Showing papers in "Journal of Management Studies in 1979"

Strategy, structure and environment: context influences upon some bivariate associations

Abstract: In studying organizational adaptation most researchers tend to draw sample- wide conclusions about the relationships among strategic, structural, and environmental variables. More often than not, the findings of different investigators are in conflict. Particular variables are said by some to covary positively, while different studies demonstrate a negative relationship. This paper attempts to show that the direction and significance of bivariate product-moment correlations may vary significantly, logically, and systematically according to the adaptive approach used by firms. A sample of firms is segmented into four parts, which are internally homogeneous in the evolutionary patterns among environmental, organizational, and strategy-making variables. The findings from a correlational analysis of each sub-sample indicate how some common discrepancies in the literature show the promise of being resolved when the differences in the contexts of the bivariate relationships are examined.

Leadership decision‐making: an empirical test of the vroom and yetton model

Abstract: Despite the common belief that greater worker participation in decision-making in industry will increase productivity and worker job satisfaction, the empirical evidence has been most contradictory. As a result, theories have been developed which now suggest that the degree of participation should depend on the particular problem or situation facing the leader. For the practising manager the problem has been the identification of the situation and the subsequent selection of an appropriate decision method. One answer to this problem is the Vroom and Yetton model which gives explicit directions to the leader as to how to categorize the problem and select the appropriate decision method. This paper describes our research to examine the external validity of this model. The sites chosen for the research were forty-seven owner-operated, small, non-unionized, franchised firms, where the leaders had the power and authority to effect organizational outcomes. On these various sites, there was relatively high similarity with regard to the technology employed, tasks performed, number of levels of hierarchy and the external environments. It was found that those leaders who were in high agreement with the Vroom and Yetton model had workers with higher productivity and higher satisfaction with supervision than those leaders who were in low agreement with the model. These findings give strong support for the Vroom and Yetton model. The implication of these findings on the training and selection of managers, and on further research, are discussed.

Strategic choice: a theoretical analysis

Abstract: The problem of which organization structure is most appropriate for current business conditions has perplexed managers for decades. Several management theorists have proposed that modifications of the firm's structural design were in response to changes in the organization's context. Recently, Child2 suggested that senior executives in the firm may have the discretion to strongly influence their organization unit's structure. This paper discusses the development of a contingency theory of structural determination which incorporates strengths of past theories, managerial discretion, fourteen dimensions of structure, and organizational effectiveness. It also reports on preliminary research which supports the importance of managerial discretion in the structural determination process.

Differences in beliefs about work between managers and blue-collar workers

Abstract: The beliefs about work of managers and blue-collar workers in the U.S.A. and Scotland were determined through a questionnaire. Both managers and blue-collar workers strongly endorsed humanistic beliefs and were indifferent to the work ethic. Blue-collar workers endorsed more strongly than managers beliefs about worker exploitation and the value of participation. In Scotland, there was a wide difference in the perceived value of leisure between managers and workers. It appears that the Scottish respondents hold fewer independent beliefs than their U. S. counterparts.

Relationships between structure and technology at the organizational and job levels

Abstract: There are two main approaches to the study of organizational structure and technology. One is at the organizational level and the other is at the job level. The conclusion that structure and technology are not significantly related is based primarily on the results of organizational level research. Alternatively, a persuasive case can be made that these results stem from lack of a common paradigm. Investigation of research at the job level provides one way of testing this assertion because it is based on a more or less unified framework. When results at the job level are compared a much better case is made for structural and technological covariation. A reasonable doubt must remain concerning the demise of the technological imperative.

Non‐participation: the management view?

Abstract: The article identifies constraints that limit employee participation in management's decision-making process. Determinants of participation include: the propensity to participate or workers' interest in being involved in the shared decision-making activities; the organization's participation potential which relates to structural and situational factors; and management's acceptance of workers' participation despite the time pressures and lack of expertise among employees which could delay strategic decisions. Forms of participation on the shop floor can range from job control to joint consultation or employee ownership.

Designing simulators for strategic managers

Abstract: The activity of strategic management is important because it is the activity through which the structure of an organization is developed and adapted in relation to its environment. The activities within an organization are systematized within structures because they enable the organization to ensure the effectiveness of those activities, and there already exist teaching methods appropriate for training managers in the operation of such structures. Few teaching methods exist however for teaching managers about structure itself. This paper initially discusses what structure is, and then goes on to describe an approach to the support of managers' learning about structure: how structure can be related to the activities of managers, and how managers can explore the implications of adopting alternative structures within their organization. The paper puts forward symbols for describing structure. It is then shown how the symbols can be combined by a manager to describe a particular organizational context in the form of a simulator, and how the resulting design can be transformed into the form of a computer program. This enables the resulting simulator to be used by the manager to explore the implications of adopting particular structural choices as he has defined them within the organization. Finally, the nature of the teacher's role is considered when supporting the learning of managers using this approach.

Life style‐work group structure‐task congruence and job satisfaction and performance: a three‐dimensional contingency model

Abstract: A Three-Dimensional contingency‘theory’of organizational behaviour was used to predict job satisfaction and performance in a sample of registered representatives of a national securities firm. Contingency variables composed of individual life style orientation, perceived work group structure and perceived job complexity did not predict a significant amount of variance in the dependent measures. Cautions concerning the assumed universal superiority of contingency predictors over simpler formulations are discussed.

A cross-functional comparison of prescribed versus preferred patterns of managerial structure

Abstract: Previous research indicates that effective operating systems adopt structural patterns appropriate to their environmental uncertainty. Production units have typically been found to require more structure than comparable research organizations. The current findings document a consistent mismatch between the relative structural levels desired by research and production managers and the structural levels currently recommended for their respective functions. Implications regarding this conflict between organizational efficiency and employee attitudes are presented.

Management developments in government resource allocation: the example of the rise and fall of p.p.b.s. (planning‐programming‐budgeting system)

Abstract: Explanation of the rapid rise to prominence in many government activities of the U.S.A. federal government inspired P.P.B.S. are considered. In too many situations P.P.B.S. was viewed as a revolutionary management technique and not an evolutionary development in resource allocation. The form of many of the publications by proponents of P.P.B.S. – often written from a military standpoint – were insufficiently related to the environment in which most public decision-making occurs. As a result, by promising much and achieving little, the search for better solutions to many of the management problems that P.P.B.S. highlighted has received little help from the enormous activity generated.