Routledge Library Editions: Organizations
4 total works
In this introduction for undergraduate students, the author surveys the development of the study of organizations from an historical point of view. He studies organizations within the framework of the main schools of thought, looks into the various levels of analysis involved, and considers the influence of the environment on the organization, particularly that of technology and of other organizations.
In this volume the authors develop a systematic and chronologically based critique of the major concepts, figures and schools in organization. Themes discussed include:
- the development of scientific management and the responses of Gramsci and Lenin to it
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- the meaning of Mayo and the Human Relations School
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- the development of typological systems and contingency models of the organization
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- key concepts of goals, environment and technology.
The foreman is usually regarded as a filter in a chain of command in industrial organizations. In this book, however, the author suggests that this view is not adequate, and he proposes instead a model of analysis which employs a systems perspective. The role of the foreman is seen in terms of the interaction of three sub-systems representing the organization, the group and the individual. The book is based on the work of researchers from many disciplines and employs a sociological framework to account for the peculiar strains, conflict and ambiguities associated with the foreman’s role.