TIMELY MANAGEMENT CHANGES AS AN ELEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY

This article uses the results of empirical research into the factors determining the differential success of firms in dealing with severe conditions at the industry level. A matched pairs comparison of successful and unsuccessful firms under these conditions reveals very different patterns of strategic measures taken. One of the significant differences is that the successful firms make changes in the management area very early, while the unsuccessful firms make them very late. the results are used for a theoretical reflection focusing on the following two questions: (1) Are organizations basically inert of adaptive? and (2) What is management's role in organizational change? the central theme of the discussion is that in the literature too little attention is paid to timely management changes as an element of organizational change strategies.     

PARTICIPATION AS A MEANS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL

Participation was considered as part of the structure of organization. For a sample of thirty-one organizations, representative participation was found to be related to the formalization whereas participation in the process of management (that is, participation which involves the individual directly) was found to be related directly to specialization and inversely to autonomy. These results are shown to be compatible with the view that participation represents an extension of organizational control over employees rather than the view that participation is a means of employee influence over upper level management. Organizational control is achieved through establishing a framework for participation which limits the issues that can be raised and the influence that can be exerted upwards.     

ORGANIZATIONAL DECISION-MAKING AS HIERARCHICAL LEVELS OF DRAMA*

In conducting a longitudinal examination of eight long-term complex decision processes in two Fortune 500 heavy manufacturing companies the authors developed a six-level framework of decision complexity. The levels range from: (1) instantaneous decision choices to (2) decision actions (3) decision events (4) mini-decision processes (5) decision processes and (6) decision theatres. They vary in time, numbers of participants, and in the integrative effort required to formulate and implement them. Thus, one problem with the word ‘decision’is that it is used to mean many different things in organizational settings. Each lower level of ‘decision’was found to combine with ‘decisions’of the same level and to be embedded within higher levels, resulting in a nested hierarchy of simultaneously occurring processes.     

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL: AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE*

Much of the literature on organizational control processes has traditionally been based on concepts of cybernetics, power, and authority. This article explores an alternative way of looking at the control phenomenon by introducing the idea of an evolutionary ‘controlling’ cycle. This idea is derived by modifying the basic organizing cycle (enactment, selection, retention) to a hierarchical form, with two distinct components. The model is then applied to understand the basic control modes informing markets, bureaucracies and clans. The article concludes with some comments on the likely future directions of the bureaucratic mode of organizational control.     

ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS AND ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

This article is primarily concerned with exploring the relationships between organizational climate and characteristics of organizational environments. Environmental characteristics include dependencies, competition and uncertainty. In addition, the relationship of climate and environments with dimensions of organizational structure and size are examined. Using data from 15 industrial organizations in Britain, the results have shown that different environmental characteristics have different associations with organizational climate. Also, the relationships between organizational environments and climate are not similar to those found between environments and structure. It is suggested that the creation of appropriate climates and structural design as responses to environmental pressures may be considered as complementary strategies in an attempt to maintain administrative control. The results, therefore, provide support for the suggestion that, in order to improve our understanding of the dynamics of organizational climate, characteristics of organizational environments should be incorporated into future research designs.     

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND WORK GROUP BEHAVIOUR: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

This paper reports on a research study about the organizational cultures of a number of textile manufacturing plants from both the public and the private sector in Ahmedabad, India. These plants were shown to vary along one aspect of their work-group behaviour, namely the rate of ‘loitering’ among loomshed workers. The concept of ‘culture’ is defined in terms of the shared beliefs, values, norms and traditions within the organizations. Methods of observation and informal open-ended interviews were used to identify elements and/or dimensions of organizational culture, which were subsequently measured through structured interviews with loomshed workers. The study shows a definite relationship between ‘culture’ and ‘loitering’; however, the critical elements of culture influencing loitering behaviour vary from public to private sector plants. The implications of the findings of the study for the plants under reference, for production organizations in general as well as for organization theory are discussed.     

RECRUITMENT MODE AS A FACTOR AFFECTING INFORMANT RESPONSE IN ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH*

Hear my words carefully. Some are spoken not by me, but by a man in my position. Norman MacCaig (1969)     

ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS: AN INTEGRATION OF THE MACRO AND MICRO APPROACHES

This article [1] suggests that the macro and micro approaches to organizational analysis represent different perspectives of the management of organizations. Differences and crossover points in the two approaches are discussed in terms of research focus, unit of analysis, and application. An integrative approach is presented in a framework which brings together key aspects of the macro and micro schools of thought. Data from a preliminary test are presented, and it is suggested that our understanding of organizations and their management may be enhanced when a holistic perspective is utilized.     

LEADER STYLE IN STRATEGY AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE: AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK*

By means of reviewing existing literature about the role of leaders in determining organizational strategy, an integrative analytical framework is developed. the framework considers the leader to be key to both the formulation and implementation of strategy. It further identifies factors that moderate the leader's impact on strategy. Hypotheses are presented along with implications for future research regarding the role and impact of leadership.     

COMPARATIVE ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH LEADING TO AN INTERVENTION STRATEGY [I]

Several literature reviews have concluded that there is little consistency among researchers and practitioners when referring to the concept, ‘organizational effectiveness’. In this study, multiple data gathered on several organizational constituencies for three models of organizational effectiveness are studied to examine empirically the comparability of those models. The relative effectiveness of each organization varied both between and within the theoretical models providing the bases of analysis. Little convergence exists among the models so that problem diagnosis intervention in the processes of small organizations may be more accurate when treating effectiveness as a multivariate concept examined via a given organization's constituencies over time.     

R & D SUBSYSTEM CLIMATE AS A FUNCTION OF PERSONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS

Professional-technical employee perceptions of the R and D subsystem climate were believed to be influenced by personal, joint personal-situational, and situational characteristics. One hundred and five professional-technical employees, above the technical level, from seven organizations cooperated in a study to ascertain the factors which contribute to the formation of subsystem climate perceptions. The findings failed to support the expected relationship between personal characteristics and subsystem climate, but did indicate that joint personal-situational factors accounted for significant amounts of variance in climate perceptions.     

THE INDUSTRIAL MARKET AS AN INTERFIRM ORGANIZATION

Recent theorizing in the marketing and organization theory literature attests to the notion that the market is a complex organizational form. We discuss the techno-economic and institutional forces that structure the industrial market as an interorganizational network. The manner in which these forces structure the market determines segmentation and integration and the changing nature of co-operation and competition in industrial markets.