Principles of Management: Conclusion PDF

Principles of Management: Conclusion Anselm Schneider Classical organization theory (1) Weber: First sociological analyses of societal rationalization Legal authority as the most rational form of authority Bureaucracy as the organizational form that encapsulates the features of rational...

Principles of Management: Conclusion Anselm Schneider Classical organization theory (1) Weber: First sociological analyses of societal rationalization Legal authority as the most rational form of authority Bureaucracy as the organizational form that encapsulates the features of rationality on the level of organizations Classical organization theory (2) Taylor & Fayol as practical investigations Results converge very much with Weber´s findings Main insight: Hierarchy, bureaucracy and division of labour as appropriate means for maximizing organizational efficiency Theoretical basis for modernization and extended industrialization Downsides: Alienation, unsustainability Blind spots: Organizational environments, individuals, informal organization Classical organization theory (3): Outlook: Partial organizations In what areas can we apply organization theory? Partial organization as an attempt to extend the applicability of organization theory Constitutive features of organizations: - membership - hierarchy - rules - monitoring - sanctions Many organizations selectively make use of some of these features (e.g. clubs, trade associations, …) Organization and environment Increasing realization that organizations are not independent from their environments Relevant dimensions: Stability/turbulence; resources; institutional fields/society Main insight: Organizations need to conform with environmental demands (at least to a certain extent) Organization and environment: Outlook: Hybrid organizations The theory of institutional logics suggests that society is shaped through different (potentially competing) logics, e.g. state, family, religion, … Each organization is affected by several logics How can organizations conform with the (potentially conflicting) demands of different logics? E.g. social enterprises need to simultaneously meet social and commercial demands à Hybrid organizations that simultaneously meet multiple demands (Battilana & Dorado, 2010) Strategy Systematic processes necessary for increasing the likelihood of sustained competitive advantage Basis: Analysis of the organization (see also lecture 3) and of the environment (see also lecture 4) Subsequent steps:- strategic options - strategic choice - strategic programmes - strategic implementation Important additional process: Strategic control - premise control - implementation control - strategic surveillance Strategy: Outlook (1): Strategy as practice Traditional strategy research: Assumption of rational choice Alternative approach: Emergent strategies (Mintzberg & Waters, 1985) Current perspective: Strategy as practice - who creates strategies? - how do people create strategies? - what about emotions and motivations in strategy making? - how do these factors affect strategy making? (Jazarbkowski & Spee, 2009) Strategy: Outlook (2): Dynamic capabilities Which specific capabilities make organizations successful? Traditional focus: Core competencies Question: How can companies develop new core competencies? Dynamic capabilities as a explanation for the emergence of new (core) competencies “… the capacity to renew competences and to integrate and reconfigure internal and external organizational skills, resources, and functional competences to match the requirements of a changing environment” (Teece, Pisano & Shuen, 1997) Organization and individual Classical organization theories as well as theories on organizational environments tend to focus on structures and processes that exclude individuals as the main constituents of organizations à What (de-) motivates individuals in organizations? How to design organizations that simultaneously meet individual and organizational goals?  Organization and individual: Outlook Older theories on motivation assume a compatibility between employees’ motives and organizational goals (“Happy workers are good workers”) However: What if motivation results in negative dynamics and exploitation? E.g. Team-based self-management traditionally regarded as a means to increase job satisfaction However: studies show that teamwork can result in extremely tight rules and control on the team level (Barker, 1996) E.g.: self-management regarded as an increase in employee freedom. However: performance pressures can lead to increased self- control (Maravelias, 2003) Emergent processes Organizational processes oftentimes yield unintended outcomes and are not the result of rationally designed structures or individual action Emergent processes that unfold above and beyond individuals as a crucial complement to rational approaches to understanding organizations Central perspectives: - decisions - group dynamics - organizational culture Emergent processes: Outlook Organizations rely heavily on routines as repetitive structures of interaction Routines provide stability and predictability Routines as abasis of problem solving and innovation Increasing focus on actions as constitutive elements of routines (Feldman et al., 2021) Open questions: - (How) can routines be transferred? - (How) can routines be changed? Power Intra-organizational power is increasingly well understood What about societal power of organizations? - Lobbying - Political power of corporations (Nyberg, 2021) - Digital companies Critical perspectives on management Multiple lines of criticism vis-à-vis management and business: - Exploitation - Environmental destruction - Alienation - Corporate power -… Theories from lectures 2-8 as important foundations for explaining these problems Business ethics How to address (solve or ideally avoid) the problems in the context of management and business? Ethical theories as guidelines for managers Shortcomings of monological theories Discourse ethics as a potential solution Comprehensive implementation of discourses unrealistic Nevertheless: Gradual improvement of the discoursive quality of managerial decision processes is possible Critical perspectives and business ethics: Outlook Increasing realization that contemporary forms of production and management are problematic - environmental problems (climate change, biodiversity loss,...) - social problems (exploitation, inequality,...) Businesses increasingly address social and environmental problems and thus assume a political role (Scherer & Palazzo, 2011) What forms of organization are appropriate for politically active businesses? Democracy in corporations (Schneider & Scherer, 2015) as one potential solution  References Ahrne, G., & Brunsson, N. (2011). Organization outside organizations: The significance of partial organization. Organization, 18(1), 83-104. Barker, J.R. (1996). Tightening the iron iage: Concertive Ccontrol in self-managing teams, Administrative Science Quarterly, 38,3, 408–437. Battilana, J., & Dorado, S. (2010). Building sustainable hybrid organizations: The case of commercial microfinance organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 53(6), 1419-1440. Feldman et al. 2021. Cambridge Handbook of Routine dynamics. Cambridge: University Press. Jarzabkowski, P., & Spee, P. A. (2009). Strategy-as-practice: A review and future directions for the field. International Journal of Management Reviews, 11(1), 69-95. Maravelias, C. (2003). Post-bureaucracy–control through professional freedom. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 16(5), 547-566. Mintzberg, H., & Waters, J. A. (1985). Of strategies, deliberate and emergent. Strategic Management Journal, 6(3), 257-272. Nyberg, D. (2021). Corporations, politics, and democracy: Corporate political activities as political corruption. Organization Theory, 2(1) Scherer, A. G., & Palazzo, G. (2011). The new political role of business in a globalized world: A review of a new perspective on CSR and its implications for the firm, governance, and democracy. Journal of Management Studies, 48(4), 899-931. Schneider, A., & Scherer, A. G. (2015). Corporate governance in a risk society. Journal of Business Ethics, 126, 309-323. Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509-533. Break Exam (1) Dates: Final exam: 3.12., 8:00-10:00 Retake: 29.1.2025, 18:00-20:00 Information on location available online Retake exam will be completely different from the main exam, so there is no point to fail in the main exam on purpose in order to get information on the retake Exam (2): Relevant material Lecture slides: Lecture 2 (part 1) Lectures 3-9 in full No need to know author names and years of the readings (except Weber …) Readings as an important support for understanding some of the core theories covered in the lectures Only theories and concepts covered in the lectures are part of the exam! Exam (3): Question types & points Multiple response: - several options - choose the right options Drag & drop: à move the terms to the correct areas Matrix: X X X Points: - 1/2p or 1p per right option; -1/2p or -1p per wrong option - in some cases: 1/2p or 1p extra when all correct options are selected - no negative points for negative sum of options - at least 50 need to be reached to pass the course Q&A session #2 Monday Dec. 2, 10:00 Attendance is not compulsory; you are free to join if you have open questions regarding lecture 1-10. Please make sure to join at 10:00, we will then go through open questions stepwise. Zoom link published as an announcement on Athena Course evaluation Please complete the course evaluation to be sent out in some days – your views are very important for improving the course!