Summary
Contents
Subject index
Awards:
RUSA Notable Business Sources 2014
From agency theory to power and politics, this indispensable guide to the key concepts of organization theory is your compass as you navigate through the often complex and abstract theories about the design and functioning of organizations. Designed to complement and elucidate your textbook or reading list, as well as introduce you to concepts that some courses neglect, this historical and interdisciplinary A-Z account of the field: Helps you understand the basics of organization theory; Allows you to check your understanding of specific concepts; Fills in any gaps left by your course reading, and; Is a powerful revision tool
Each entry is consistently structured, providing a definition of the concept and why it's important to theory and practice, followed by a summary of current debates and a list of further reading. This companion will provide you with the nuts and bolts of an understanding that will serve you not just in your organization studies course, but throughout your degree and beyond.
Key concepts include: agency theory; business strategy; corporate governance; decision making; environmental uncertainty; globalization; industrial democracy; organizational change; stakeholder theory; storytelling and narrative research; technology and organization structure.
Structuration Theory
Structuration Theory
Structuration theory:links the actions of individual members of society (what sociologists call agents) with the broader social structures of society (that is a society's history, culture, norms, rules, and institutions).
Origins
Through most of the 20th century, most sociologists would take one of two positions: that individuals are free to be who they are and to take actions of their own free choice, without the influence of society; or that individuals are a product of social structures and their being and choices are not truly freely made. These positions are based on whether one sees agency (human action and intention) or structure as being more influential. To move beyond this argument, Anthony Giddens (1979, 1984, 1993) proposed a middle way: that agents produce and ...
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