Organizational Sociology

Organizational sociology examines the relationships between formal and informal organizations and their social, cultural, political, and economic environments. Broadly, organizational sociologists analyze three distinct types of organizational relationships: how society affects organizations, how organizations affect other organizations, and how organizations affect society. In answering theoretical questions arising from these three orientations, organizational sociologists acknowledge that there are many different types of organizations, such as large corporations, charities, governmental associations, police departments, and many others. Indeed, organizations consist of the coordination of work between two or more individuals sharing a common goal; therefore, both street gangs and multinational corporations are organizations. In this light, organizational sociologists analyze abstract organizational features and processes and generalize their findings to other types of organizations.

Organizational sociology moves beyond the rational ...