Organizational Theory Quiz

Week 1: A Foundational Framework

• Organizations can be analyzed through three lenses: Structural Design, Political, and Cultural.
• Each lens offers unique insights into organizations based on different assumptions and research methods.
• These lenses are not mutually exclusive; they can overlap and complement each other.

The Structural Design Lens

• Focuses on organizations as deliberately constructed systems to achieve strategic goals.
• Key concepts include: Machine, rational optimization; Strategic grouping (defining task clusters); Linking mechanisms (linking different tasks and units); Alignment mechanisms (connecting individual and group efforts).

The Political Lens

• Focuses on organizations as power struggles among stakeholders with diverse goals.
• Sources of power include: Positional (formal authority, control over scarce resources), Personal (expertise, skills), and Relational (network connections to information and influence).

The Cultural Lens

• Focuses on how people's meanings guide action within organizations.
• Cultural elements include: Symbols, artifacts, stories, and experiences that shape members' attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions.

Let's Summarize Our Discussion

• Organizations can be analyzed from multiple perspectives that can sometimes overlap.
• Cultural factors can influence power dynamics within an organization.
• Organizational structure does not always equate to organizational power.

Week 2: Decision-Making

• Rational decision-making theory relies on three key tools: Utility maximization, Cost-benefit analysis, and Opportunity cost.
• Key assumptions underlying these tools involve fixed preferences, self-interest, and full information.
• Managers face imperfect information, which is crucial for decision-making and has specific considerations for project proposals.

The Manager's Job: Decision-Making Under Constraints

• Managers often work at an unrelenting pace, which is not reflective.
• Managers work in a brief, varied, and discontinuous manner.
• Managers do not prefer reflective activity.
• Managers in general prioritize action-oriented activities.
• A study in 1975 showed that half of a CEO's activities lasted less than 9 minutes.
• A substantial portion of a manager’s time is dedicated to interruptions, interactions, and task-switching.

The Manager's Job: Decision-Making Under Constraints (Continued)

• The effective manager has no regular duties to perform.
• Managerial work involves performing regular activities such as rituals, negotiations, and information processing to connect the organization with its environment.

Human/Al Decision-Making Configurations

• Full delegation: AI makes decisions without human intervention.
• Hybrid I: AI filters initial alternatives, and humans select from the subset of suitable choices.
• Hybrid II: Humans select possible options from a wide range of choices, and AI evaluates these narrowed choices and selects the optimal option.

Human vs. AI Decision-Making

• AI-based decision-making requires a defined and specific search space with clear objectives and functional forms.
• Human decision-making can accommodate a wider range of decision variables.
• Human decisions enable explainability and interpretability despite being susceptible to retrospective analysis.

Example: Netflix Recommender System

• Netflix recommends movies based on various user data inputs, including preferences, watched content, and search history.

Other Examples of Decision-Making Configurations

• Different types of decision-making configurations are useful across various organizational and personal circumstances.

Human/AI Decision-Making Configurations (Continued)

• Key considerations when choosing between full delegation, hybrid I or hybrid II decision-making configurations include the specificity of the search space, interpretability of the process, size of the alternatives choices, speed requirements and the required replicability.

AI in Hiring

• Hybrid model (AI to human sequential decision-making) is preferred for job candidates.
• Especially, when humans need to override algorithmic recommendations.

Week 4: Power

• Pfeffer argues that independent action in organizations is limited—interdependence is essential for great achievements.
• Hierarchical authority and consensus-building are two ways to get things done; however, these are not mutually exclusive approaches.

Ways of Getting Things Done

• Hierarchical Authority offers legitimacy in the theoretical sense (at least in theory) but might feel less adaptable and inclusive in modern workplaces.
• Consensus-based approaches are time-consuming and more challenging to implement; however, they allow organizational stakeholders to contribute to the shared vision and potentially lead to more creativity and innovation.

The Alternative: Power and Influence

• Top executives are not the only ones who need power and influence.
• Power and influence are vital to achieving goals, especially for those without formal authority.
• Managers aren’t the only ones that experience outcomes based on "right or wrong answers".

Common Mistakes

• Contemptuous behavior toward those who disagree is a common flaw in organizational leadership.
• Overanalyzing situations, trying to “please everyone,” or neglecting human psychology can impede progress.

Sources of Power and Influence Tactics

• Positional power: Control over rewards and punishments, decision rights.
• Personal power: Expertise, track record, social skills.
• Relational power: Network breadth, network depth, and knowledge of the landscape.

Tactics and When To Use Them

• The best tactic to use depends on various situational factors such as the amount and type of resistance shown by those in opposition, the goals and needs of one's team.
• Inspiration, upward appeal, and exchange tactics are commonly used.

Resistance to Organizational Change

• Resistance to change can stem from politics, self-interest, threats to status or power, job security; low tolerance for change, cognitive rigidity, short-term focus, lack of trust; diverse assessments of the situation, strong emotional reactions, strong organizational identification, guardianship of tradition, and resistant organizational culture.

Week 5: Networks

• Network breadth: The number of different groups/persons with whom one can connect.
• Network depth: The level and intensity of relationships with these groups/persons.
• Structural holes: Gaps in the network where a connecting person/broker/linkage bridges the gap between persons

Week 6: Motivation

• Motivation is the extent to which persistent effort is directed toward a goal (and is characterized by effort, persistence, and direction).
• Motivation arises from both external and internal sources (Intrinsic & Extrinsic), and this is significant to employee performance.

Need Theories of Motivation

• McClelland's Theory of Needs emphasizes achievement, power, and affiliation as diverse motivational drivers across individuals.
• Self-determination Theory suggests that competence, relatedness, and autonomy are fundamental needs in the workplace.

Process Theories of Motivation

• Understanding how to motivate people is about understanding what drives human behavior: equity theory, expectancy theory, and procedural justice.

Equity Theory: Belief that workers compare input/outcomes to those around them.

• People are motivated when their efforts and rewards align with those of their colleagues fairly—employees comparing their perceived inputs and outputs with others.
• Actions taken to re-establish equity can include perceptually distorting inputs or outputs, choosing different comparison entities, altering inputs or outputs, or departing the exchange relationship.

Expectancy Theory: The belief that outcomes will occur as a result of certain actions.

• In order to increase motivation levels, managers should focus on factors including the expected value of actions taken in the workplace, e.g.: the likelihood of promotions and satisfaction levels; if there is a high likelihood of high performance consequences, employees will put more effort in achieving their high performance goals.

Procedural Justice Theory: People are motivated when procedures are perceived as fair and unbiased.

Week 7: Project Management

• Project management involves organizing multiple tasks into a cohesive project that can achieve a specific set of goals.
• Managers may use several tactics to improve team motivation including delegation, considering stakeholders, and emphasizing organizational and interpersonal skills.

Project Management Tools: Project Plan, Gantt Chart, Fishbone Diagram

• Project Plans provide an overview for project implementation; Gantt Charts help visualize the schedule and timelines; Fishbone diagrams illustrate causes and/or problems

Week 9: Performance Management

• Performance Management defines the process through which managers ensure that employee activities and outputs contribute to organizational goals.

What is Performance Management (Continued)?

• Performance management focuses on aligning employee activities with organizational objectives.
• Effective performance management requires careful consideration of employee inputs/outputs, and requires strong, regular communication and alignment with expectations.

Week 10: Negotiation

• Negotiation is a decision-making process involving interdependent parties with differing preferences.

Negotiation Basics

• Distributive negotiation assumes a win-lose scenario where resources are fixed, and the goal is to maximize one's own share.
• Integrative negotiation involves collaborative problem-solving to expand resources and create win-win outcomes.

Week 11: Organizational Culture

• Culture is a set of shared assumptions and expectations influencing behavior.

What Is Organizational Culture (Continued)?

• Artifacts: observable behaviors and symbols of an organization's culture.
• Beliefs: organization's explicitly stated values and beliefs.
• Assumptions: unspoken, underlying values and beliefs shaping behaviors. Organizational culture is a concept that includes visible/unwritten aspects.

What a Strong Culture Might Look Like

• Organizations with strong cultures often emphasize principles, values, and clear expectations.

Why Do Organizations Care About Their Cultures?

• Strong cultures contribute to organization loyalty, enhance recruitment strategies, provide control mechanisms, incentivize desirable behaviors, and promote the cohesion of diverse teams.

How Does Culture Relate to Strategy?

• Culture, which is comprised of values and beliefs, has profound effects on organizational performance; intangible assets (employees' skills, organizational cultures) are difficult for competitors to imitate, therefore making them a powerful source of sustainable competitive advantage.

Week 12: Organizational Change

• Organizational change is a complex process driven by internal/external factors.

Organizational Change (Continued)

• Lewin's change model (Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze) is a useful tool, however change requires a sense of urgency, and necessitates careful communication/empowerment in order to facilitate the change.

Resistance to Organizational Change

• Resistance to organizational change is due to various factors including political elements, self-interest, job security, anxieties and insecurities around change, and issues concerning the appropriateness of the change procedure.

This quiz covers three main design lenses in organizational theory: the Design Lens, the Political Lens, and the Cultural Lens. It examines how organizations function as systems, power struggles among stakeholders, and the social meanings they offer to their members. Test your understanding of these concepts and their relevance in analyzing organizations.