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BUS 374 Org Theory > Quiz 2 > Flashcards

Quiz 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What are adaptation theories

A

Adaptation theories => Organization’s structure and strategies adapt to environment

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2
Q

What are the questions of population ecology

A

Coase: “Why do organizations exist?”

Hannan and Freeman: “Why are there so few (or many) different organizations?”
Why do organizations fail?

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3
Q

What are the new levels of analysis for populations

A

Organizations
Populations
Communities

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4
Q

What are the sources of hazard

A

Demographic process
Density dependency theory
Internal tendencies
Resource partitioning theory
Niche width

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5
Q

What are the age dependencies

A

Liability of newness: The idea that younger/ newer organizations are most vulnerable to failure due to inability to handle environmental demands

Liability of adolescence: The idea that risks of failure increases at initial lifespan of the organization, as initially acquired resources run out.

Liability of obsolescence/senescence: The idea that older organizations are also likely to fail due to inability to change quickly enough

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6
Q

What is structural inertia

A

Environment - reliability, accountability, and reproducibility!
Organizations - sturdy structures that are well-established

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7
Q

Explain how population density related to organizations

A

In a highly dense populations – lot of organizations exist
More chance of competition for same resources
Lower founding rates and higher failure rates for small org

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8
Q

Explain niche width

A

Resource space of categories the organizations operate in!
Populations compete in their niches

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9
Q

What is resource partitioning

A

Market concentration  Proliferation of specialists in mature markets
Larger segment -> larger organization -> advantage of scale!
Narrow segment -> smaller organizations -> failure!!!!

Large vs small organization
Monopoly by a few large generalists
Free up space for specialists

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10
Q

What are the survival strategies

A

R-strategy vs K-strategy
Specialists vs generalists

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11
Q

What is R and K stragegy

A

R strategy: First movers into a new market. Have early mover advantage,

K Strategy: Late comers
Learn from R strategists and learn what are ideal structures

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12
Q

What is specialist vs generalist

A

Specialist: Single Niche, focused on core competencies

Generalist: Several or all niches, spread risk across several markets

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13
Q

What are strategies for competition in resource enivornmenyt

A

New niche, new resources
R specialists enter market and grow
R generalist emerge and compete in new niches
K generalists then move in and threaten market and only the fittest survive
Free up space fir K specialists

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14
Q

Explain population ecology

A

Organizations do not adapt! They are selected out
Survival of the fittest
New organizations emerge if they can stake a claim over resources

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15
Q

how is institutionnalismes different from pop ecology

A

Institutionnalismes is about why there all the same versus pop ecology which talks about different types and why they’re different

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16
Q

What does institutionnalism state about external influence

A

External environments influencing firms offers legitimacy

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17
Q

What does the iron cage theory suggest

A

Burocracy leads to efficiency which leads to rationalism and creates:

Rules regulations
Standardization
Specialization
Division of labour
Professionalism,
Hierarchy of authority

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18
Q

What is the evidence for iron cage theory

A

Fast food similar products
Companies adopting similar eco initiatives
Universities offer similar programs

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19
Q

What is legitimacy

A

Legitimacy is defined as the general perspective that an organisation’s actions are desirable, proper and appropriate within the environment’s system of norms, values and beliefs.

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20
Q

Explain institutional isomorphism

A

Fields emerge: Org enter a field and start to interact with one another
Structurai action: Stakeholders watch the field and identify best practices
Homogeneity: Org seek to fit in, obtain legitimacy and strategies make firms similar

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21
Q

What are the mechanics of institutional isomorphism

A

Mimetic forces (to mimic)
Coercive forces (by force)
Normative forces (acceptable patterns)

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22
Q

Explain Mimetic – ‘to imitate’

A

Uncertainty forces leaders to look at others for decisions

Copy or model other organizations
More successful firms
Older firms
Need not be directly linked to performance

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23
Q

Explain Coercive – ‘forced to’

A

Pressures from governmental and regulatory agencies
Pressures due to collaboration

Need not be direct
Subtle or implied

24
Q

Explain Normative – ‘acceptable patterns’

A

Organizations have duties and obligations
Organizations are duty bound to their professions

Professionalization of fields
Education and certification in fields emerge
Trained in same sets of rules/norms/standards
Professional Association/ certification

25
Q

What are the factors influencing isomorphism

A

Single source of support
Increased transactions with government or state
Few alternative organizational models
Technological uncertainties
Professionalism in the field
Structuration of the field
Dependence of one organization on another
Centralization of resources
Increase in uncertainty
Ambiguity of goals
Reliance on academic credentials

26
Q

What is Organizational Ecology (R-OE)

A

is a major theoretical perspective that attempts to explain organizational diversity

27
Q

How does change over time occur (R-OE)

A

change over time occurs through the selective replacement of some kinds of organizations in the population with other kinds as environmental circumstances change.

28
Q

What does selection models assume (R-OE)

A

Selection models assume individual organizations face constraints that limit their abilities to make major trans- formations, which meet the changing demands of the envi- ronment

29
Q

What happens in the early stages of org development (R-OE)

A

certain early phases in an organization’s development exert long-term consequences. In particular, organizations subject to intense competition show elevated mortality hazards at all ages.

30
Q

What is structural inertia (R-OE)

A

structural inertia, the tendency for organizations to respond slowly relative to the speed of environmental change. A core argument holds that inertia derives from the very characteristics that make organi- zations favored kinds of actors in modern society: reliability and (formal) accountability. It follows logically that change in an organization’s core features disrupts activities and increases the hazard of mortality, at least in the short-run

31
Q

What does the density dependency theory suggest (R-OE)

A

The theory of density-dependent organizational evolution integrates ecological and institutional processes. It posits that growth in the number of organizations in a population (density) drives processes of social legitimation and competi- tion that, in turn, shape the vital rates. This argument implies certain nonmonotonic relationships between density and rates of founding and mortality.

32
Q

What does the resource dependency theory suggest (R-OE)

A

Resource-partitioning theory concerns the relationship between increasing market concentration and increasing proliferation of specialists in mature industries. The key implication of this theory concerns the effects of concentration on the viability of specialist organizations (those that seek to exploit a narrow range of resources).

33
Q

what does origin periods of industries resemble central movements mean (R-OE)

A

means that (1) they represent challenges to existing companies and industries, and (2) they are populated with individuals and organizations devoted to causes, lifestyles, and visions of a better future for all (rather than with profit-maximizing entrepreneurs engaged in competitive battles based primarily on self-interest).” Other insights from social movement theory

34
Q

What additional information does the OE design also reveal (R-OE)

A

The OE design also reveals that organizational life expec- tancies are generally an order of magnitude smaller than for humans, prompting great attention to organizational aging. Stinchcombe (1965) observed that organizations (and orga- nizational populations) experience a liability of newness. Efficient organization requires trust among members, which takes time to build. Creating roles and routines, learning about the environment, and developing relationships with other organizations also take time. Once established, these patterns of relationships enhance survival chances. Much early research found this pattern. Some later research found a variation, a liability of adolescence: the hazard rises during the early lifespan – while initial stocks of endowments get exhausted – before declining. Recent research, using designs that measure (age-varying) organizational size, has produced (mixed) evidence in favor of positive age dependence

35
Q

What are the two interpretations in favour of positive age dependance (R-OE)

A

If inertial forces are strong, then the possibilities of adapting to changing environments are limited and older cohorts of organizations have lower fitness – there is a liability of obsolescence. Alter- natively, the accumulation of rules and routines impedes adjustment to environmental change – the liability is one of senescence.

36
Q

What is the affect of changing core structure (R-OE)

A

Most well-designed studies reveal that changing core structures does indeed increase the hazard of mortality in the short-run, often substantially (Carroll and Hannan, 2000). Moreover, the magnitude of this effect increases with organizational age.

37
Q

Explain density delay (R-OE)

A

Organizations subject to intense competition at founding (as evidenced by a high density of organizations in the population – see below) have elevated mortality hazards at all ages. In other words, density at founding has a (partially) delayed effect on mortality processes.

38
Q

When do populations compete WRT categories (R-OE)

A

Populations compete if the presence of each reduces the spaces in which the others can sustain themselves (their realized niches). By this reasoning, populations compete if and only if their fundamental niches intersect.

39
Q

What happens as density increases linearly (R-OE) and what are the two theormes

A

As density increases linearly, the number of possible competitive relations increases geometrically. Thus diffuse competition rises with density at an increasing rate. The theory posits that founding rates are directly proportional to legitimation and inversely proportional to the intensity of diffuse competition and that these relationships are inverted for mortality hazards.

First, as density increases, founding rates initially rise, reach a peak, and then decline. Second, the relationship for mortality is the mirror image. These theorems, expressed in parametric forms, can be falsi fied empirically.

40
Q

What does resource dependency theory suggest and assume (R-OE)

A

Resource-partitioning theory addresses market segmentation; it concerns the relationship between increasing market concen- tration and increasing proliferation of specialists in mature industries (Carroll, 1985). The theoretical imagery involves crowding in a heterogeneous market. Organizations initially target resource segments. Specialists choose narrow, homoge- neous targets; generalists choose broad, heterogeneous ones.
The theory assumes an advantage of scale (in production, marketing, or distribution). Because organizations targeting narrow segments cannot grow very large, they have higher (per unit) costs.

41
Q

What is the result of bureacracy and what are the three causes in the past (R-IC)

A

beaucracy, the rational spirit’s organizational manifestation, was so efficient and powerful a means of controlling men and women that, once established, the momentum of bureaucratization was irreversi- ble

bureaucratization resulted from three related causes: competition among capitalist firms in the marketplace; competition among states, increasing rulers’ need to control their staff and citizenry; and bourgeois demands for equal protection under the law. Of these three, the most important was the competitive marketplace.

42
Q

What are the drivers of bureaucracy today? (R-IC)

A

less driven by competition or by the need for efficiency. Instead, we will contend, bureaucratization and other forms of organizational change occur as the result of processes that make organizations
more similar without necessarily making them more efficient.

highly structured organizational fields provide a context in which individual efforts to deal rationally with uncertainty and constraint often lead, in-the aggregate, to homogeneity in structure, culture, and output.

43
Q

Explain how firms end up being the same over time (R-IC)

A

What we see in each of these cases is the emergence and structuration of an organizational field as a result of the activities of a diverse set of organizations; and, second, the homogenization of these organizations, and of new entrants as well, once the field is established.

44
Q

What are the four parts of structurization (R-IC)

A

an increase in the extent of interaction among organizations in the field

theemergence of sharply defined interorganizational structures of domination and patterns of coalition

an increase in the information load with which organizations in a field must contend

and the development of a mutual awareness among participants in a set of organizations that they are involved in a common enterprise

45
Q

Why is structurization not always good (R-IC)

A

As an innovation spreads, a threshold is reached beyond which adoption provides legitimacy rather than improves performance. Strategies that are rational for individual organizations may not be rational if adopted by large numbers.

46
Q

What is isomorphism (R-IC)

A

isomorphism is a constraining process that forces one unit in a
population to resemble other units that face the same set of environmental conditions. At the population level, such an approach suggests that organizational characteristics are modified in the direction of increasing comparability with environmental characteristics;

the number of organizations in a population is a
function of environmental carrying capacity

and the diversity of organizational forms is
isomorphic to environmental diversity. Han-

47
Q

What are the two types of isomorsphism (R-IC)

A

Competitive and institutional

48
Q

what are the two characteristics of politically constructed environments (R-IC)

A

political decisionmakers often do not experience directly the consequences of their actions; and political decisions are applied across the board to entire classes of organizations, thus making such decisions less adaptive and less flexible.

49
Q

what encourages mimetic isomorphism (R-IC)

A

Skilled labour force or a broad customer base

50
Q

What are the two aspects of profeseionalism that are important to isomorpshism (R-IC)

A

the resting of formal education and of legitimation in a cognitive base produced by university specialists; the second is the growth and elaboration of professional networks that span organizations and across which new models diffuse rapidly.

51
Q

Explain pressures (R-IC)

A

Pressures for competitive efficiency are also mitigated in many fields because the number of organizations is limited and there are strong
fiscal and legal barriers to entry and exit.

52
Q

Explain status (R-IC)

A

These results suggest a more general pattern. Organizational fields that include a large professionally trained labor force will be driven primarily by status competition. Organizational prestige and resources are key elements in attracting professionals. This process encourages homogenization as organizations seek to ensure that they can provide the same benefits and services as their competitors.

53
Q

What are the two main predictor categories of isomorphic change (R-IC)

A

Organization level predictors and Field level predictors

54
Q

What are the organization level predictors (R-IC)

A

The greater the dependence of an organization on another organization, the more similar it will become to that organization in structure, climate, and behavioural focus

The greater the centralization of organization A’s resource supply, the
greater the extent to which organization A will change isomorphically to resemble the organizations on which it depends for resources.

The more uncertain the relationship between means and ends the greater the extent to which an organization will model itself after organizations it perceives to be successful.

The more ambiguous the goals of an organization, the greater the extent to which the organization will model itself after organizations that it perceives to be successful.

The greater the reliance on academic credentials in choosing managerial and staff personnel, the greater the extent to which an organization will become like other organizations in its field.

The greater the participation of organizational managers in trade and professional associations, the more likely the organization will be, or will become, like other organizations in its field.

55
Q

What are are the field level predictors (R-IC)

A

The greater the extent to which an organizational field is dependent
upon a single (or several similar) source of support for vital resources, the higher the level of isomorphism.

The greater the extent to which the organizations in afield transact with agencies of the state, the greater the extent of isomorphism in the field as a whole.

The fewer the number of visible alternative organizational models in a field, the faster the rate of isomorphism in that field.

The greater the extent to which technologies are uncertain or goals are ambiguous within afield, the greater the rate of isomorphic change.

The greater the extent of profesionalism in a field the greater the ammount of institutional isomorphic change

The greater the extent of structuration of a field, the greater the degree of isomorphics.

56
Q

Are societies smart (R-IC)

A

yes societies or elites are smart while organizations are dumb

BUS 374 Org Theory (2 decks)

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