities that emerge from
  these organizations

2
History of Organizational Structure

• Bureaucracy (in response to earlier favortism
  at work)
• Divison of labor
• Delegation of authority
• Structure (delegation of authority)
• Span of control

3
History, cont.

• Human relations movement
• Theory X and theory Y
• Contingency theories (more in leadership chapter)
• Systems theory (living organism approach)
• Inputs and outputs are critical

4
Modern day theory

• Resource theory connections to other
  organizations are critical
• Ecological approach
• More sociological than psychological
• Organizations change much slower than the
  environment
• Much of what happens is beyond the control of
  individuals in the orgnization

5
Organizational Climate/Culture

• The cognitive framework of
• attitudes
• values
• behavioral norms
• expectations
• Key is that they are shared by organizational
  members

6
Aspects of Org Climate

• Achievement
• Self actualizing
• Humanistic
• Approval
• Conventional

• Avoidance
• Power
• Competitive
• Oppositional

7
Org Culture Provides

• A sense of identity for group members
• Commitment to the mission of the org
• Clarifies and reinforces standards of behavior
• Culture usually takes 5-10 years to develop

8
How is org culture transmitted?

• Symbols (buildings, lobby, decorations, etc.)
• Stories that get passed on
• Ceremonies (holiday parties, awards)
• Statements of principles
• Policies
• Reward structure

9
Fit is critical

• P-J fit extent to which person matches the job
• P-O fit extent to which person matches the
  organization
• What do you value and how does that match the
  organization?

10
Example Organizational Culture Play

• When you turn work into a place that encourages
  people to take a chance, be themselves, have fun,
  and take risks, you fuel and unleash their
  creativity
• Values people, play and profit
• Plays overarching belief
• Build a creative culture! You cant sit in a
  boring conference room and expect to generate
  much beyond boring ideas

11
How do they create this culture?

• They have a playroom as a corner office
• Use creative job titles (e.g., In charge of
  Whats Next)
• Create Physical environment
• Red rubber balls
• Polaroid pictures and graffiti on the walls
• Drumming to announce meetings
• Use magazines to generate ideas
• Bring toys to work
• Allow people to come up with bad ideas

12
Plays advice on getting creative

• Anyone can be creative!
• Look at more things-look harder
• Stay limber-use recreational thinking
• Change your perspective-make yourself think of
  connections where there werent any
• Worse is better-offer the worst ideas first

13
Is org culture important

• Research shows there is not one best culture, but
  it is important to have a strong culture
• A culture that supports affiliation among
  co-workers, flexibility, and encourages
  supervisor support has been linked to positive
  outcomes
• Important to have a fit between the person and
  the org culture (increases satisfaction and
  commitment)