Organizations

An organization is a social structure created by individuals to support the collaborative pursuit of specified goals. Organizations can be found in a variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from very large, formal, bureaucratic forms in government to very small, informal, and decentralized collectives in cyberspace. Organizations serve as the building blocks of modern society and offer the possibility for individuals to accomplish things they could never accomplish in isolation. Whatever their shape or size, all organizations must address a number of common issues in order to work effectively. This entry discusses the issues that organizations and work groups experience in defining shared objectives, selecting and training members, developing systems for control and coordination, interacting with the environment, and providing leadership. It concludes with an ...