Course Syllabus for Organizational Theory
A. Name of university/ Instructor’s name (department/ position)
Voronezh State University department of economics /
Vladislav Kuznetsov lecturer
B. Title of course/ Semester
Organizational Theory / 2-nd semester
C. Instructor’s office location and address/ office phone
Office 209, 40a Holzunova Street / 473-2210668 (etx. 209)
D. Instructor’s e-mail address
vlad.kuznetsow@gmail.com
E. Course description
This course is designed to help students obtain in-depth understandings of
organizations through good comprehension of central theoretical perspectives and
paradigms. The course will focus on determinants of an organization's success,
focusing particularly on structure and design issues, as well as external environmental
factors that impact organizational structure and functioning. A systems theory approach
will be taken, making links to the strategic management, power and control literatures,
as well as different forms of organizing ("rational" to "natural" organizing). Finally, the
effect of macro-level factors on individual decisions and behaviors, and thus
organizational effectiveness, will be examined from a multiple levels-of-analysis
perspective.
The primary purpose of this course is to introduce the basic concepts, contributions, and
limits of the main paradigms of Organizational Theories and help students to develop
the capability of reflection and of understanding, designing, and managing
organizations. The course emphasizes both the macro characteristics of organizations
such as their structures, technology and environment, and internal processes such as
organizational culture, managerial decision making, political games and conflicts. By
means of lecture, readings, class discussion, case studies and research projects, this
course will help students obtain a broad and in-depth understanding of the dynamics of
organizations.
F. Course Objectives
The main objective of the course is to equip students with an understanding of
organizational concepts and the ability to apply their managerial knowledge
appropriately and effectively in specific organizational contexts in today's challenging
business environments.
After completing the course students will:
1. develop a critical appreciation of the central theoretical questions, themes, and
debates in the literature;
2. develop theorizing skills of abstraction, analysis and reasoning;
3. analyze organizational situations which are often complex and complicated,
and acquire profound expertise to deal with them.
G. Methods of Instruction
The course is designed as a graduate seminar. The course will address one or two
central perspectives in organizations theory each week. Weekly readings are illustrative
of the conceptual, empirical, or applied aspects of these perspectives. Students will be
asked, on a rotating basis, to lead parts of each class session, and to present key
themes of the assigned reading. Seminar participants are responsible for all required
readings, and I will randomly call any student to participate in the discussion and
contribute their opinions. Class sessions will center around discussion of various
readings and whenever possible, practical cases will be used to illustrate the application
of theoretical ideas to the reality.
For each theoretical perspective, we will address the following general questions:
1. What are the phenomena or managerial problems the theory seeks to address
and explain?
2. What is the intellectual foundation of the theory in question? What are its
assumptions and philosophy of science?
3. What are the key concepts and theoretical propositions (if relevant) in the
theory?
4. What does the theory propose as the task of the manager? What are the
managerial implications of the theory?
5. What are the main problems or challenges with the theory?
There will be two types of activities:
Session Article Preparation, Presentation, and Discussion
Please note that session article preparation/presentation/discussion play a critical
role in obtaining knowledge and understanding of organizations in this course. It is
therefore compulsory for everyone to read the "basic reading" articles for each
session, and prepare one article in depth for presenting its essential ideas to the
classmates. We will assign the article presentations in the first session of the course.
For the articles that are not assigned to you for presentation, you are still expected
to read them and participate actively in the discussion.
Each article presentation should be about 15 minutes long. You should present the
key messages of the article to the class in a clear and concise way. Try to answer
the following questions when you prepare the presentation.
1. What are the central issues raised by the article? What are the questions the
article tried to answer?
2. What are the main arguments or findings of the article?
3. What are the organizational situations that the theory in question can be best
applied to?
Organizational Analysis Team Project
You will be form groups of 4-5 persons, and will conduct a team project to analyze a
specific organization with the concepts and tools discussed in the course. There are
two ways to conduct your Team Project. The first one is to choose a real
organization of at least 15 employees, and enter into the organization to meet
people, collect first-hand organizational information through interviews, observations,
organizational documents, etc. You may identify some specific organization issues
that are pertinent for this organization, and apply the concepts developed in the
class to make diagnosis, analyses, and give suggestions.
Secondly, if you cannot gain access to any organization, you can also choose
organizations that you can get information from public data sources as your target of
analysis. In this way, you may collect data from newspapers and magazines, and
any other public sources. Any sources used must be explicitly referred, and a
comprehensive reference list is required.
Each team disposes of 20 minutes to present their project, followed by 5-10 minutes
of questions and discussion.Please submit the report in both paper version and
electronic version.
The Team Project report will be evaluated by the following criteria:
1. Clarity of writing and articulation of arguments;
2. Depth and completeness of observation and analysis;
3. Integrated understanding of key concepts and evidence of ability to use them
to analyze concrete organizational phenomena;
4. Organizational insights provided to deal with the organizational situation.
H. Course Requirements and Grading
Graded work will receive a numeric score reflecting the quality of performance.
Relative weights assigned to graded work are as follows:
Session Articles Preparation, Presentation, and Discussion
Organizational Analysis Team Project
Final Examination
30%
30%
40%
Your overall course grade will be determined according to the following scale:
85-100% A
70-84% B
55-69% C
0-54% F
I. Final Exam
There will be an oral interview short question/answer examination, testing your
ability to understand and synthesize course material. Students who do the readings,
attend class meetings, make presentation, and participate in discussion of the
material should do quite well in this exam.
J. Required texts
The required readings for each topic are listed below. We will cover the topics
according to the tentative session schedule.
Topic 1: Introduction to Organization Theory
Basic Readings
Astley, G & Van deVen, A. (1983).Central perspectives and debates in organization
theory.Administrative Science Quarterly, 28:245-273.
Topic 2: Classical Organization Theory
Basic Readings
Smith, A. (1776). On the Division of Labor. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S.
(Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Weber, M. (1946 trans.), Bureaucracy. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds).
Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Topic 3: Neoclassical Theory
Basic Readings
Barnard, C.I. (1938). The Economy of Incentives. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang,
Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Merton, R.K. (1957). Bureaucratic Structure and Personality. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S.,
& Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Simon, H.A. (1947). The Proverbs of Administration. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang,
Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Selznick, P. (1948). Foundations of the Theory of Organization.American Sociological
Review 13: 25-35. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of
Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Further Readings
Maslow, A.H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation, In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang,
Y.S. (Eds).Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
McGregor, D.M. (1957). The Human Side of Enterprise, In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., &
Jang, Y.S. (Eds).Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Topic 4: Systems, Organic Theories & Contingency theory
Basic Readings
Burns, T. & Stalker, G.M. (1961). Mechanistic and Organic Systems. In Shafritz, J.M.,
Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London:
Thomson.
Blau, P.M. & Scott, W.R. (1962). The Concept of Formal Organization. In Shafritz, J.M.,
Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London:
Thomson.
Mintzberg, H. (1979). The Five Basic Parts of the Organization. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott,
J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Thompson, J.D. (1967). Organizations in Action, In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S.
(Eds).Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Further Readings
Child, J. (1972). Organization Structure, Environment and Performance: The Role of
Strategic Choice. Sociology, 6:1-22
Galbraith, J.R. (1974). Organization Design: An Information Processing View.
Interfaces, 4, 28-36.
Egelhoff, W.G. (1991). Information-Processing Theory and the Multinational Enterprise.
Journal of International Business Studies, 22:3, 341-368.
Topic 5: Economic Organization Theories
Basic Readings
Williamson, O.E. (1975). Markets and Hierarchies: Understanding the Employment
Relation.In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory,
6th Ed.,London: Thomson.
Williamson, O.E. (1981). The Economics of Organization: The Transaction Cost
Approach.Costs and Ownership Structure. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S.
(Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Further Readings
Alchian, A.A., &Demsetz, H. (1972). Production, Information Costs, and Economic
Organization.American Economic Review 62, 777-795.
Ouchi, W.G. (1980). Markets, Bureaucracies, and Clans, Administrative Science
Quarterly, 25, 129-141.
Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of
embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91:3, 481-510.
Topic 6: Power and Politics in Organizations
Basic Readings
Jeffrey P. (1981). Understanding the Role of Power in Decision Making. In Shafritz,
J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London:
Thomson.
Mintzberg, H. (1983). The Power Game and the Players. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., &
Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
March, J.G. (1966).The Power of Power. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds).
Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Further Readings
Pettigrew, A.M. (1977). Strategy Formulation as Political Process.International Studies
of Management and Organizations, 1: 2, 78-87.
Clegg, S. (1989) Radical Revision: Power, Discipline and Organizations. Organization
Studies, 10: 1, 97-115.
Salancik, G.R., &Pfeffer, J. (1974). The Bases and Use of Power in Organizational
Decision Making: The Case of a University. Administrative Science Quarterly, 19, 453473.
Topic 7: Organizational Culture
Basic Readings
Schein, E.H. (1993). Defining Organizational Culture. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang,
Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Martin, J.. (2002). Organizational Culture: Piece of the Puzzle. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott,
J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Trice, H.M. & Beyer, J.M. (1993). Changing Organizational Cultures. In Shafritz, J.M.,
Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London:
Thomson.
Ouchi, W.G. (1991). The Z Organization. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds).
Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Further Readings
Smircich, L. (1983). Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis.Administrative
Science Quarterly, 28, 339-359.
Pettigrew, A.M. (1979). On Studying Organizational Cultures.Administrative Science
Quarterly, 24,: 570-581.
Ray, C.A. (1986). Corporate Culture: The Last Frontier of Control? Journal of
Management Studies, 23: 3, 287-297
Topic 8: Institutional Theory
Basic Readings
Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as
Myth and Ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83:2, 340-363.
DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional
isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological
Review, 48, 147-160.
Tolbert, P. S., &Zucker, L. G. (1996). The Institutionalization of Institutional Theory. In S.
R. Clegg, C. Hardy, & W. R. Nord (Eds.), The Handbook of Organization Studies.
London: Sage.
Further Readings
Leblebici, H., Salancik, G. R., Copay, A., & King, T. (1991). Institutional Change and the
Transformation of Interorganizational Fields: An Organizational History of the U.S.
Radio Broadcasting Industry. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36: 333-363.
Greenwood, R., Suddaby, R., &Hinings, C. R. (2002). Theorizing change: The role of
professional associations in the transformation of institutionalized fields. Academy of
Management Journal, 45: 58-80.
Topic 9: Resource Dependency, Population Ecology, & Network
Basic Readings
Pfeffer, J. &Salancik, G.R. (1978). External Control of Organizations: A Resource
Dependence Perspective. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of
Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Hannan, M.T., & Freeman, J. (1977). The Population Ecology of
Organizations.American Journal of Sociology, 82: 929-964.
Further Readings
Hannan, M.T., Carroll, G.R., Dundon,E.A., & Torres, J.C. (1995). Organizational
Evolution in a Multinational Context: Entries of Automobile Manufacturers in Belgium,
Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. American Sociological Review 60: 509-528.
Abrahamson, E., &Fombrun, C.J. (1994). Macrocultures: Determinants and
consequences. Academy of Management Review, 19: 4, 728-755.
Jones, C., Hesterly, W., &Borgatti, S.P. (1997).A general theory of network
governance.Academy of Management Review, 22, 911-945.
Topic 10: Dark Side of Organizations, Postmodern Perspective, & Conclusion
Basic Readings
Vaughan, D. (1999). The Dark Side of Organizations: Mistake, Misconduct and
Disaster. Annual Review of Sociology.25: 271-305.
Morgan, G. (1986). The Ugly Face: Organizations as Instruments of Domination. In
Images of Organization. Pp. 273-319. London: Sage.
Further Readings
Alvesson, M., &Deetz, S. (1996).Critical theory and postmodernism approaches to
organizational studies. In S. Clegg, C. Hardy, and W. Nord (Eds.), Handbook of
Organizational Studies. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 191-217.
K. Tentative schedule
Week
Week 1
Class1
Class 2
Topic
Introduction to
Organizational
Theory
Assigned readings and due assignments
Astley, G & Van deVen, A. (1983). Central
perspectives and debates in organization theory.
Administrative Science Quarterly, 28:245-273.
Week 2
Class 3
Class 4
Classical
Organizational
Theory
Smith, A. (1776). On the Division of Labor. In
Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds).
Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London:
Thomson.
Weber, M. (1946 trans.), Bureaucracy. In Shafritz,
J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of
Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Week 3
Class 5
Class 6
Neoclassical
Theory (I)
Barnard, C.I. (1938). The Economy of Incentives.
In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds).
Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London:
Thomson.
Merton, R.K. (1957). Bureaucratic Structure and
Personality. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang,
Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th
Ed., London: Thomson.
Week 4
Class 7
Class 8
Neoclassical
Theory (II)
Simon, H.A. (1947). The Proverbs of
Administration. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang,
Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th
Ed., London: Thomson.
Selznick, P. (1948). Foundations of the Theory of
Organization. American Sociological Review 13:
25-35. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S.
(Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed.,
London: Thomson.
Week 5
Class 9
Systems/Orga-nic Burns, T. & Stalker, G.M. (1961). Mechanistic and
Theories
Organic Systems. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S.,
Class 10
&Contingency
Theory (I)
&Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization
Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Blau, P.M. & Scott, W.R. (1962). The Concept of
Formal Organization. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., &
Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory,
6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Week 6
Class 11
Class 12
Systems/Organic
Theories &
Contingency
Theory (II)
Mintzberg, H. (1979). The Five Basic Parts of the
Organization. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang,
Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th
Ed., London: Thomson.
Thompson, J.D. (1967). Organizations in Action, In
Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds).
Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London:
Thomson.
Week 7
Class 13
Class 14
Economic
Organization
Theories
Williamson, O.E. (1975). Markets and Hierarchies:
Understanding the Employment Relation. In
Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds).
Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London:
Thomson.
Williamson, O.E. (1981). The Economics of
Organization: The Transaction Cost
Approach.Costs and Ownership Structure. In
Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds).
Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed., London:
Thomson.
Week 8
Class 15
Class 16
Power and
Politics in
Organization
Jeffrey P. (1981). Understanding the Role of
Power in Decision Making. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott,
J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization
Theory, 6th Ed., London: Thomson.
Mintzberg, H. (1983). The Power Game and the
Players. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S.
(Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed.,
London: Thomson.
Week 9
Class 17
Class 18
Organizational
Culture
Schein, E.H. (1993). Defining Organizational
Culture. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S.
(Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed.,
London: Thomson.
Martin, J.. (2002). Organizational Culture: Piece of
the Puzzle. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S.
(Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th Ed.,
London: Thomson.
Week 10
Class 19
Class 20
Institutional
Theory
Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized
Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and
Ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83:2,
340-363.
DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron
cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and
collective rationality in organizational fields.
American Sociological Review, 48, 147-160.
Week 11
Class 21
Class 22
Resource
Dependency,
Population
Ecology, Network
Pfeffer, J. &Salancik, G.R. (1978). External Control
of Organizations: A Resource Dependence
Perspective. In Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang,
Y.S. (Eds). Classics of Organization Theory, 6th
Ed., London: Thomson.
Week 12
Class 23
Class 24
Dark Side of
Organization
Vaughan, D. (1999). The Dark Side of
Organizations: Mistake, Misconduct and Disaster.
Annual Review of Sociology. 25: 271-305.
Morgan, G. (1986). The Ugly Face: Organizations
as Instruments of Domination. In Images of
Organization. Pp. 273-319. London: Sage.
Week 13
Class 25
Class 26
Practical
Organization
Analysis
Presentation
Team Project presentation