Terms from textbook

adaptability culture

a culture characterized by strategic focus on the external environment through flex- ibility and change to meet customer needs

administrative principles

a closed system’s management perspective that focuses on the total organization and grows from the insights of practitioners

ambidextrous approach

a characteristic of an organi- zation that can behave in both an organic and a mechanistic way

analyzability

a dimension of technology in which work activities can be reduced to mechanical steps and participants can follow an objective, computa- tional procedure to solve problems

analyzer

a business strategy that seeks to maintain a stable business while innovating on the periphery

authority

a force for achieving desired outcomes that is prescribed by the formal hierarchy and reporting relationships

boundary-spanning roles

activities that link and coordinate an organization with key elements in the external environment

bounded rationality perspective

how decisions are made when time is limited, a large number of internal and external factors affect a decision, and the problem is ill-defined

buffering roles

activities that absorb uncertainty from the environment

bureaucracy

an organizational framework marked by rules and procedures, specialization and division of labour, hierarchy of authority, technically qualified personnel, separation of position and person, and written communications and record

bureaucratic control

the use of rules, policies, hierarchy of authority, written documentation, standardiza- tion, and other bureaucratic mechanisms to standardize behaviour and assess performance

bureaucratic culture

a culture that has an internal focus and a consistency orientation for a stable environment

bureaucratic organization

an organization design that emphasizes management on an impersonal, rational basis through elements such as clearly defined authority and responsibility, formal record keeping, and uniform application of standard rules

Carnegie model

organizational decision making involving many managers and a final choice based on a coalition among those managers

centrality

a trait of a department whose role is in the primary activity of an organization

centralization

the level of hierarchy with authority to make decisions

chain of command

formal line of authority in a hierarchy

change process

the way in which planned changes occur in an organization

change strategy

a plan to guide an organizational change

chaos theory

a scientific theory that suggests that relationships in complex, adaptive systems are made up of numerous interconnections that create unintended effects and render the environment unpredictable

charismatic authority

based on devotion to the exemplary character or heroism of an individual and the order defined by him or her

chief ethics officer

high-level executive who oversees
all aspects of ethics, including establishing and broadly communicating ethical standards, setting up ethics training programs, supervising the inves- tigation of ethical problems, and advising man- agers in the ethical aspects of decisions

clan control

the use of social characteristics, such as culture, shared values, commitments, traditions, and beliefs, to control behaviour

clan culture

a culture that focuses primarily on the involvement and participation of the organization’s members and on rapidly changing expectations from the external environment

closed system

a system that is autonomous, enclosed, and not dependent on its environment

coalition

an alliance among several managers who agree through bargaining about organizational goals and problem priorities

code of ethics

a formal statement of the company’s values concerning ethics and social responsibility

coercive forces

external pressures such as legal requirements exerted on an organization to adopt structures, techniques, or behaviours similar to other organizations

collaborative network

an emerging perspective whereby organizations allow themselves to become depen- dent on other organizations to increase value and productivity for all

collective bargaining

the negotiation of an agreement between management and workers

collectivity stage

the life-cycle phase in which an organization has strong leadership and begins to develop clear goals and direction

competing-values model

a perspective on organizational effectiveness that combines diverse indicators of performance that represent competing manage- ment values

competition

rivalry between groups in the pursuit of a common prize

confrontation

a situation in which parties in conflict directly engage one another and try to work out their differences

consortia

groups of firms that venture into new products and technologies

contextual dimensions

traits that characterize the whole organization, including its size, technology, environment, and goals

contingency

a theory meaning one thing depends on other things; the organization’s situation dictates the correct management approach

contingency decision-making framework

a perspective that brings together the two organizational dimensions of problem consensus and technical knowledge about solution

continuous process production

a completely mechanized manufacturing process in which there is no starting or stopping

cooptation

when leaders from important sectors in the environment are made part of an organization

coping with uncertainty

a source of power for a depart- ment that reduces uncertainty for other depart- ments by obtaining prior information, prevention, and absorption

core technology

the work process that is directly related to the organization’s mission

craft technology

technology characterized by a fairly stable stream of activities but in which the conver- sion process is not analyzable or well-understood

creative departments

organizational departments that initiate change, such as research and development, engineering, design, and systems analysis

creativity

the generation of novel ideas that may meet perceived needs or respond to opportunities

culture

the set of values, guiding beliefs, understand- ings, and ways of thinking that are shared by members of an organization and are taught to new members as correct

culture changes

changes in the values, attitudes, expectations, beliefs, abilities, and behaviour of employees

decentralized

decision making and communication are spread out across the company

decision learning

a process of recognizing and admit- ting mistakes that allows managers and organiza- tions to acquire the experience and knowledge to perform more effectively in the future

decision premises

constraining frames of reference and guidelines placed by top managers on decisions made at lower levels

defender

a business strategy that seeks stability or even retrenchment rather than innovation or growth

departmental grouping

a structure in which employees share a common supervisor and resources, are jointly responsible for performance, and tend to identify and collaborate with each other

dependency

one aspect of horizontal power: when one department is dependent on another, the latter is in a position of greater power

differentiation

the cognitive and emotional differ- ences among managers in various functional departments of an organization and formal structure differences among these departments

differentiation strategy

strategy organizations use to distinguish their products or services from others in the industry/sector

direct interlock

a situation that occurs when a member of the board of directors of one company sits on the board of another

divisional grouping

a grouping in which people are organized according to what the organization produces

divisional structure

the structuring of the organization according to individual products, services, product groups, major projects, or profit centres; also called product structure or strategic business units

domain

an organization’s chosen environmental field of activity

domains of political activity

areas in which politics plays a role. Three domains in organizations are structural change, management succession, and resource allocation

domestic stage

the first stage of international develop- ment in which a company is domestically oriented while managers are aware of the global environment

downsizing

intentionally reducing the size of a compa- ny’s workforce by laying off employees

dual-core approach

an organizational change perspective that identifies the unique processes associated with administrative change compared to those associated with technical change

economies of scale

achieving lower costs through large volume production; often made possible by global expansion

economies of scope

achieving economies by having a presence in many product lines, technologies, or geographic areas

effectiveness

the degree to which an organization achieves its goals

efficiency

the amount of resources used to produce a unit of output

elaboration stage

the organizational life-cycle phase in which the red-tape crisis is resolved through the development of a new sense of teamwork and collaboration

engineering technology

technology in which there is substantial variety in the tasks performed, but activities are usually handled on the basis of established formulas, procedures, and techniques

entrepreneurial stage

the life-cycle phase in which an organization is born and its emphasis is on creating a product and surviving in the marketplace

escalating commitment

persisting in a course of action when it is failing; occurs because managers block or distort negative information and because consistency and persistence are valued in contemporary society

ethical dilemma

when each alternative choice or behaviour seems undesirable because of a potentially negative ethical consequence

ethics

the code of moral principles and values that governs the behaviour of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong

ethics committee

a group of executives appointed to oversee company ethics

ethics hotline

a telephone number that employees can call to seek guidance and to report questionable behaviour

external adaptation

the manner in which an organization meets goals and deals with outsiders

factors of production

supplies necessary for production, such as land, raw materials, and labour

financial resources

control over money is an important source of power within an organization

flexible manufacturing systems (FMS

using computers to link manufacturing components such as robots, machines, product design, and engineering analysis to enable fast switching from one product to another

focus strategy

a strategy in which an organization con- centrates on a specific regional market or buyer group

formalization

the degree to which an organization has rules, procedures, and written documentation

formalization stage

the phase in an organization’s life cycle involving the installation and use of rules, procedures, and control systems

functional grouping

the placing together of employees who perform similar functions or work processes or who bring similar knowledge and skills to bear on a task

functional matrix

a structure in which functional bosses have primary authority, and product or project managers simply coordinate product activities

functional structure

the grouping of activities by common function

garbage can model

model that describes the pattern or flow of multiple decisions within an organization

general environment

includes those sectors that may not directly affect the daily operations of a firm but will indirectly influence it

generalist

an organization that offers a broad range of products or services and serves a broad market

global company

a company that no longer thinks of itself as having a home country

global geographical structure

a form in which an organization divides its operations into world regions, each of which reports to the CEO

global matrix structure

a form of horizontal linkage in an international organization in which both product and geographical structures are implemented simultaneously to achieve a balance between standardization and globalization

global product structure

a form in which product divisions take responsibility for global operations in their specific product areas

global stage

the stage of international development in which the company transcends any one country

global teams

work groups comprising multinational members whose activities span multiple countries; also called transnational teams

globalization strategy

the standardization of product design and advertising strategy throughout the world

goal approach

an approach to organizational effectiveness that is concerned with output and whether the organization achieves its output goals

green environment

our natural environment

Hawthorne Studies

a series of experiments on worker productivity begun in 1924 at the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company in Illinois; attributed employees’ increased output to managers’ better treatment of them during the study

heroes

organizational members who serve as models or ideals for serving cultural norms and values

high-velocity environments

industries in which competitive and technological change is so extreme that market data are either unavailable or obsolete, strategic windows open and shut quickly, and the cost of a decision error is company failure