Journal ArticleDOI
A System Resource Approach to Organizational Effectiveness
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TLDR
In this paper, an improved conceptual framework, derived from the systems model of organizations, is proposed; the framework emphasizes both the distinctiveness of the organization as an identifiable social structure and the interdependence of the organisation with its environment.Abstract:
The prevailing formal and implied conceptions of "organizational effectiveness" are examined and found deficient. When effectiveness is defined with reference to goal attainment, there are both methodological and conceptual problems, for the goals are those of persons (observers or members)-not of the organization itself-and there is in principle no possibility for stable consensus about the nature of the goals. When defined with reference to societal function, the values and standards for assessing "organizational effectiveness" are similarly external to the organization itself. An improved conceptual framework, derived from the systems model of organizations, is proposed; the framework emphasizes both the distinctiveness of the organization as an identifiable social structure and the interdependence of the organization with its environment. The interdependence takes the form of transactions in which scarce and valued resources are exchanged under competitive conditions. The organization's success over a period of time in this competition for resources-i.e., its bargaining position in a given environment-is regarded as an expression of its overall effectiveness. Since the resources are of various kinds, and the competitive relationships are multiple, and since there is interchangeability among classes of resources, the assessment of organizational effectiveness must be in terms not of any single criterion but of an open-ended multidimensional set of criteria. The implications of this conception for theory, for empirical investigation, and for organization management are discussed.read more
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The External Control of Organizations.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine available theoretical models which have been derived from statistically established patterns of association between contextual and organizational variables, and argue that available models in fact attempt to explain organization at one remove by ignoring the essentially political process, whereby power-holders within organizations decide upon courses of strategic action.
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Dimensions of Organizational Task Environments.
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On the Measurement of Business Performance in Strategy Research: A Comparison of Approaches
TL;DR: A two-dimensional classificatory scheme highlighting ten different approaches to the measurement of business performance in strategy research is developed in this article, where the first dimension concerns the use of financial versus broader operational criteria, while the second dimension focuses on two alternate data sources (primary versus secondary).
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Measuring organizational performance in the absence of objective measures: The case of the privately-held firm and conglomerate business unit
TL;DR: The authors examines the usefulness of subjective performance measures, obtained from top management teams, when problems are encountered in obtaining accurate performance data, such as when all or parts of such data are inextricably interwoven with corporate-wide data.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Suggestions for a socialogical approch to the theory of organizations
Journal ArticleDOI
A Study of Organizational Effectiveness
TL;DR: The present paper has three objectives: to examine the concept of effectiveness and to provide a definition deriving from the nature of organizations, to develop operational criteria and to measure the concept in a specific industrial setting.
Journal ArticleDOI
Strength of group and desire for attainable group aspirations.
Alvin Zander,Herman Medow +1 more