A Review of Hatch’s “Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives”

A Review of Hatch’s “Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives” Nic Weatherly

Why Study Organization Theory? • Managers must be able to comprehend, apply, and build upon a wide array of organizational decisions • Concerns: • Diversity • Pluralism

Why Study Organization Theory? • Understanding the theories of others and how they developed them will allow for functional applications • Focus on continuous improvement of theory and applications • Organization theory requires both the mastery of existing theories and personal development of the methods and skills of theorizing

Histories, Metaphors, and Perspectives in Organization Theory • Classical Period Perspective: • Machine metaphor • View of an Organization: • A machine designed and constructed by management to achieve predefined goals • View of Management: • Engineers who design, build, and operate the organizational machine

Histories, Metaphors, and Perspectives in Organization Theory • Modern Perspective: • Organism metaphor • View of an Organization: • A living system that performs the functions necessary to survival, including adaptation to a hostile world • View of Management: • An interdependent part of an adaptive system

Histories, Metaphors, and Perspectives in Organization Theory • Symbolic-interpretive Perspective: • Culture metaphor • View of an Organization: • A pattern of meanings created and maintained by human association through shared values, traditions, and customs • View of Management: • An artifact who would like to be a symbol of the organization

Histories, Metaphors, and Perspectives in Organization Theory • Postmodern Perspective: • Collage metaphor • View of an Organization: • An organization theory is a collage made from bits of knowledge and understanding brought together to form a new perspective that has reference to the past • View of Management: • A theorist as an artist

The Environment of Organization • First, define the organization or respective level of the organization you’re analyzing • Second, identify the links between the organization (or level) and other organizations (or levels) that can influence environmental relations

The Environment of Organization • Third, identify the variables responsible for changes resulting from these relations • Finally, identify the areas in need of improvement within this analysis.

The Environment of Organization • Relation to Behavior Systems Analysis (BSA): • Steps of BSA: • Analyze the natural contingencies responsible for the target behavior(s) • Specify the performance objectives • Design an intervention (based on the above analyses) • Implement the intervention • Evaluate the intervention • Recycle until performance objectives are reached

Strategy and Goals • Modernist views dominate the study of organizational strategy • Main view of strategy: • Strategic management provides a link between the organization and its environment through which information and influence pass • i.e. continuous analysis of variables and interlocking behavioral contingencies

Technology • An organization is directly dependent on the output of certain technologies • These outputs permit the organization to obtain further inputs • e.g. Revenue • Behavior analytical comparison: • Goal-directed systems design • Input-Process-Output model

Organizational Social Structure and Culture • Hierarchy of authority: • Defines formal reporting relationships • These only account for some of the interactions necessary to support an organization • Behavior analysis - Cultural change model: • In order to change the process and product variables at one level of an organization (e.g. the line workers) you must change the variables at all applicable levels (e.g. other departments, management)

The Physical Structure of Organizations • Designed with a geography and a layout of workspaces, equipment, and employees • Physical aspects have important implications for the behavior of the people involved in the organizational community • Structural symbolism: • Architecture designed to make a strong/intimidating visual statement • Symbols designed to show a visual depiction of the organizations identity (mission)

Organizational Decision Making, Power, and Politics • Power: • Flows into an organization from the environment by virtue of changing environmental demands and opportunities • Politics: • Can create conflict out of nearly any situation and will do so if the stakes are high enough

Conflict and Contradiction in Organizations • Opposition to cooperation: • “Negative manifestations” of conflict undermine cooperation • Destroys trust • Closing channels of communication • Behavior analytical perspective: • Conditional probability • Aversive control • Procedural/treatment integrity

Control and Ideology in Organizations • Contingency model of control: • Manage conflict so as to produce the benefits of optimal “stimulation of ideas” • Strengthen “intragroup cohesiveness” • Minimize negative effects of uncooperative behavior • Obviously very mentalistic • Main points: • Proper analysis and monitoring of individual contingencies • Cultural change • The Behavior-Based Safety approach

Control and Ideology in Organizations • Cybernetic model of control: • Application of systems theory • Outlines how control of organizational activities can be achieved through setting standards, monitoring activities/outcome, and providing feedback • Agency model of control: • Focuses on the tendency of agents to avoid responsibilities by subverting the control systems that make performance evaluation possible

Discussion • Understanding various perspectives of organizational theory may be beneficial to the understanding unique organizational cultures • However, Hatch’s analyses of various theoretical perspectives demonstrate the heavy mentalistic emphasis dominating mainstream organizational solutions • With this in mind, trying to collaborate with theorists from these perspectives may hinder the proper application of sound empirical organizational solutions

The End nicweatherly@hotmail.com

A Review of Hatch’s “Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives”