Organization theory challenges and perspectives john mcauley JOane and johnson

.

This book makes it easier to understand the current stand of organization theory. I strongly
recommend it to anyone seriously interested in the different intellectual traditions that contribute
to our understanding of organizations.
Professor Tomas Müllern, Jönköping International Business School, Sweden
McAuley et al.’s book is thought-provoking, witty and highly relevant for understanding
contemporary organizational dilemmas. This is a book that will become a classic in organization studies.
Mihaela L. Kelemen, Professor of Management Studies, Keele University, UK
…McAuley et al. helps students and managers understand organizational performance... It deepens
their understanding of issues with which they are confronted in practice, by putting them into a larger
context. This book really helps students and managers to become wiser.
Professor René Tissen, Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands
This textbook offers a well-integrated synthesis of approaches to organization theory. It will be
welcomed by organization theory scholars and reflective practitioners and is a valuable companion
for scholars and students of organization theory.
Professor Henk W. Volberda, Vice-Dean of the RSM Erasmus University, The Netherlands

What is organization theory and why does it matter? Where did it start, how has it developed, and what
impact does it have on today’s organizations? What challenges does it pose, what solutions can it offer,
and how can it be used to make sense of contemporary management and organization?
This book addresses these questions and explores organization theory from its origins right up
to present-day debates. The authors pay sceptical respect to different schools of thought,
encouraging the reader to engage in a critical dialogue between varying perspectives.
In addition, the frequent and appealing examples show how concepts of organization theory
can be seen in the context of managerial reality.
Organization Theory brings a fresh approach to long standing questions and is aimed at
undergraduate and postgraduate students for whom the study of organizational theory
or analysis is an integral part of their degree programme.
Professor John McAuley is Professor of Organization Development and Management, Sheffield
Hallam University. Dr Joanne Duberley is Senior Lecturer at Birmingham Business School,

The University of Birmingham. Professor Phil Johnson is Professor of Human Resource Management
at The Management School, The University of Sheffield .

Organization Theory
Challenges and Perspectives
John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson

McAuley Duberley Johnson

This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organizational theory
currently available. Whilst their writing is accessible and engaging, their approach is scholarly and
serious. This is a book that deserves to achieve a wide readership.
Professor Stephen Ackroyd, Lancaster University, UK

Organization Theory

At last, a text that brings organization theory into the 21st century! This is the first organization theory
textbook to provide full and informed coverage of a range of contemporary developments in the field.
It really is pathbreaking in terms of its inclusion of material that does not appear in other texts.
Professor Hugh Willmott, Cardiff Business School, UK

ISBN 0-273-68774-3

9 780273 687740
www.pearson-books.com

0273687743_COVER.indd 1

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This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational
theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth
and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and
Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very
diverse strands of work that today qualify as constituting the subject of organisational theory. Whilst their writing is accessible and engaging, their approach is scholarly and serious.
It is so easy for students (and indeed others who should know better) to trivialize this very
problematic and challenging subject. This is not the case with the present book. This is a
book that deserves to achieve a wide readership.
Professor Stephen Ackroyd, Lancaster University, UK
This new textbook usefully situates organization theory within the scholarly debates on
modernism and postmodernism, and provides an advanced introduction to the heterogeneous study of organizations, including chapters on phenomenology, critical theory and psychoanalysis. Like all good textbooks, the book is accessible, well researched and readers
are encouraged to view chapters as a starting point for getting to grips with the field of
organization theory.
Dr Martin Brigham, Lancaster University, UK
McAuley et al. provide a highly readable account of ideas, perspectives and practices of
organization. By thoroughly explaining, analyzing and exploring organization theory the
book increases the understanding of a field that in recent years has become ever more fragmented. Organization theory is central to managing, organizing and reflecting on both formal and informal structures, and in this respect you will find this book timely, interesting
and valuable.
Peter Holdt Christensen, Associate Professor,

Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
McAuley et al.’s book is thought-provoking, witty and highly relevant for understanding
contemporary organizational dilemmas. The book engages in an imaginative way with a
wealth of organizational concepts and theories as well as provides insightful examples from
the practical world of organizations. The authors’ sound scholarship and transparent style
of writing set the book apart, making it an ingenious read which invites reflexivity, criticalness and plurality of opinion from the audience. This is a book that will become a classic in
organization studies.
Mihaela L. Kelemen, Professor of Management Studies,
Keele University, UK
An unusually rich and deep philosophical book on organization theory with several new
thinkers and ideas. Pedagogically a well-structured book with many clear learning objectives,
cases, examples and good summaries for every chapter.
Professor Martin Lindell, Hanken Business School, Swedish
School of Economics and Business Administration, Finland
This book makes it easier to understand the current stand of organization theory. I strongly
recommend it to anyone seriously interested in the different intellectual traditions that contribute to our understanding of organizations.
Professor Tomas Müllern, Jönköping International Business School, Sweden


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McAuley, Duberley and Johnson’s Organizational Theory takes you on a joyful ride through

the developments of one of the great enigmas of our time – How should we understand the
organization?
Jan Ole Similä, Assistant Professor, Nord-Trøndelag University College, Norway
I really enjoyed this new text and I am sure my students will enjoy it, too. It combines rigorous theoretical argument with application and consideration of how managment practice is
formed and shaped by ideas and concepts. The authors have brought their wealth of experience and understanding and provided the field with an imaginative resource to address the
dynamics between theory and practice.
Dr Susanne Tietze, Bradford University, UK
The key to success for managers is not only to be result oriented but also to be wise in their
decision making. This requires that they have a deeper than superficial understanding of management and organization issues. McAuley et al. helps student and managers understand
organizational performance without having to go through extensive reading. It deepens their
understanding of issues with which they are confronted in practice, by putting them into a
larger context. This book really helps students and managers to become wiser.
Professor René Tissen, Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands
This book will appeal to the student who seeks a thorough and critical understanding of
organization theory. It is both rigorous and accessible, clearly and unashamedly pitched for
readers who wish to engage with theoretical issues whilst also maintaining a practical focus
on why organization theory matters. I felt in good hands here, confident that I was being
offered a deeply informed, reliable and intelligently constructed account. The opening chapter carefully and helpfully explains terms, including ‘theory’ and ‘epistemology’ that can
form an unexplored bedrock to texts in the field. It then offers thoughtful, scholarly and
well-illustrated discussions of prominent theoretical perspective, including managerialism
and postmodernity, supported by specified learning outcomes and guides to further reading.
Dr Paul Tosey, University of Surrey, UK
The field of organization theory is extremely fragmented and there is no agreement concerning
the underlying theoretical dimensions nor methodological approach to be employed. With the
recognition of different approaches to organization theory, there is a widely perceived need to
bring some order to the field. This textbook offers a well-integrated synthesis of approaches to
organization theory. It will be welcomed by organization theory scholars and reflective practitioners and is a valuable companion for scholars and students of organization theory.
Henk W. Volberda, Chair of the Department of Strategic Management & Business
Environment and Vice-Dean of the RSM Erasmus University, Netherlands
At last, a text that brings organization theory into the 21st century! This is the first organization theory textbook to provide full and informed coverage of a range of contemporary developments in the field. Notably, it includes diverse contributions to organization theory made

by critical management studies. It really is pathbreaking in terms of its inclusion of material
that does not appear in other texts.
Professor Hugh Willmott, Cardiff Business School, UK
This is one of the most up-to-date and comprehensive texts in the field of organization studies. It
takes the reader through different perspectives and various topics on management and organizing, discussing these in some depth and detail. It offers a historically grounded, critical-reflexive
approach to studying organizations that will prove to be extremely helpful guidance to students.
Dr Sierk Ybema, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands


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Organization Theory
Challenges and Perspectives
John McAuley
Faculty of Organization and Management, Sheffield Hallam University

Joanne Duberley
Birmingham Business School, The University of Birmingham

Phil Johnson
The Management School, The University of Sheffield

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Pearson Education Limited
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow
Essex CM20 2JE
England
and Associated Companies throughout the world
Visit us on the World Wide Web at:
www.pearsoned.co.uk
First published 2007
© Pearson Education Limited 2007
The rights of Joanne Duberley, Phil Johnson and John McAuley to be identified as
authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publisher
or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any
trademark in this text does not vest in the author or publisher any trademark ownership

rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply any affiliation with
or endorsement of this book by such owners.
ISBN-13: 978-0-273-68774-0
ISBN-10: 0-273-68774-3
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McAuley, John, FIPD.
Organization theory : challenges and perspectives / John McAuley, Joanne Duberley,
Phil Johnson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-273-68774-0
ISBN-10: 0-273-68774-3
1. Organizational sociology. I. Duberley, Joanne. II. Johnson, Phil, 1955III. Title.
HM786.M33 2007
302.3’5—dc22
2006022347
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
10 09 08 07 06
Typeset in 10/12.5 pt sabon by 72
Printed by Ashford Colour Press Ltd., Gosport
The publisher’s policy is to use paper manufactured from sustainable forests.


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Brief Contents

Preface

xiii

List of figures

xvii

List of tables

xix

Acknowledgements

xx

1

Introducing organization theory: what is it, and why does it matter?

2

Modernist organization theory: back to the future?

3

Neo-modernist organization theory: putting people first?

100

4

Neo-modernist organization theory: surfing the new wave?

148

5

Postmodernist organization theory: new organizational forms
for a new millennium?

198

Postmodernism as a philosophy: the ultimate challenge to
organization theory?

242

Reflective organization theory: symbols, meanings and
interpretations

282

8

Reflexive organization theory: critical theory and psychoanalysis

330

9

The evolution of management as reflected through the lens of
modernist organization theory

382

Perspectives and challenges

432

6
7

10

2
54


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Contents

Chapter 1

Preface

xiii

List of figures

xvii

List of tables

xix

Acknowledgements

xx

Introducing organization theory: what is it, and why does it matter?
Introduction
What is organization theory?
Defining theory
What are organizations?
The relationship between organization theory and human activities
The relationship between organization theory and management practice
Social engineering and organization theory
Critical alternatives to managerialism in organization theory
Philosophical disputes and debates: explaining and understanding
the diverse nature of organization theory
Mapping some aspects of organization theory’s diversity
Positivist protagonists: the truth is out there, and we can
objectively know it
Philosophical disputes around the role of the subjective in science
Epistemological and ontolological disputes: how can we ever
know the ‘truth’ and is there an ‘out there’?
A few words of warning about the term postmodernism
Overview of the structure and rationale of the book
Chapter summaries
Chapter 2: Modernist organization theory: back to the future?
Chapter 3: Neo-modernist organization theory: putting people first?
Chapter 4: Neo-modernist organization theory: surfing the new wave?

Chapter 5: Postmodernist organization theory: new organizational
forms for a new millennium?
Chapter 6: Postmodernism as a philosophy: the ultimate challenge
to organization theory?
Chapter 7: Reflective organization theory: symbols, meanings and
interpretations
Chapter 8: Reflexive organization theory: critical theory and
psychoanalysis
Chapter 9: The evolution of management as reflected through
the lens of modernist organization theory
Chapter 10: Perspectives and challenges

2
2
4
5
12
17
20
22
25
27
32
33
36
38
43
43
45
45

45
46
46
47
47
48
48
48


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viii

Contents

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Modernist organization theory: back to the future?

54

Introduction
Modernist organization theory in context
What is modernism?
Modernism and architecture
What is modernist organization theory?
The historical roots of modernist organization theory
Classical theory of organization
Modernist organization theory: an overview
The modernist ontology: the ordered world of the modernist
organization
The epistemological level: the scientific approach to organization
The technologies: how modernists get things done
How modernist organization theory continues to influence the understanding and exploration of organizations: the organization as system
General Systems Theory
General Systems Theory builds hierarchies of knowledge that relate to
different levels of sophistication in understanding organizations
The basic systems of the organization: what every organization must
have to survive
The organization as simple machine
Level 3: ‘Get the structure and systems right so that all is in balance’
Level 4: ‘The machine is alive! – well, almost’
How modernist organization theory underpins conventional
understandings of the relationship between organizations and society
Is bureaucracy immoral?
Form fits function: how modernist organizational theory challenges the
relationship between individuals, groups and the organization through
bureaucracy and hierarchy
The virtuous bureaucracy

Modernist themes in organizational design
Modernist bureaucracy as a key challenge to organization design
Contingency theory and organization design
Organization culture as a key theme in organization theory
The modernist tradition in organization culture
Conclusions: does modernist organization theory still provide
challenges for new visions of the organization?

54
56
56
56
58
58
59
60
60
63
66
68
69
70
72
74
75
77
81
83

85

87
87
87
89
92
92
94

Neo-modernist organization theory: putting people first?

100

Introduction
Neo-modernist organization theory focuses attention on the human
issues in organization
‘There is nothing so practical as a good theory’
How Roethlisberger developed a ‘practical’ organization theory
Column 1: The core contributing social sciences
Column 2: The techniques for analysis
Column 3: The neo-modernist perspective
Column 4: Contributions to business and management
Four combinations of science, scientific technique and the neo-modernist
approach reach different parts of the organization
Level 1: Developing the organization
Level 2: Managing the human resource

100
102
102
103

105
105
106
107
107
108
109


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Contents

Level 3: ‘We are a people-centred organization’
Level 4: The world of the management guru
The human relations school as an example of neo-modernist
organization theory
How ‘human relations’ begins
What is the human relations school?
The human relations school develops
The Hawthorne Studies as a classic example of applied organizational
research within the human relations tradition

The Relay Assembly Test Room
The Bank Wiring Observation Room
Research and the development of neo-modernist organization theory
Why the Hawthorne Studies were so important
How neo-modernist organization theory challenges understandings
of the relationship between organizations and society
A puzzle – is it is better to ‘belong’ or to be an ‘individual’?
Longing to belong: too much commitment
A reminder – the human relations approach is not the only
neo-modernist story in town
How neo-modernist organization theory challenges understandings
of organization culture
Creating a culture that gives meaning to work
Developing understanding of culture
Developing a ‘practical theory’ of organizational culture
The vehicles of culture
The processes of the communication of culture
The ‘heart of culture’
A tale of two cultures
How neo-modernist organization theory develops challenges in the
design of organizations
The processual perspective
Design and development
Conclusions: does neo-modernist organization theory exercise challenges
for new visions of the organization?

Chapter 4

ix

110
112
114
114
115
116
118
118
120
120
122
122
123
126
127
127
129
130
130
132
133
135
136
139
139
140
142

Neo-modernist organization theory: surfing the new wave?

148

Introduction
The origins of new-wave management
Control in organizations
Unpredictable behaviour
Informal control: organizational misbehaviour?
Complexity and the problem of implementation
Three types of formal control
Bureaucratic control
Output control
Cultural control
The new wave in action: managing cultural change
A theoretical explanation of a possible shift in control:
A new historical configuration?
An alternative theoretical explanation: movements in managerial
discourse?
The theoretical origins of new-wave theory
Conclusions

148
150
152
152
153
156
159
159
160
161

164
171
176
179
186


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x

Contents

Chapter 5

Postmodernist organization theory: new organizational forms
for a new millennium?
Introduction
What is postmodernism?
Is postmodernism anything new?
The history
Post-industrialism and the information society

The virtual organization
Neo-fordism, flexible specialization and post-fordism
The regulation school
Institutionalist school
The ‘managerialist’ school
The flexible firm – critique
Postmodern organizations – the work of Stewart Clegg
and Paul Heydebrand
Conclusions

Chapter 6

Postmodernism as a philosophy: the ultimate challenge
to organization theory?
Introduction
What is postmodernism?
Postmodernism: the core elements
Postmodernism and organization theory
Poststructuralism and postmodernism
Three key thinkers of postmodernism
Jacques Derrida: the linguistic turn and deconstruction
J.F. Lyotard and the nature of knowledge
Foucault: postmodernism, discourse, knowledge
and power
Organizational culture
The challenges of postmodernism to organization theory
Problematizing normal science
Problematizing truth
Problematizing representation
Problematizing writing

Problematizing generalizability
Postmodernism and the spectre of relativism
Conclusions

Chapter 7

Reflective organization theory: symbols, meanings and interpretations
Introduction
What it means to be reflective
Working and acting together: symbolic interactionism
‘The Chicago school’
The processes of making and sharing meaning
The basic assumptions of symbolic interactionism
Strengths and weaknesses of the symbolic interactionist
understanding of organizations
Phenomenology reaches the emotions
Ethnomethodology: understanding organizational ‘common sense’
Organizational symbolism
The ways in which individuals develop a sense of self in organizations

198
198
200
202
205
206
211
213
215
217

220
225
227
234

242
242
244
246
248
250
251
251
257
261
268
271
271
271
272
272
273
274
275

282
282
284
286
287

288
288
293
294
298
300
301


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Contents

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

xi

The self as dramatic artful creation
Negotiating the way between the self and the organization’s rules
Developing the organizational identity

Understanding organization culture through symbols
Introduction – two ways of exploring culture
Communicating cultures
Negotiation of meaning influences organizational design
Ideology, rhetoric and negotiation
Arenas and games
Conclusions

301
302
304
314
314
314
320
320
323
324

Reflexive organization theory: critical theory and psychoanalysis

330

Introduction
The development of critical theory as a challenging perspective in
organization theory
Critical theory as seen by the Frankfurt school
Some key influences in the development of critical theory
Critical management studies: critical theory enters organization
and management theory

Critical theory develops new understanding of ‘the scientific approach’
‘The sciences of the spirit’
The models of ‘natural science’ and the ‘sciences of the spirit’ come together
Critical theory has practical organizational implications
The development of psychoanalysis as a challenging perspective in
organization theory
Psychoanalysis gives insight into organizations as a ‘practical theory’
The challenge of psychoanalysis to organizations
The key challenges of psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis and critical theory in action
The challenges of critical theory and psychoanalysis for understanding
the individual, the group and the organization
A critique of critical theory
Critical theory and psychoanalysis develops challenging
perspectives on organization culture
A psychoanalytic view of organization culture
The ‘unhealthy’ organization culture: when there is conflict
The unhealthy organization culture: when there is insufficient conflict
Understanding the purpose of the organization and embedding it in the culture
Critical theory and psychoanalysis present challenging perspectives
for organizational design
Social democracy and the democratic organization
Democracy, rationality and power
A psychodynamic perspective on design – create the boundaries
Critical theory and psychoanalysis challenge understandings of
leadership and management
Conclusions

330
332

332
332
339
340
341
342
342
344
345
347
347
349
354
356
357
357
359
360
361
362
367
371
373
374
375

The evolution of management as reflected through
the lens of modernist organization theory

382

Introduction
Conceptualizing management
The historical origins and development of management

382
384
385


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xii

Contents

Chapter 10

Technological change and the factory system
The impact of scientific management
The managerial revolution and the origins of managerialism
Redefining managerialism

Leadership and managerialism
Diffusion between institutions: the case of the UK public sector
New public management
Diffusion within organizations: the infiltration of the rank and file
Organizational democracy and a case against managerialism
The economic efficiency case for organizational democracy:
a challenge to managerialism?
Destabilized capitalism
Employee alienation as the key problem
Conclusions

387
392
395
399
401
404
405
408
412

Perspectives and challenges

432

Introduction
Comparing the different perspectives
A modernist perspective
A neomodernist perspective
A new-wave perspective

A postmodern perspective
A reflective perspective
A critical theory and psychoanalytic perspective
A managerialist perspective
The paradigm debate
The practical utility of organization theory
Current trends
Globalization
Institutional and neoinstitutional theory
Discourse
The aesthetics of organizing
One final look at organizational culture
Conclusions

432
434
434
434
435
436
437
437
438
438
442
446
446
450
452
453

457
459

Index

413
414
416
421

466

Supporting resources
Visit www.pearsoned.co.uk/mcauley to find valuable online resources
For Instructors
• PowerPoint slides that can be downloaded and used for presentations
• Additional exercises
For more information please contact your local Pearson Education sales
representative or visit www.pearsoned.co.uk/mcauley


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Preface

Introduction
Over the past hundred years or so, Organization Theory has developed into a
distinctive social science discipline. It is a body of thinking and writing that
describes, explains and influences what goes on in organizations. It provides an
underpinning body of knowledge that enables us to explore and develop management and leadership theory. In recent decades Organization Theory has become
increasingly diverse in terms of the perspectives that writers use to study and understand organizations. These perspectives provide, in their different ways, profound
challenges to the ways in which we live in and design organizations. They pose
important challenges to organization members about issues such as:
• The relationship between organization control and freedom.
• The nature of power and authority in organizations.
• The relationship between individualism and collectivism in modern organizations.
• The relationship between organizations and society.
• The ways in which organizations are designed.
• The relationship between organizations and leadership and management.
• The development of understanding of organization culture as means of control or
vehicle for development.
The book explores approaches to Organization Theory from its origins through
to the most recent debates. We show how the different traditions of organizational
theory are intertwined, sometimes in sympathy, sometimes with profound disagreement. Chapter One provides an extended introduction to the nature and complexity
of Organization Theory. This provides a springboard to the exploration, in each of
the following chapters, of a distinctive ‘epoch’ of organization theory. In these chapters we look at the fundamental issues that each of these theories of organization
poses. In this spirit we examine the challenges of:
• Modernist theories of organization that form the controversial and challenging
foundations of organization theory.
• The development of neo-modernist theories of organization that claim to ‘put
people first’ and then the ways that these theories have been transformed into

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xiv

Preface

‘new wave’ approaches in which there is an emphasis on the control of organization members.
• We then explore the ways in which postmodern philosophies and theories of
organization pose radical challenges for modernism and neo-modernism.
• We then explore theories and concepts which develop the idea that organization
theory is a means by which members can gain deep understanding of their
organizations. This is achieved through exploration of organizations as symbols,
through critical theory and through psychoanalysis.
• In many respects the study of organizations is linked with the study of management, and in Chapter 9 we explore the ways in which theories of management
have achieved such an important place in organization theory.
• The concluding chapter synthesizes many of the issues in the earlier chapters and
then looks at some of the emergent trends in organization theory.
We explore the strengths and limitations of these theories and perspectives and
show how they continue to exert challenges to organizations.
The three authors come from somewhat different standpoints in relation to their
understandings about organization theory so there is a sense of dialogue between

different perspectives, rather than the uniformity of view found in many books. This
will enable the reader to see the issues as living, controversial and challenging.

The aim of this book
Our vision is that the book covers the core issues in organization theory in a manner
which shows how various forms of organizational theory both underpin and challenge
common sense ways of viewing (and managing) organizations.
The aim of this book is to provide a clearly structured and interesting exploration of
the ways in which the variety of theories and perspectives that constitute Organization
Theory provide profound challenges for organizations in the twenty-first century.
The book develops understanding of the increasing pressures created by heightened competition and processes of globalization by analysing their impact upon
organizations with specific reference to the ways in which organization theory can
help develop understanding and appropriate action.

Who should use this book?
The target audience is anticipated to be postgraduate students and undergraduate
students for whom Organizational Analysis or Organizational Theory represents a
core module, or is a significant part of a core module. Typically the audience would
be students in Business Schools but could also be students in Departments of
Sociology, Schools of Education and so on. The learning needs of these students is
for a book that reflects the best of Anglo-American, European and other thinking on
organization theory in a manner that shows that different sorts of theory are relevant
and can be made interesting for an understanding of the organizational world.


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Preface

xv

Distinctive features

The structure of the book
The ‘historical’ epoch based approach enables students to see the relevance and challenge of all the different perspectives and theories that constitute organization theory. Because of the way the book was developed by its three authors, readers can see
that there are differences in the way that its theories and challenges can be understood, that organization theory is not a monolithic subject but rather a rich resource
for developing understanding of organizations.
Each chapter begins with an Introduction which outlines the content and direction of the chapter, provides a clear guide to the structure of the chapter and then
outlines the Learning outcomes. These learning outcomes provide a guide to the different sections of the chapter.

Stop and think
Each of the chapters contains ‘stop and think’ boxes. These are designed to form the
basis for brief discussion amongst group members or for personal reflection on some
key issue raised in the text.

Case studies
These are designed to enable the reader to relate theoretical issues to organization
practice, or to give a practical organizational example.

Ideas and perspectives
These are designed to provide an outline of a perspective, theory or key idea in organization theory. They provide the reader with an introduction to ideas that are developed within the chapter.

The chapter so far
These are provided at key points in the chapter. They provide the reader with a
summary of the issues that have been covered in the chapter and a link with the
next part.

Biography
These are designed to provide a brief intellectual history of key figures in organization theory. They provide an indication of the ways in which different theorists


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xvi

Preface

developed their understanding of organization and social science theory as part of the
background in which the different periods of organization theory developed.

Concluding grid
Most of the chapters conclude with a grid in which we return to the learning outcomes and then summarize the way in which these learning outcomes provide challenges to the organization in the twenty-first century.

Annotated further reading

Each chapter concludes with an indication of further reading. We have also included,
wherever possible, indications of films and other media that provide insights into the
issues covered in the chapter.

Discussion questions
Finally, each chapter concludes with a number of questions that have been developed
for use in seminar discussions or would be suitable as the basis for assessments.


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List of figures

Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2
Figure 1.3
Figure 1.4
Figure 1.5
Figure 1.6
Figure 1.7
Figure 1.8
Figure 1.9

Figure 1.10
Figure 2.1
Figure 2.2
Figure 2.3
Figure 2.4
Figure 2.5
Figure 2.6
Figure 3.1
Figure 3.2
Figure 3.3
Figure 3.4
Figure 3.5
Figure 3.6
Figure 3.7
Figure 3.8
Figure 4.1

Figure 4.2
Figure 4.3
Figure 5.1
Figure 5.2
Figure 5.3
Figure 5.4

Relating cause and effect
How theory provides explanation
The double hermeneutic
The derivation of ‘epistemology’
What is this?
The derivation of ontology

Positivist philosophical assumptions –
the truth is out there and we can objectively know it
The role of the subjective in human behaviour
Critical theory: the truth is out there
but we can never know it
Postmodernism: the truth cannot
be ‘out there’ since there is no ‘out there’
Modernist architecture
Three key aspects of modernism
Modernist medicine
Chinese medicine
What every organization needs: the functional
imperatives
A systems model
From science to application – a systems model
Designing and developing an organization
Managing the human resource
We are a people-centred organization
The world of the management guru
The ‘experimental’ Relay Assembly Test Room
used in the Hawthorne Studies
Neo-modernist open systems
Three layers of organization culture
A snapshot taken by a British Officer
showing German and British troops fraternizing on the
Western Front during the Christmas truce of 1914
The operation of three types of control in
relation to an organizational task
Factors impacting on the viability of
different forms of control

Postmodern pastiche architecture in Las Vegas
Business sponsoring sport
Atkinson’s flexible firm
Dimensions of labour market segmentation

8
9
19
29
30
31
34
37
40
42
56
61
65
65
72
78
104
108
109
111
112
119
131
132

154
157
175
200
204
221
226


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xviii List of figures

Figure 5.5
Figure 6.1
Figure 6.2
Figure 6.3
Figure 7.1
Figure 7.2
Figure 8.1
Figure 8.2
Figure 9.1

Figure 9.2
Figure 10.1
Figure 10.2
Figure 10.3
Figure 10.4

Clegg’s postmodern versus modern
organizational forms
Duchamp’s fountain
Pruitt-Igoe and the end of modernity
Panopticon blueprint by Jeremy Bentham, 1791
The process of making meaning – a symbolic
interactionist approach
A trajectory of change
Organic architecture: Harvard Graduate School, 1951
Aggressive capitalism: Canary Wharf, London
Cromford Mill in the 1830s
The effects of delayering upon
organizational hierarchies
Burrell and Morgan’s four paradigms
Different approaches to discourse in
organization theory
The office
The interplay between different
approaches to culture

230
244
246
264

290
311
363
364
386
409
441
453
456
458


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List of tables

Table 1.1
Table 2.1
Table 2.2
Table 5.1
Table 5.2
Table 5.3

Table 6.1
Table 6.2
Table 6.3
Table 9.1
Table 9.2
Table 9.3
Table 10.1
Table 10.2

Knowledge constituting philosophical assumptions
Hierarchy of science and organization theory
Fatalism and optimism in the ‘new’ modernist organization
Bell’s stages of societal development
Fordism vs. post-fordism
The incidence of part-time work in European Union
member states
Modernism versus postmodernism
Affirmative versus sceptical postmodernism
The changing condition of knowledge
Pay and profits: Long run performance of FTSE
100 companies (2002 prices)
Five core points of transformational leadership
Ideas and perspectives: alienation and anomie compared
Two modes of knowledge production
Contrasting types of isomorphism

44
71
90
207

214
223
248
249
258
397–398
402
418
443
452


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Acknowledgements

Author’s acknowledgements
The creation of this text was a challenging adventure, and we would like to acknowledge the contribution of many others to its development. We would like to express
our thanks to Jacqueline Senior, who was our original commissioning editor, and to
Matthew Walker, who took over that role. We also would wish to thank David Cox
and Stuart Hay, who have been our development editors. Their contribution to the
pedagogic shaping of the text challenged many of our initial assumptions about the

nature of a ‘textbook’ on organization theory and have enabled us to produce what
we hope is an accessible text that preserves intellectual integrity.
We also owe a debt of gratitude to our academic reviewers. Although during the
process of the development of the book they were anonymous, we now know that
they included the following distinguished academics:
Dr Martin Brigham, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Professor Tor Busch, Trondheim Business School, Norway
Professor Su Mi Dahlgaard-Park, Lunds University, Sweden
Peter Holdt Christensen, Associate Professor, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
Dr Philip Hancock, Warwick University, United Kingdom
Dr Anders Hytter, Vaxjo University, Vaxjo, Sweden
Ad van Iterson, Associate Professor, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Professor Markus Kallifatides, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden
Professor Martin Lindell, Hanken Business School, Swedish School of Economics
and Business Administration, Finland
Professor Tomas Müllern, Jönköping International Business School, Sweden
Professor Rolland Munro, Keele University, United Kingdom
Jan Ole Similä, Assistant Professor, Nord-Trøndelag University College, Norway
Dr Karin Svedberg Nilsson, Stockholm School of Economics and Score, Sweden
Dr Susanne Tietze, Bradford University, United Kingdom
Professor René Tissen, Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands
These reviewers always challenged us, sometimes praised us, sometimes criticized
us, and sometimes pointed out the error of our ways. They provided us with advice


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Acknowledgements xxi

and issues to consider and consistently made a real contribution to the academic
development of the book, although responsibility for it lies with us.
We would also like to thank the following people for their interest in the book:
Fulnahar Begum, Catherine Cassell, Murray Clark, Laurie Cohen, John Darwin,
Keith Duberley, Yvonne Hill, Lynda Hinxman, Claire McAuley, T.E. McAuley, Gill
Musson, Michelle Odendaal and Jane Whitmarsh. Finally, Phil would like to thank
Carole for her forbearance, Jo would like to thank Ross for his support and Tom for
being there, and John would like to thank Maria for her uncurbed enthusiasm.
This book was a collaborative endeavour, although we have, as we developed the
text, been aware of differences between us of interpretation and understanding of
different aspects of organization theory. This is in the spirit that organization theory,
as with any significant body of knowledge, is not a ‘settled’ uniform discipline.
Jo Duberley was primarily responsible for Chapters 5, 6 and 10; Phil Johnson was
primarily responsible for Chapters 1, 4 and 9; and John McAuley was primarily
responsible for Chapters 2, 3, 7 and 8.

Publisher’s acknowledgements
We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material.
Figure 2.1 (top left) © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS, (top right) © Edifice/
CORBIS, (bottom left) © Michael Nicholson/CORBIS, (bottom right) © Mikael
Andersson/Nordic Photos/Getty Images; Figure 2.3 © Sean Justice/The Image Bank/
Getty Images; Figure 2.4 © Bruce Hands/Stone/Getty Images; 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, and
3.5 based on Human relations: rare, medium, or well-done? in Harvard Business

Review Vol. 26 No. 1 Harvard Business School Publishing (Roethlisberger, F. J. 1948);
Figure 3.6 Courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center, Warren, NJ; Figure 4.1
The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London; Figure 4.2 adapted from
Performance evaluation and control: supporting organizational change in
Management Decision Vol. 39 No. 10 MCB University Press (Johnson, P., et al. 2001);
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Industrial Society, P. Sadler, 1988, Ashgate; Figure 5.2 J Gross/Getty Images/Sport;
Figure 5.3 after Manpower strategies for flexible organizations, Personnel Management
August, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (Atkinson, J. 1984); Figure
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workplace restructuring on jobs and workers, Work and Occupations (Vol. 30 Issue 2)
pp. 154–175, copyright 2003 by Sage Publications, reprinted by permission of Sage
Publications Inc.; Figure 5.5 reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd from
Clegg, S., Modern Organizations: Organization Studies in a Postmodern World,
Copyright © Sage Publications 1990; Figure 6.1 © Tate, London 2006; Table 6.1
adapted from The postmodern turn in educational administration: apostrophic or
catastrophic development? in Journal of School Leadership Vol 8, originally published
in Postmodern Theory, The Guilford Press (Best, S. and Kellner, D. 1991); Table 6.2
from Postmodernism and Social Sciences: Insights, Inroads and Intrusions, Princeton
University Press (Rosenall, P.M. 1992); Figure 6.2 © Bettmann/CORBIS; Figure 7.2
from The Theory and Practice of Change Management, Palgrave Macmillan (Hayes, J.
2002) reproduced with permission of Palgrave Macmillan; Figure 8.1 ©


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xxii

Acknowledgements

Bettmann/CORBIS; Figure 8.2 © London Aerial Photo Library/CORBIS; Figure 9.1
The Arkwright Society and The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, The Mirror.
Vol. 28, page 257 Illustration of Cromford Mill (Shelfmark) Per. 2705 d.407 October
22nd 1836; Table 9.1 with permission of PricewaterhouseCoopers; Figure 10.1
reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd from Johnson, P. and Duberley, J.,
Understanding Management Research, Copyright © Sage Publications 2000, originally published in Burrell and Morgan © Sociological Paradigms and Organizational
Analysis, Burrell, G. and Morgan, G. (1979) Ashgate; Figure 10.2 from Phillips, N.
and Hardy, C., Discourse Analysis, copyright 2002 by Sage Publications, Inc, reprinted
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fax 800-730-2215.
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Newspapers Limited for extracts from ‘AA to log call centre staff’s trips to loo in pay
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‘Volkswagen targets Euros 10bn savings as director’ by David Gow published in The
Guardian 14th July 2005, ‘VW Starter’ by Dr. George Menz published in The Guardian

16th July 2005, and ‘Fat cats pay is the result of greed, not competition’ by Polly
Toynbee published in The Guardian 24th December 2003 © Guardian Newspapers
Limited; The Scotsman Publications Ltd. for an extract from ‘Great programmes and he
made people happy’ by Jason Beattie published in The Scotsman 30th January 2004;
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Copyright © 2004 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington
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New York Times Agency for an extract from ‘Guatemala: supermarket giants crush
farmers’ by Celia W. Dugger published in The New York Times 28th December 2004.
We are grateful to the Financial Times Limited for permission to reprint the following material:
Chapter 5 Example, Insurer plans to save £10m in Indian job shift, © Financial
Times, 12 October 2004.
We are grateful to the following for permission to use copyright material:
Chapter 5 Case study, Adapted from Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage:
the Toyota Philosophy and its Effects from FT.com, 5 September 2002, © M Reza
Vaghefi.
In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright material,
and we would appreciate any information that would enable us to do so.


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Chapter 1

Introducing organization theory:
what is it, and why does it matter?

Introduction
Over the past 100 years or so, organization theory has developed into a distinctive social
science discipline, a body of thinking and writing that tries to describe, explain and sometimes
influence what goes on in organizations. Nevertheless, during the past two decades, organization theory has also become increasingly diverse in terms of the perspectives that organization
theorists use to study these important social phenomena which affect so many aspects of our
lives. This chapter introduces the reader to organization theory by initially considering what
organization theory is and how it relates to human practices, including management. Then the
chapter explains some aspects of the diverse perspectives encountered when studying organization theory. The chapter concludes with an overview of the different perspectives covered in
this book. Above all, the chapter shows how and why organization theory affects all of us
through its often unnoticed influence on how organizations operate.