Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems (5th Edition)

✍ Scribed by W. Richard Scott

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 446
• Edition: 5th
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This broad, balanced introduction to organizational studies enables the reader to compare and contrast different approaches to the study of organizations. This book is a valuable tool for the reader, as we are all intertwined with organizations in one form or another. Numerous other disciplines besides sociology are addressed in this book, including economics, political science, strategy and management theory. Topic areas discussed in this book are the importance of organizations; defining organizations; organizations as rational, natural, and open systems; environments, strategies, and structures of organizations; and organizations and society. For those employed in fields where knowledge of organizational theory is necessary, including sociology, anthropology, cognitive psychology, industrial engineering, managers in corporations and international business, and business strategists.

✦ Table of Contents

An Introduction to Organizations......Page 17
Contents......Page 5
Preface......Page 8
CHAPTER 1
The Subject Is Organizations......Page 19
CHAPTER 2 Organizations as Rational Systems......Page 49
CHAPTER 3 Organizations as Natural Systems......Page 72
CHAPTER 4 Organizations as Open Systems......Page 98
CHAPTER 5 Combining the Perspectives......Page 118
Scott's Layered Model......Page 124
CHAPTER 6 Conceptions of Environments......Page 141
CHAPTER 7 Creating Organizations......Page 166
CHAPTER 8 Boundary Setting and Boundary Spanning......Page 201
CHAPTER 9 Sources of Structural Complexity The Technical Core......Page 246
CHAPTER 10 Sources of Structural Complexity The Peripheral Components......Page 278
CHAPTER 11 Goals, Power, and Control......Page 307
CHAPTER 12 Organizational Pathologies......Page 342
CHAPTER 13 Organizational Effectiveness......Page 366
References......Page 389
Name Index......Page 433
Subject Index......Page 441