Synopses & Reviews
The design of organizations has been a prime characteristic of management theory and practice over the past several decades. However, there has been little change in the fundamental theory, principles and concepts of Organization Design since the introduction of contingency theory in the 1970's. Nevertheless, over the past 25 years organizational reality has changed dramatically with the advent of all sorts of communication systems, AI agents, information technology, knowledge management systems, and more. Therefore leading researchers in Organization Design - who understand the situation - have undertaken to address the problem. Organization Design: The Evolving State-of-the-Art will be organized in four sections: (1) Theoretical and Practical Issues, (2) Fit, Contingency and Configuration, (3) Design and Performance, and (4) The Dynamics of Adaptation and Change. The book will be a broad discussion of topics in the field, but still each individual paper will provide in depth analysis of the topic. A common element and theme to all of the chapters is a focus on core theories in organization design and emerging perspectives. The book will be a 2005-benchmark publication of organization design theory, principles and concepts, and on the basis of this benchmark publication, the editors will encourage researchers and students to further develop the field. The recent development in organization design has been sporadic; hence this book will be an important step in creating better theoretical models and stronger empirical analyses that take advantage of advances in estimation methods allowing for more complex causal modeling and stimulation technologies.
Synopsis
Theoretical and Practical Issues.- The Configurational Approach to Organization Design: Four Recommended Initiatives.- The Contingency Theory of Organizational Design: Challenges and Opportunities.- FIT, Contingency, and Configuration.- Examining the Relationship Between Trust and Control in Organizational Design.- Structural Limitations in Organizational Design.- The Many Faces of Fit.- The Fit Between National Cultures, Organizing and Managing.- Design and Performance.- Organizational Design, Learning, and the Market Value of the Firm.- New Developments in Contingency Fit Theory.- Organization Design Constraints on Strategy and Performance.- Action Leadership, Multi-Contingency Theory and Fit.- The Dynamics of Adaptation and Change.- Management and Genghis Khan: Lessons for Multinational Business Enterprises.- Designing Firms for Knowledge Acquisition and Absorptive Capacity.- Models of Change, Organizational Redesign, and the Adoption of Web Technologies.- Governance Channels and Organizational Design at General Electric: 1950-2001.
Synopsis
This book outlines the increasing role of organizational design in management theory and practice. The chapters review the main theoretical perspectives of organization design, identify important theoretical and practical issues currently facing the field, and suggest ways for valuable research to be conducted in the future. Coverage includes Theoretical and Practical Issues; Fit, Contingency and Configuration; Design and Performance, and The Dynamics of Adaptation and Change.
Table of Contents
Introduction.- The contingency theory of organizational design.- The configurational approach to organizational design.- Is strategic human resource management strategic?- Making delegation credible and preserving employee motivation.- Examining the relationship between trust and control in organizational design.- Structural limitations in organization design.- Beyond national culture as an environmental variable.- Organizational design as a constraint on strategy and performance.- How misfits between leadership style and strategy affect performance.- Performance loss from multiple misfits.- Organization design, organizational learning, and the market value of the firm.- Two faces of search: alternative generation and alternative evaluation.- Management and Genghis Khan: lessons for multinational business enterprises.- The design of organizational boundaries for knowledge acquisition.- Models of organizational change and the adoption of Web technologies.- Governance channels and organization design at General Electric, 1950-2001.- Index.