Spring 2004 PhD Seminar on Organization Theory, Monday 2:30-5:20
Deborah Dougherty, doughert@rbsmail.rutgers.edu
Office hours: Mondays 1-2:15, Thursdays 4:30-5:30, ro by appt
Home phone (days only): 732-263-1336
The PhD Seminar on Organization Theory will be based on the following three books:
1.
D.S. Pugh, D. J. Hickson, and C. R. Hinings (1996 – fifth edition, first printed in 1964):
Writers on Organizations , Sage Publications, ISBN (5 th
ed) 07619-0476X. –available as a print as needed basis, 44 bucks
My version (4 th
ed) is a 220 page summary and description of 40 or so organization theorists up to the 1980s, with mini-summaries of their ideas; 6 basic chapters – structure of orgs, functioning of orgs, decision-making in orgs, mgt of orgs, people in orgs, org in society. For the most part, the bureaucracy is taken for granted in these writings, as the basic model, but the variety of views and ideas covers basics.
2.
Perrow, C. (1986 – 3 rd
edition – get this one or later one, not earlier ones): Complex
Organizations: A Critical Essay, 3rd edition, NY: Random House 0-394-34497-9. I have not checked availability yet, assume it can be purchased still; 275 pages
Synthesizes the various ideas (plus adds a few guys, Like Perrow himself!) into schools of thought, and dissects them, their limits, and their possibilities. Chapters (schools of thought) are: why bureaucracy; managerial ideologies and human relations; human relations model; neoweberian model; institutional school; environment; economic theories of org; power.
3.
Baum, Joel editor (2002) The Blackwell Companion to Organizations , Blackwell
Publishers isbn: 0-631-21694-4; about 100 bucks
Almost 1000 pages, 38 chapters (we will concentrate on the first 30), divided into three levels; intra-organizational, organizational, and inter-organizational; and 10 topics at each level
(institutions, networks, ecology, evolution, cognition and interpretation, power and dependence, technology, learning, and economics). The 30 chapters are short summaries of the current thinking of organization theorists in each of the topics (at least according to the authors), by level.
We will read through the first two books in the first 4-5 weeks or so, getting the basics and past issues in our heads. We will then wade through the big fat Baum book to understand current ideas, and compare them with the snippets and ideas of the past.
Students will be asked to develop their own theory paper that delves into either a topic in organization theory that they think is central to their own research (for org theory majors or minors) or that they think captures organizational issues that will affect their own research (for strategy, IB majors).
For Monday, Jan 26, please read pp 1- 101 (chapter 1 and 2, based on the 1985 edition) of the first book listed above. Be prepared to articulate core themes from these old views of organizing, what surprised you, what you already knew, what seems new?
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Assignments and Grading:
1.
25 %: Weekly attendance and preparation for the seminar; handing in a one page outline of 2 or 3 key themes you found in the readings for that week; no descriptions!!
You must analyze to think of 2-3 themes that you argue capture the gist of the readings.
One page! Get right to the point, state your theme and briefly justify it. We will discuss these in class. ON TIME is required; late people will not be allowed to join in (ie., they will miss the class). Missed classes are unacceptable as a rule; but contact me if you have an emergency. In any case, a missed class must be made up with a 6 page essay on the readings, which will be graded. I generally do not give course grades to people who miss classes.
2.
10%: Each person to be assigned to present your themes , 25 minutes max, and hand in a 4-5 page paper on that week’s work
3.
45%: three (3!!) papers that synthesize the ideas read, see details below, due by:
Feb 16: your integration of ideas from first book, up to 8 pages, plus charts etc.
March 22: Your integration of ideas from second book with ideas from the first (see assignment for mar 8), with a 2 page analysis attached (after you write second page) re: assignment for mar 22.
Apr 19 : Preliminary synthesis of third book
4.
20% Grand synthesis of ideas connecting all three previous papers.
1.
Jan 26: Organization structure, in its environment: 20 th century
Pugh et al: chap 1 and 2
Assignment: let’s develop our own model of organization structure from first chapter: what is structure? What are its core elements? How are these conceived? How has this conceptualization transformed, if at all? Same for environment.
2.
Feb 2: Management and Decision-making
Read Chap 3-4 Pugh et al
Assignment: same as above: develop a model or framework for what constitutes better management and better decision-making (first, decide if they can be combined and if so how, if not why not): its core thrusts and themes, try to think of properties for each theme, and dimensions for each property).
3.
Feb 9: People and Change
Read: chaps 5-6 Pugh et al.
Assignment: again, same as above, this time for people and change, including first if the two topics go together
4.
Feb 16: the grand integration
5.
Feb 23: Tearing it all apart:
Read: Perrow chaps 1-3, pp. 1-119
Just read, and think about what is new, what is old or reconfirming,
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6.
Mar 1:
Read: Perrow 4-6; questions same as above – what is new from perspective of schools of thought and their interconnections
7.
Mar 8:
Read: Perrow 7-8
New integration of ideas, either as add-ons to your model from Feb 16 th , the class’s discussion of an overview, or a reformulation of organization theory that fits your scholarly needs or plans
8.
Mar 22: Now again;
Read Baum intro, pp. 1-34, and chaps 1, 11, 21
Assignment: new overview, so what is new here? Any conflicts with our first two syntheses? Any old hat stuff being presented as new, and why?
9.
Mar 29 Networks, Complexity
Baum chaps 2, 12, 22; 9, 19, 29
10.
Apr 5: Ecology, Evolution
Baum chaps 3, 13, 23; 4, 14, 24
11.
Apr 12: Cognition, interpretation, learning:
Baum chaps 5, 15, 25; 8, 18, 28
12.
Apr 19: Synthesis
Details to be added
13.
Apr 26: synthesis and economics
Baum chaps 7, 17, 27
Baum chaps 10, 20, 30
14.
May 3 final grand synthesis (due date, specs to be negotiated)
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