Industrial Psychology Chapter: Organizational Theory

Study Notes

Organizations are collectivities of parts that cannot accomplish their goals effectively if they operated separately.
An organization creates value, or else it "dies".
Environment (Customers, Suppliers) > Input (Raw Materials, IT, HR) > Process (Machines, Computers, KSAOs) > Output (Products, Services) is the sequence of how organizations create value.

Scalar Principle deals with the organization's vertical growth and refers to the chain of command that grows with levels added to the organization.
Each subordinate should be accountable to only one superior (unity of command).
Line/Staff Principle: Line Functions have primary responsibilities for meeting the major goals of the organization, while Staff Functions support the line's activities but are subsidiary in overall importance to line functions.
Span-Of-Control Principle refers to the number of subordinates a manager is responsible for supervising.

Classical Organizational Theory states that organizations exist for economic reasons and to accomplish productivity goals.
The basic ingredients of any organization are: a system of differentiated activities, people who perform tasks and exercise authority, cooperation toward a goal (unity of purpose), and authority that ensures cooperation among people pursuing their goals.

The organization is a machine, a pragmatic machine whose focus is to simply run more effectively.
Taylor believed that scientific principles could be applied to the study of work behavior to help increase worker efficiency and productivity.
The advantages of productivity improvement should go to workers.
Physical stress and anxiety should be eliminated.
Capabilities of workers should be developed through training.
Traditional boss concept should be eliminated.
Mainly associated with high levels of job specialization and standardization.
Conducted time and motion studies and analyzed temperature, illumination, and other conditions of work, all while looking at the effects of these conditions on productivity and efficiency.
Taylorism has a premise that there is one best way to get the job done.
Management gathers data from the workers, who are in the best position to understand the job duties and tasks.
Workers are selected carefully or scientifically and trained so that they become more efficient.
Scientific selection, data collection, and training are combined to enhance efficiency.