4: Analyzing Environment Flashcards
The most important concept in the study of organizations
Environment
According to Rainey, early research ignored
tasks, processes, incentives and people
Public organizations are more susceptible to
political actors who seek control
Environments are often analyzed in
strategic planning sessions
Environments are
complex-there’s no exact science for analyzing them
Environmental Conditions
Technological
science, engineering, medicine; capabilities for communication, transportation, information processing, medical services, military weaponry, environmental analysis, production and manufacturing processes, agricultural production
Environmental conditions
Legal
laws, regulations, legal procedures, court decisions
Environmental conditions
Political
political processes and institutions, form of government, degree of centralization, fragmentation or federalism; political instability, electoral outcomes, political party alignments, policy initiatives
Environmental Conditions
Economic
prosperity, inflation, interest rates, tax rates: labor, capital, economic markets within and between nations
Environmental conditions
Demographic
population, including age, gender, race, religion, ethnicity
Environmental conditions
Ecological
climate, geographical, pollution, natural resources, density of population
Environmental conditions
Cultural
values, attitudes, beliefs, social customs, socialization (sex roles, family structures, work orientation, religious and political practices)
Who wrote about Tennessee Valley Authority
Philip Selznick, 1966
What played a crucial role in the institutionalization processes at Tennessee Valley Authority?
Environmental influences; Incorporating different stakeholders into the structure of the org
Who establishes strong values, goals and procedures? Managers or environment?
Environmental influences and exchanges
Organizations must adopt structures as complex as…
the environments they confront
Contingency theory
If the environment is complex and unstable, the organization must be
organic & decentralized
Turbulence
Changes in one aspect of the environment create changes in another
Resource dependence theories
How managers obtain crucial resources from environment
Transaction-cost theories
managerial decisions to purchase a service externally vs. internally
Institutional isomorphism
Occurs when organizations become similar or identical to each other
Coercive isomorphism
forced by laws, regulations, outside agency requirements
Normative isomorphism
associated with professional values and moral norms such as accreditation or certification
