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Comprehending Organizational Functioning from a Systems Approach

Received: 27 August 2013     Published: 30 September 2013
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Abstract

Specialists in many fields need to describe how organizations under investigation operate and function. These specialists often try to categorize organizations by structural features that are important for understanding how the organizations function. This paper reports the results of a workshop that asked subject matter experts to generate a framework for describing the critical features underlying organizational functioning. The experts generated a set of 13 systems that reflected the key aspects of organizational functioning for the broad range of organizations. The experts and members of the client organization all agreed that the 13 systems provided an extremely valuable representation of organizational structure and functioning. The systems generated are useful for different types of specialists who examine organizations. Importantly, this analysis indicates that the systems are similar to those of the open-systems theory of organizations.

Published in International Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (Volume 1, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijebo.20130105.12
Page(s) 50-55
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Organizational Structure, Organization Functioning, Open Systems Theory of Organizations, Organization Systems, Organizational Characteristics

References
[1] J.B. Miner, Organizational behavior 2: Essential theories of process and structure. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2006.
[2] B. Usdiken and H. Leblibici, "Organization theory," in Handbook of Industrial, Work, and Organizational Psychology, vol. II, N. Anderson, D. S. Ones, H. K. Sinangil, and C. Viswesvaran, Eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002, pp. 377-397.
[3] M. Weber, Economy and society. New York: Bedminster Press, 1968.
[4] K. Marx, Das Kapital: A critique of political economy. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway, 1996.
[5] F.W. Taylor, The principles of scientific management. New York: Harper Bros., 1911.
[6] F.J. Roethlisberger and W.J. Dickson, Management and the worker. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1939.
[7] D. MacGregor, The human side of enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960.
[8] F.E. Emery and E.L Trist, Towards a social ecology. New York: Plenum Press, 1973.
[9] W.G. Ouchi, Theory Z: How American business can meet the Japanese challenge. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1981.
[10] J. Woodward, Industrial organization: Theory and practice. London: Oxford University Press, 1965.
[11] J.D. Thompson, Organizations in action. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.
[12] W.A. Pasmore, Designing effective organizations: The sociotechnical systems perspective. New York: Wiley, 1988.
[13] P. Lawrence and J.W. Lorsch, Organization and environment. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Division of Research, 1967.
[14] J.R. Galbraith, "Organizational design: An information processing view." Interfaces, vol. 4, pp. 28-36, 1974.
[15] D. Katz and R.L. Kahn, The social psychology of organizations, 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1978.
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  • APA Style

    Verlin B. Hinsz, Janet L. Sutton. (2013). Comprehending Organizational Functioning from a Systems Approach. International Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 1(5), 50-55. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijebo.20130105.12

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    ACS Style

    Verlin B. Hinsz; Janet L. Sutton. Comprehending Organizational Functioning from a Systems Approach. Int. J. Econ. Behav. Organ. 2013, 1(5), 50-55. doi: 10.11648/j.ijebo.20130105.12

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    AMA Style

    Verlin B. Hinsz, Janet L. Sutton. Comprehending Organizational Functioning from a Systems Approach. Int J Econ Behav Organ. 2013;1(5):50-55. doi: 10.11648/j.ijebo.20130105.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijebo.20130105.12,
      author = {Verlin B. Hinsz and Janet L. Sutton},
      title = {Comprehending Organizational Functioning from a Systems Approach},
      journal = {International Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization},
      volume = {1},
      number = {5},
      pages = {50-55},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijebo.20130105.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijebo.20130105.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijebo.20130105.12},
      abstract = {Specialists in many fields need to describe how organizations under investigation operate and function. These specialists often try to categorize organizations by structural features that are important for understanding how the organizations function. This paper reports the results of a workshop that asked subject matter experts to generate a framework for describing the critical features underlying organizational functioning. The experts generated a set of 13 systems that reflected the key aspects of organizational functioning for the broad range of organizations. The experts and members of the client organization all agreed that the 13 systems provided an extremely valuable representation of organizational structure and functioning. The systems generated are useful for different types of specialists who examine organizations. Importantly, this analysis indicates that the systems are similar to those of the open-systems theory of organizations.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

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Author Information
  • Dept. of Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA

  • USAF Material Command 711th Human Performance Wing, Human Effectiveness Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH USA

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