FINAL Flashcards
Organizations as systems
a system is a set of inter-related and inter-dependant elements. Implications are is that if there is one part of the organization being affective, the rest of the organization will be affected as well.
Formal subsystems
Strategy, Goals
Informal subsystems
Power, culture, politics
Triggers for change are usually due to factors outside the organization
Political – International Law, Taxation
Economical – Competitors, Suppliers
Sociocultural – Demographic trends, Lifestyle changes
Technological – Information technology (internet), Computerization of processes
Smooth Incremental Change
is change that evolves slowly in a systematic and predictable way
Bumpy Incremental Change
characterized by periods of relative tranquility punctuated by acceleration in the pace of change
Discontinuous Change
change which is marked by rapid shifts in strategy, structure, or culture, or in all three
Hard Difficult Problems
– simply more limited sorts of problems while messes are larger and much more taxing for those what want some kinds of change to solve the problem
– bounded in the way that they are smaller scale and have clear priorities
Soft Messy Problems
Tend to be larger scale, are unbounded and have serious and worrying implications
Dimensions of organizational structure
o 1) Specialization o 2) Standardization o 3) Formalization o 4) Configuration o 5) Centralization o 6) Traditionalism
Specialization
the extent to which there are different specialist roles and how they are distributed
Standardization
The extent to which an organization uses regularly occurring procedures that are supported by bureaucratic procedures or invariable rules and processes
Formalization
Written rules, policies, instructions
Configuration
The shape and pattern of authority relationships; how many layers there are and the number of people who typically report to a supervisor
Centralization
the extent to which authority to make decisions lies with the apex (top) of the organization