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.
Authority
Authority
Authority:the right to give orders and to require others to comply.
Origins
We will say that B [the boss] exercises authority over W [the worker] if W permits B to select x [a behavior]. That is, W accepts authority when his behavior is determined by B's decision. In general, W will accept authority only if x, the x chosen by B, is restricted to some given subset (W's area of acceptance) of all the possible values. This is the definition of authority that is most generally employed in modern administrative theory. (Simon, 1951: 294)
A discussion of the concept of authority can only begin in one place – with the writings of Max Weber, a late 19th and early 20th century German sociologist and historian. Weber asked ...
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