Sociology of organizations
Examens: exact wat zij in les uitlegt en de PowerPoints + extra om te lezen (kan
voor je presentatie, niet op examen)
Presentatie: je moet vergelijken met andere presentaties, dus je moet die goed
kennen en begrijpen + Q&A na presentatie
1 Organizations as rational systems
1.1 Types of problems and public
Publics
Ordinary employees (workers at the assembly line in a factory,
demotivation, alienation..)
o Working at organization, members
Employers and managers (dependence on lower ranked-employees)
o Steering the direction of organization
The contact public (direct relationship; invisible bureaucracies)
o Not part of organization
The general public (indirect: cf. politicians, journalists, scientists -> political
parties, ngo’s..)
Problems
Controllability: “decisions are made above people’s head” (control
regarding the decisions which affect daily working practices)
o For members or employees
o Can’t control the direction of the company
Quality of working life: (monotonous, varied, challenging or not,...)
Directing and planning: cf. power/influence to set goals, to direct the policy
of an organization
o Managers for example
Manageability: how to prevent or manage negative, often unintended,
consequences of the decisions that have been made
DIA 8: table about frequencies in types of problems and publics
1.2 What is an organization: essential ingredients
Definition 1: “…have been deliberately established for a certain purpose.”
To arise “naturally” vs. To design “consciously”
Goal setting is specific (e.g. Making a family vs. Startup of a record label)
Intentional: established, you want to reach something
Definition 2: “…organizations are social units (or human groupings) deliberately
constructed and reconstructed to seek specific goals.”
The alignment of targets and resources assumes rational, calculated action
You need to have specific goals: specify what you aim with in your
organization
1
,Sociology of organizations
They can be reconstructed
o Dimension of time: conditions can change and we can adapt
o fe. Globalization
o It has to be functional: therefore the adaption to make it work
Definition 3: Any social arrangement in which activities of some people are
systematically planned by other people (who, therefore, have authority over
them) in order to achieve some special purpose…”
Designers” and subordinates
o …by definition: a difference in constitutional power among
organizational members
Some people have more decision power/ a more challenging job than
others, etc.
o …the distribution of organizational problems is structured by the
blueprint of an organization, the nature of particular tasks, the
organization setup
New insight: we must see organizations as a social arrangement
The blueprint of an organization determines the construction of social
relationships within an organization, and thus by definition, the potential for
conflict, cooperation and participation
DIA 11: blueprint of organization, structure
DIA 12: elements of organization
Formal organization: is blueprint, on paper the structure of the organization
Informal organization: group dynamics, not on paper but does have influence
1.3 The study of organizations: From common to divergent features
Diverse organizations: shift from manufacturing to service economy
New technological advances: labor-saving rather than labor-using
Productivity gains in manufacturing -> lowered prices of manufactured
goods
o <-> didn’t induce a large enough increase in the demand for
manufactured goods
The growth of China’s economy
There are more service organizations now then in the past
Less manufacturing companies
Diverse research interest and settings
2
,Sociology of organizations
Fe. If you are in the discipline psychology, you are more focused on individuals
then on systems
Diverse levels of analysis
The behavior of…
…individuals,
…organizations,
…systems of organizations
Level of analysis-evolution
…the social-psychological level (early research on organizations, 1950s),
…the organizational-structural level (since early 1960s),
…the ecological level emerging in the late 1960s
Different theoretical perspectives (rational, natural, open system)
DIA 17: !! table about goals
1.4 Rational system definition
Goal specificity: particular goal, what you intent to reach for in the organization
Formalizations: roles and rules (the roles and rules are specified, so all written
down and very literal in a rational system)
DIA 18-19
1.4.1 Taylor’s scientific management
Frederick W. Taylor (taylorisme)
Observed production processes in a steel factory
Wanted to improve it, make it more efficient
Eliminate waste en identify it
o Waste of time and resources
More benefits higher production and higher wages
Reach our goals in the best way, how much effort do we put in?
o Men do things with less resources and with less time
o But more efficiency
Increasing productivity:
Cutting up jobs in more separate jobs
Dividing tasks in different things, very specific
Organize work in a line, everybody on that line takes a very clear and
specific task
3
, Sociology of organizations
Specialize in that very specific task
More efficiency more money more wages more efficient working
He focusses on internal system of organization, not trying to change the entire
system
Fe. The organization Ford used the system of Taylor
Scientific research on tasks of each individual
Analyse tasks and separate them in minor parts
Why? To save time (=money)
Purpose: max output, min input
Bottom up
Organization is managed within
Changes in the performance of individual tasks affect the larger structure
of work relations
Each individual -> minor task / yet requires more specialized knowledge
Measurements and calculations (time)
Underlying concept of man: people are lazy / group work is individualized
=> control
o People are replaceable / dehumanizing work / the end (does not)
justify the means
o People who don’t want to do something, you can find someone else
Critique
Dehumanization: you only did a little part of the whole product, there is time
pressure
1.4.2 Fayol’s administrative theory
Henri Fayol (1841-1925). French industrialist. Director of a mining factory. Firm in
difficulty, total reorganization
Mining factory was not working well, he looked for improvements
General principles that apply to all organizations, if you apply those, all will
be more efficient
Taylor’s approach = “bottom-up”: changes in the performance of individual
tasks affect the larger structure of work relations.
Fayol’s approach = “top down”: focus on management functions, broad
administrative principles
Some examples. Coordination and specialization activities
Coordination
The scalar principle
4
Examens: exact wat zij in les uitlegt en de PowerPoints + extra om te lezen (kan
voor je presentatie, niet op examen)
Presentatie: je moet vergelijken met andere presentaties, dus je moet die goed
kennen en begrijpen + Q&A na presentatie
1 Organizations as rational systems
1.1 Types of problems and public
Publics
Ordinary employees (workers at the assembly line in a factory,
demotivation, alienation..)
o Working at organization, members
Employers and managers (dependence on lower ranked-employees)
o Steering the direction of organization
The contact public (direct relationship; invisible bureaucracies)
o Not part of organization
The general public (indirect: cf. politicians, journalists, scientists -> political
parties, ngo’s..)
Problems
Controllability: “decisions are made above people’s head” (control
regarding the decisions which affect daily working practices)
o For members or employees
o Can’t control the direction of the company
Quality of working life: (monotonous, varied, challenging or not,...)
Directing and planning: cf. power/influence to set goals, to direct the policy
of an organization
o Managers for example
Manageability: how to prevent or manage negative, often unintended,
consequences of the decisions that have been made
DIA 8: table about frequencies in types of problems and publics
1.2 What is an organization: essential ingredients
Definition 1: “…have been deliberately established for a certain purpose.”
To arise “naturally” vs. To design “consciously”
Goal setting is specific (e.g. Making a family vs. Startup of a record label)
Intentional: established, you want to reach something
Definition 2: “…organizations are social units (or human groupings) deliberately
constructed and reconstructed to seek specific goals.”
The alignment of targets and resources assumes rational, calculated action
You need to have specific goals: specify what you aim with in your
organization
1
,Sociology of organizations
They can be reconstructed
o Dimension of time: conditions can change and we can adapt
o fe. Globalization
o It has to be functional: therefore the adaption to make it work
Definition 3: Any social arrangement in which activities of some people are
systematically planned by other people (who, therefore, have authority over
them) in order to achieve some special purpose…”
Designers” and subordinates
o …by definition: a difference in constitutional power among
organizational members
Some people have more decision power/ a more challenging job than
others, etc.
o …the distribution of organizational problems is structured by the
blueprint of an organization, the nature of particular tasks, the
organization setup
New insight: we must see organizations as a social arrangement
The blueprint of an organization determines the construction of social
relationships within an organization, and thus by definition, the potential for
conflict, cooperation and participation
DIA 11: blueprint of organization, structure
DIA 12: elements of organization
Formal organization: is blueprint, on paper the structure of the organization
Informal organization: group dynamics, not on paper but does have influence
1.3 The study of organizations: From common to divergent features
Diverse organizations: shift from manufacturing to service economy
New technological advances: labor-saving rather than labor-using
Productivity gains in manufacturing -> lowered prices of manufactured
goods
o <-> didn’t induce a large enough increase in the demand for
manufactured goods
The growth of China’s economy
There are more service organizations now then in the past
Less manufacturing companies
Diverse research interest and settings
2
,Sociology of organizations
Fe. If you are in the discipline psychology, you are more focused on individuals
then on systems
Diverse levels of analysis
The behavior of…
…individuals,
…organizations,
…systems of organizations
Level of analysis-evolution
…the social-psychological level (early research on organizations, 1950s),
…the organizational-structural level (since early 1960s),
…the ecological level emerging in the late 1960s
Different theoretical perspectives (rational, natural, open system)
DIA 17: !! table about goals
1.4 Rational system definition
Goal specificity: particular goal, what you intent to reach for in the organization
Formalizations: roles and rules (the roles and rules are specified, so all written
down and very literal in a rational system)
DIA 18-19
1.4.1 Taylor’s scientific management
Frederick W. Taylor (taylorisme)
Observed production processes in a steel factory
Wanted to improve it, make it more efficient
Eliminate waste en identify it
o Waste of time and resources
More benefits higher production and higher wages
Reach our goals in the best way, how much effort do we put in?
o Men do things with less resources and with less time
o But more efficiency
Increasing productivity:
Cutting up jobs in more separate jobs
Dividing tasks in different things, very specific
Organize work in a line, everybody on that line takes a very clear and
specific task
3
, Sociology of organizations
Specialize in that very specific task
More efficiency more money more wages more efficient working
He focusses on internal system of organization, not trying to change the entire
system
Fe. The organization Ford used the system of Taylor
Scientific research on tasks of each individual
Analyse tasks and separate them in minor parts
Why? To save time (=money)
Purpose: max output, min input
Bottom up
Organization is managed within
Changes in the performance of individual tasks affect the larger structure
of work relations
Each individual -> minor task / yet requires more specialized knowledge
Measurements and calculations (time)
Underlying concept of man: people are lazy / group work is individualized
=> control
o People are replaceable / dehumanizing work / the end (does not)
justify the means
o People who don’t want to do something, you can find someone else
Critique
Dehumanization: you only did a little part of the whole product, there is time
pressure
1.4.2 Fayol’s administrative theory
Henri Fayol (1841-1925). French industrialist. Director of a mining factory. Firm in
difficulty, total reorganization
Mining factory was not working well, he looked for improvements
General principles that apply to all organizations, if you apply those, all will
be more efficient
Taylor’s approach = “bottom-up”: changes in the performance of individual
tasks affect the larger structure of work relations.
Fayol’s approach = “top down”: focus on management functions, broad
administrative principles
Some examples. Coordination and specialization activities
Coordination
The scalar principle
4
