Showing papers in "Organization Studies in 1990"

Organization: From Substance to Image?

Abstract: This paper discusses the increased theoretical and practical interest in the ideational dimensions of organizations, with particular emphasis on corporate images. The role of these internally in organizations, and not only for the regulation of external relations, in large parts of the modern economy is emphasized. The preconditions for the appearance of images as objects of systematic control and instrumental action in organizations are investigated. A broad trend in modern corporate life is portrayed and conceptualized as a development from a strong focusing on “Substantive” issues to an increased emphasis on dealing with images as a critical aspect of organizational functioning and management. This means, among other things, that pseudo-events, pseudo-actions and pseudo-structures, i.e. phenomena which has the purpose of producing effects on people’s impressions and definition of reality, are important features of modern management and organization.

Eastern Asian Enterprise Structures and the Comparative Analysis of Forms of Business Organization

Abstract: The economic success of different forms of business organization in East Asian countries emphasizes the variety of viable enterprise structures and suggests the need for a comparative analysis of how they develop and operate in different societal contexts. Major differences between East Asian business 'recipes' include the range of activities that are authoritatively coordinated, their patterns of development, the ways in which they are organized and controlled and the organization of inter enterprise relations. These differences suggest eight major dimensions on which dominant enterprise structures in different societies can be compared and how their development can be linked to major social institu tions.

Organizational Mortality of Small Firms: The Effects of Entrepreneurial Age and Human Capital

Abstract: This paper addresses the issue of internal determination of organizational outcomes It is argued that in small and simply structured organizations a considerable proportion of the variance in organizational activities and outcomes is associated with individuals In particular, the paper uses human capital theory to derive hypotheses about individual determinants of organizational mortality These hypotheses are tested with event-history data of firm registrations and de-registrations in a West German region The hypotheses are corroborated by the data, but the effects may nonetheless be due to processes linking individual characteristics with organizational performance other than those suggested by the human capital approach

Managerial Culture and Work-related Values in India

Abstract: Replication studies using Hofstede's Values Survey Module (VSM) show that scores on the four dimensions of culture tend to vary considerably for different samples. The present research studied the Indian managerial culture based upon a sample of 176 managers from 56 organizations and analysed variations in scores due to age, education and the nature of job, etc. The results show that considering the effective range of the scales, the Indian managers' scores are low on all four dimensions. Results also show that cultural scores tend to vary selectively with age, education, nature of job and economic sector. Variations in power distance were related to preferred and perceived style of the superior, in uncertainty avoidance to stress at work and employment stability, in individualism to the importance of cooperative colleagues and desirable area for living, and in masculinity to cooperative colleagues, and opportunities for earning and advancement. Finally, the results show that different dimensions have var...

Studying Deciding: An Exchange of Views Between Mintzberg and Waters, Pettigrew, and Butler

Abstract: This exchange of views on the study of decisions and change in organizations was prompted by the question, 'Does decision get in the way?', which is asked in the opening piece by Henry Mintzberg and James Waters. They distrust the concept of decision itself; so does Richard Butler, but he tries to prevent any throwing out of the baby with the bathwater, arguing that existing theory can cope with this distrust. Andrew Pettigrew prefers to enlarge the scene so that the changing activity around the baby in the bath is not missed.

Beyond Dyadic Exchange: Functional Interdependence and Sub-unit Power

Abstract: This study critically examines the relevance of exchange theory in explaining the power of organizational sub-units. The study argues that sub-unit power is generated not by the balance of exchange dependencies between sub-units, but by workflow interdependencies created by the organization's division of labour. The findings support the arguments of the study. The paper concludes that dyadic power relationships between organizational sub-units can only be fully understood in terms of their location in organization-wide systems of functional interdependence.

Studying Strategic Choice and Strategic Change. A Comment on Mintzberg and Waters: 'Does Decision Get in the Way?'

Abstract: Pettigrew Centre for Corporate Strategy and Change, University of Warwick, Coventry, U.K. All academics are wordsmiths. Social Science academics are incorrigible wordsmiths. So does it matter beyond mere taste whether one describes choice behaviour in an organizational context as problem-solving, decision-making, or strategy formu14tion? No doubt the sociologist of knowledge would tell us that words rise and fall in potency depending on features of socio-political context. Thus in expressing his/her ideas the academic is not making free scholarly choices but is reflecting deeper contextual forces, some relating to broad societal consideration, and others to stages in the development of particular disciplines or fields of study. In adding to the points raised by Mintzberg and Waters, and Butler, I will argue that words do matter. Beneath the words lie ontological and epistemological assumptions which open up and close down fields of inquiry. I agree with Richard Butler that a focus around organizational decision-making has been theoretically and empirically additive. I would

Patterns in the Use of Formal Analysis in Strategic Decisions

Abstract: This paper describes an empirical study that examines how formal analysis was used in strategic decision-making in three organizations of different structural types. It was found that the nature of the formal analysis carried out, the people involved in it and the purposes behind it varied from organization to organization. An attempt is made to characterize the dominant patterns in each organization and to explain these patterns in terms of the nature of the organizational structure. Some alternative explanations of the differences observed are also suggested.

Research Note: Run Silent, Run Deep — Cultural Influences on Organizations in the Far East

Abstract: There is a continuing debate regarding the extent to which organizations are culture-free or culture bound. A recent article suggests that while cultural factors are important in the growth of organizations, they are less important in terms of structural characteristics. This same article also suggests that Japanese and Chinese organizations share the same basic Confucian culture. We argue here that the Chinese and Japanese cultural traditions have major differences and that these play out in terms of important differences in organizational structure and operations.

Sociology of Organizations Around the Globe. Similarities and Differences Between American, British, French, German and Dutch Brands

Abstract: Sociological thought on organizations exhibits considerable similarity with respect to modes of analysis: most studies of organizations represent either the model of a socio-cultural system, or a conglomerate of interest groups, or a mixture of the two. Furthermore, certain basic types such as the traditional organization, the 'classic' and the 'flexible bureaucracy' recur in one form or another in various typologies, theories or treatises. These and other types reflect three ubiquitous dimensions (traditional/modern, hierarchical/democratic, mechanical/organic) of sociological thinking on organizational forms and processes.The sociology of organizations consists of a hard core to which national varieties add their own local products. The sociology of organizations as developed in the U.S., the U.K., France, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands is characterized with reference to the model(s) and types emphasized in these countries. Furthermore, the degree of 'Americanization' (cosmopolitani...

Culture Gap in Greek Management

Abstract: Since the publication of In Search of Excellence academicians have rushed to empirically verify the existence or absence of corporate cultures in organizations This paper reports on a survey of Greek organizational cultures The study utilizes Handy's conceptual framework published in his Gods of Management Data for the study were gathered via a questionnaire which was a translation of Handy's instrument into GreekThe data from 585 questionnaires administered to Greek managers, confirmed the main hypothesis that while most of their organizations are seen to be Zeus/Apollo (power/role) centred, most managers themselves tend to be Athena/Dionysus (task/people) oriented

Industrial Decision-making under China's Reform, 1985-1988

Abstract: The intention of China's economic reform programme has been to shift the governance of economic relations from bureaucratic towards market co-ordina tion. The decentralization of decision-making from administrative bodies to enterprises and, by extension, the delegation within enterprises of specific deci sions to a trained body of managers, have been key elements in this programme. This paper examines the changes in levels of decision-making experienced by six State enterprises between 1985 and 1988, a period during which the reform was being introduced nationwide. It concludes that the managers of these enterprises did secure additional autonomy to make decisions of strategic significance, but that this autonomy is uncertain and bounded. It is liable to be rescinded as the result of sudden changes in government policy and it is bounded by local rela tional obligations. These constraints upon management expose the dynamics of negotiated dependency relations in a context characterized by underdevelopment ...

Recognizing Deep Structures in Organizations

Abstract: The understandings of classical science are now increasingly under threat from twentieth century physics. The machine model of organization, informed by classical science, is therefore in need of review. Analytical psychology is used as a framework for re-assessing and providing new insights into the nature and management of organizations in contemporary society.

Strategy and Context: Retrenchment in Canadian Universities:

Abstract: This paper examines the strategies employed by six Canadian universities in response to funding restrictions It focuses on the link between the intraorganiza tional context, decision-making process and strategic outcome The contexts of the six universities are explored by analysing the behaviour of key interest groups The link between these contexts and the strategies that were adopted is discussed It is argued that in order to understand strategy-making, we must adopt an integrated approach that incorporates an understanding of context, process and outcome, and the complex, dynamic relationships between them It is also proposed that research in higher education needs to address, more carefully, the question of decision- making processes and to develop the different models that can help to explain decision outcomes

Managing Innovation: From ad hoc to Routine in French Telecom:

Abstract: Up to a few yeaTs ago, project management was mainly concerned with running ad hoc structures: innovations appeared only rarely and could easily be handled by firms. Themodern trend (multiplication and unsteadiness of the markets, increasing competitionbetween firms, speeding up of technical change) implies the regular launching ofinnovative products. Here, the problems to be de ait with are not only technical(performance and reliability) and economic (marketing strategy) ones, but also havemanagerial implications: internai coordination procedures have to be introduced, development cost contrai, personnel management and so on. ln this context, theintroduction of project management structures tends toward a dislocation of the decisions and strategies. The movement away from occasion al innovations towards aregular l'Iow of new product developments requires innovation routines which imposelimited bureaucratie structures. This paper refers to the findings of a field study performed in the telecommunication industry and concerns the deployment of newelectronic mailing systems.

A Reply and Comment on Joginder P. Singh: 'Managerial Culture and Work-related Values in India'

Abstract: Because the samples were unusually well matched (same employer, same jobs, same age brackets, same gender distribution) in every aspect except nationality, they show the effect of nationality differences on value choices unusually clearly. The differences have been subsumed in four dimensions which together explain 49 percent of the variance in country means among 32 value questions. Two of the dimensions are calculated from three questions each; two others were calculated from factor scores. The country scores on the four dimensions could be shown to be significantly correlated with country scores from 38 other comparative studies by other researchers on other populations, including representative samples of the public drawn by market research agencies. In addition, they show significant and meaningful correlations with geographic, economic, demographic and political national indicators. Some readers of Culture’s Consequences have been sufficiently turned on by the book’s message to try to replicate the research in some way. I am partly guilty of this myself, because an Appendix to the book contains a Values Survey Module, recommended for future cross-cultural survey studies. This Values Survey Module is included both in the 1980 integral hardcover edition of Culture’s Consequences and in the 1984 abridged paperback edition. In 1981 and 1982 experimentally improved versions (VSM 81 and VSM 82) were issued by IRIC, the Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation now located at the University of Limburg. To date I have received information on about thirty replications. These replications present their own pitfalls, and Singh’s paper in this issue of OS offers a good opportunity for cautioning future replicators against these.

Effects of Dependence and Tasks on Unit Design and Efficiency

Abstract: This paper explores the ramifications of external dependence for work-unit design and efficiency. Previous studies at the work-unit level have been largely concerned with task elements alone as the most important contingency for design. Two rival formulations of a dependence-contingent model are derived and contrasted with the more familiar task-contingent propositions. Tests using data from 230 employment security agency units show that, if task is controlled, both horizontal and vertical dependence are important predictors of more organic work-unit designs. In addition, failure to relate design to horizontal dependence is related to lower efficiency.

Decision-making Research: Its Uses and Misuses. A Comment on Mintzberg and Waters: 'Does Decision Get in the Way?'

Abstract: Bradford U.K. There is no problem in agreeing with the final sentence of Mintzberg and Water’s short ’think piece,’ namely that &dquo;decision&dquo; can sometimes get in the way of understanding behavior’ if this is taken to mean that over-concentration upon one concept in social theory can produce a distortion in the kind of understanding that is arrived at, but then, this problem applies to any concept used in social theory; organization, group, role, strategy and the like are all concepts which we find useful, but all are capable of misuse. It is now half a century since Barnard (1938) put decision-making at the core of organization theory and the study of managerial work. At that time, there was a good reason for this since the predominant model of industrial and commercial organization was a mechanistic-bureaucratic model

The Role of Values in Defining the 'Goodness' of Theories in Organizational Science

Abstract: Previous analyses indicated that the goodness of a theory as perceived by knowledgeable scholars had no relationship to the theory's scientific validity or usefulness in application. Additional analyses utilizing the same data now indicate that humanistic values played an important role in this finding. Scholars with strong humanistic values are particularly prone to nominate humanistic theories. When only scholars with weak humanistic values are considered, the perceived goodness of a theory and its validity are positively related. The implications of these findings for the evaluation of theories in organizational science are discussed.

Employee Stock Ownership and the Cost of Equity in Japanese Electronics Firms

Abstract: Conflicts of interest between a firm's outside stockholders and employees will, in an efficient capital market, be reflected in a firm's cost of equity. Employee stock ownership reduces these conflicts by making the wealth of both outside stock holders and employees depend, to some extent, on the market value of a firm's stock. These reduced conflicts will, in an efficient capital market, be reflected in a lower cost of equity capital. Empirical implications of this argument are tested using a sample of Japanese electronics firms.

Vertical Integration as Organizational Strategy Formation

Abstract: This paper contributes to research into the strategy-environment relationship, especially looking at the issue of vertical integration. It aims at a synthesis of process and content approaches to strategic change on the level of the organization's dominant group. The key factor is uncertainty, which will be defined as the gap between perceptual competence of the dominant group and environmen tal difficulty. After presenting a typical vertical integration case, the vertical integration literature is surveyed. Next, a framework of strategy-making under uncertainty serves as a vehicle to formulate some propositions on the formation of vertical integration strategy.

Discussion Note: Strategies for Planned Change. An Exchange of Views Between Dunford, Dunphy and Stace

Abstract: Dexter Dunphy and Doug Stace have presented a critique of the Organization Development (OD) approach (Dunphy and Stace 1988). OD they portray as being based on both ’an ideology of gradualism’ whereby effective change results from small incremental adjustments, and a belief in the necessity of change being essentially a participative process whereby consensus and support for the change is generated. This approach, they argue, is inconsistent with the rapid and coercive approach to change that is taken in many organizations. Rather than dismissing the latter as aberrations doomed to failure, Dunphy and Stace imply that it is important

Systemic Conservatism in North American Organizations

Abstract: Rational theories of organizational decision-making have shown that organiza tional outcomes and performance reflect a mixture of behavioural, structural and contextual factors, such as the goals of managers, the size and function of the organization, and the condition of the external environment. Critiques of this model suggest that non-rational factors such as national or systemic cultural values also affect the decision-making process. This article treats Canada and the United States as similar systems that differ in the degree to which their cultures embody conservative values. The author hypothesizes that the expenditure pat terns of organizations in the two countries will reflect this variation in systemic conservatism, and tests this expectation against data from a longitudinal sample of firms from three industries in each of the two countries. The analysis suggests that the impact and relative importance of the factors included in rational models of decision-making differ in Canada and the U.S. in...

Cutting Down the Workforce: Eunuchs and Early Administrative Management

Abstract: The literature that exists on the role of eunuchs in pre-modern bureaucracies suggests that purposive castration was a means of securing subordinate commitment and maintaining organizational control. This paper briefly summarizes this literature, and tests these conclusions against the Chinese experience. It finds that cultural factors were more important than the simple fact of desexualization in determining the role and behaviour of eunuchs, and that in many cases castration did not engender loyalty or commitment, or facilitate control.

A Comment on Hofstede's Reply

Abstract: Hofstede, Geert, and Michael H. Bond 1984 ’Hofstede’s culture dimensions: an independent validation using Rokeach’s Value Survey’. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 15: 417433. Hofstede, Geert, and John F. A. Spangenberg 1987 ’Measuring Individualism and Collectivism at occupational and organizational levels’, in Cro~f/! (indprogress in cross-cultural psychology. C. Kagitcibasi (ed.). 113-122. Lisse Neth.: Swets & Zeitlinger.

Nonlinear Models for the Prediction of Early Quits and Dismissals

Abstract: The inverse relationship between length of service and labour turnover is a consistent finding in the literature. This paper demonstrates by a longitudinal cohort analysis of 40,816 British Rail workers recruited during 1979-1980, the increased accuracy and sensitivity obtained by concentrating separately on quits and dismissals.Comparisons between quit rates and dismissal rates during the first ten months of employment pointed to the following major results: (1) quit rates and dismissal rates are better explained by nonlinear functions rather than by a linear one; (2) quits are best described by a parabolic function whereas dismissals are best described by a nearly inverse 'U'-shaped function; and (3) nonlinear patterns of quit rates and dismissal rates remained consistent for 1979 and 1980, although the unemployment levels, quit rates and dismissal rates in 1979 differed substantially from those in 1980.

Book Reviews : Gary N. Powell: Women and Men in Management 1988, Beverly Hills, London: Sage. 260 pages

Abstract: workplace. Laurie Larwood, a pioneer in research on women in management, honours this publication in her introduction by writing ’with this book, a circle has been successfully turned and closed’. Both Powell and Larwood feel that the time is right for a transition in perspectives. They stress that enough has been achieved in research specifically on women in management to warrant closing this particular stream of investigation and to open a new one on women and men. While I am sympathetic to their aim, I disagree with the premise on which it is based, and therefore propose a very different research strategy. A look at the focus of the research

Book Reviews : Arnold S. Tannenbaum and Tamas Rozgonyi (eds.): Authority and Reward in Organizations. An International Research

Abstract: The fourth (and final) chapter deals with several decision-making activities in the organization. Here, aspects of the learning process and of the information behaviour of the organization are discussed. It was emphasized above that the work is valuable for those interested in decision-making research in their own interest area. Perhaps the assistance thus produced is not strictly explicit in its nature. The research the

Research methods in cultural-anthropology - bernard,hr

Abstract: Jeffrey Spangenberg Department of Business Studies, University of Groningen, Netherlands Both books deal with methodological issues in anthropological research. However, they differ considerably in their approach. While Bernard emphasizes the application of qualitative and quantitative methods in general, van Maanen deals with only one specific method, i.e. the ethnographic method applied in the field of organizational research. Bernard believes that anthropology can contribute in three important ways to the development of a science of humanity: (1) by the development of crossculturally useful concepts about the nature of the human condition concepts that can be tested by social researchers in various disciplines throughout the world; (2) by the acquisition, under natural conditions, of accurate data on human behaviour and cognition throughout the world; (3) by the liberation of social scientists to engage alternatively in humanistic and social scientific inquiry according to the requirements of the issues under consideration. Subsequently, the methods of research that