Organization Theory and Design Lecture Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the core concepts of organizational theory, design, strategy, environment, culture, technology, and ecosystems based on the provided lecture notes.

Organization

A Social Entity that is Goal Directed, Deliberately Structured & Coordinated, and Linked to the Environment.

Open System

A system that must interact with and adapt to its environment to survive, involving a transformation process of inputs into outputs.

Mechanistic Design

An organizational design focused on efficiency, characterized by centralized structure, strict hierarchy of authority, vertical communication, specialized tasks, and many formal rules.

Organic Design

An organizational design focused on learning, characterized by decentralized structure, empowerment, horizontal communication, shared tasks, and few rules.

Technical Core

The subsystem of an organization that performs the basic work, including production of products and services.

Formalization

A structural dimension of organizational design referring to the amount of written documentation in the organization, such as procedures and job descriptions.

Hierarchy of Authority

A structural dimension describing who reports to whom and the span of control for each manager.

Environmental Uncertainty

A function of environmental complexity (number of factors) and stability (rate of change).

Task Environment

The “core” environment with direct impact on the organization, including industry, raw materials, human resources, market, and international sectors.

General Environment

Sectors that have an indirect impact on the organization, including government, sociocultural, technology, financial resources, and economic conditions.

Differentiation

The differences in cognitive orientations, goals, structure, and interpersonal orientation among managers in different departments.

Integration

The quality of collaboration achieved between departments, which is required to coordinate changes in various sub-environments.

Resource Dependence

A theory suggesting that organizations are vulnerable if others control their resources, leading them to acquire control or form linkages to minimize dependence.

Stakeholder Capitalism

A business model where the primary goal is to balance multiple stakeholder interests, including shareholders, employees, customers, communities, and the environment.

ESG Investing

Investing based on Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria; global ESG assets reached approximately $35$ trillion in $2020$ and are projected to reach $65$+ trillion by $2026$.

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

A sustainability framework that measures performance across three dimensions: People (social), Planet (environmental), and Profit (economic).

Official Goals

Goals formally stated in mission statements or annual reports that serve as a legitimacy function to signal values to stakeholders.

Operative Goals

Specific, measurable goals that reflect what an organization is actually pursuing day-to-day through resource allocation and behavior.

Cost Leadership Strategy

A Porter generic strategy centered on becoming the lowest-cost producer in the industry through efficiency, economies of scale, and tight cost controls.

Differentiation Strategy

A Porter generic strategy focused on creating products or services perceived as unique and valuable, allowing the organization to charge a price premium.

Prospector Strategy

A Miles and Snow strategy type where the organization continuously seeks new opportunities, values innovation, and has a decentralized, organic structure.

Defender Strategy

A Miles and Snow strategy type focused on efficiency and cost control within a narrow, stable product domain.

Blue Ocean Strategy

A strategy focused on creating uncontested market spaces by simultaneously increasing customer value and reducing costs through Value Innovation.

Competing-Values Framework (CVF)

An integrated model for assessing organizational effectiveness based on two key tensions: Flexibility vs. Control and Internal vs. External focus.

Functional Structure

A structure where departments are grouped by functional specialty (e.g., Marketing, Finance), reporting to a central executive; best for efficiency in stable environments.

Divisional Structure

A structure organized around products, markets, or geographies, where each unit has its own functional resources.

Matrix Structure

A dual-authority structure where employees report to both a functional manager and a product or project manager simultaneously.

Horizontal Structure

An organizational design organized around end-to-end core processes for customer value, utilized by self-managing, cross-functional teams.

Relational Coordination

Coordinating work through relationships characterized by shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect.

Schein's Model Level 1: Artifacts

The visible level of organizational culture, including physical layout, dress codes, rituals, symbols, and language.

Schein's Model Level 3: Basic Underlying Assumptions

The deepest level of culture consisting of unconscious, taken-for-granted beliefs that are highly stable and powerful.

Ethical Climate

The shared perceptions of what is ethically correct behavior and how ethical issues should be handled within an organization.

Small-batch Production

A manufacturing technology involving custom or small runs requiring craft skill and low standardization, fitting best with an organic structure.

Mass Production

A manufacturing technology characterized by high volume, standardized parts, and assembly lines, fitting best with a mechanistic structure.

Task Variety

A dimension of Charles Perrow's technology framework referring to the number of exceptions or unexpected events encountered in the work.

Digital Transformation

The integration of digital technology across all areas of an organization, requiring changes to structure, culture, and business models.

Platform Structure

A modern organizational form where a core organization provides infrastructure for an external ecosystem of participants to create value.

Pooled Interdependence

A Thompson's interdependence type where units work independently while sharing common resources; coordinated through standardization.

Reciprocal Interdependence

The highest level of Thompson's interdependence where units exchange outputs in a two-way flow, requiring mutual adjustment and teamwork.

Coopetition

A dynamic where organizations simultaneously cooperate to create value and compete to capture value.

Population Ecology

A perspective explaining how organizational forms emerge and persist through a cycle of variation, selection, and retention.

Coercive Isomorphism

The process by which powerful actors like governments or regulators force organizations to converge toward similar structures or behaviors.

Mimetic Isomorphism

The tendency of organizations to copy successful or prestigious peers when facing environmental uncertainty.