Record: A19018163

New technology and the emerging organizational paradigm. Harvey Kolodny; Michel Liu; Bengt Stymne; Helene Denis.

Human Relations, Dec 1996 v49 n12 p1457(31)

Author's Abstract: This paper describes an empirical assessment of several hypotheses associated with organization design in the context of new and flexible technologies. Three distinct technologies were examined in four different geographical locations in Sweden, France, and Canada. The hypotheses illustrate how workplaces are being organized within the context of flexible, new technology, and the movement toward an emerging new paradigm of work. Flexible, new technologies and this paradigm are entering organizations at the same time. The former are changing the ground on which assumptions underlying the emerging paradigm of organization have been built. Several of the hypotheses examined have been revised as a consequence. The data from twelve companies are plotted on a matrix of organization design principles against organization design implementation to illustrate changing organization design patterns as well as geographic differences between the companies.

    Record: A55354759

Reducing uncertainty: a formal theory of organizations in action. Jaap Kamps; Laszlo Polos.

The American Journal of Sociology, May 1999 v104 i6 p1776

Author's Abstract: This article presents a formal reconstruction of James D. Thompson's classic contribution to organization theory, Organizations in Action. The reconstruction explicates the underlying argumentation structure for Thompson's propositions-literally, theorems or problems to be demonstrated. This allows Thompson's propositions to be derived as theorems in a deductive theory. As it turns out, the formal theory is based on general assumptions using only few primitive concepts. In addition, this theory explains why Thompson's propositions do not hold for noncomplex or "atomic" organizations (a restriction on the domain of application). Furthermore, this study reveals that organizations attempt to reduce constraints in their environment-a heretofore unknown implication of the theory.

    Record: A55900212

The economy of the future? TIME's board says the Internet will transform nearly everything, mostly for good. But don't take it for granted. (Time Select/Business/E-Commerce Special/TIME's Board of)(Economists)

Time, Oct 4, 1999 v154 i14 p1

First Paragraph: Story has it that a Washington taxi driver once told an inquiring passenger that the motto on the National Archives Building, WHAT IS PAST IS PROLOGUE, really means "You ain't seen nothin' yet." In the case of the Internet and American business, the motto could be changed to WHAT IS PRESENT IS PROLOGUE-but it would translate the same way.

    Record: A54260072

Debunking the intranet: tales from the front. Michael Rudnick; Patterson Shafer.

Communication World, March 1999 v16 i4 p26(6)

Abstract: Intranets allow companies to realize efficiencies in areas of communication and work processes that lead to significant cost savings. Most companies have some type of an intranet in their organization, such as electronic mail systems and browser-based groupware tools. To realize a greater level of success, companies should accommodate challenges associated with the use of such business tools. Organizations should promote their intranet strategies with a support strategy designed to address concerns related to user disenfranchisement, ownership and access. Companies should also establish clear policies and guidelines to prevent the waste of corporate resources such as time and money. In addition, firms should support their intranet schemes with high-value opportunities focusing on customer service and process optimization.

    Record: A20163227

Do you need an intranet? (includes related article on Virtual Private Networking) Debra Carttar; Dennis Nixon.

Journal of Property Management, Nov-Dec 1997 v62 n6 p26(5)

Abstract: The intranet is a private, intercompany version of the Internet whose main function is to manage connections between data sources. Surveys indicate that two-thirds of Fortune 1,000 companies already rely on this technology and that its use can be expected to increase significantly in the near future. The intranet benefits companies by saving them time and money through the reduction of on-going support and repetitive activities and the provision of information that empowers employees. This technology allows people in different locations to hold a meeting, share data and access the organization's 'intellectual capital.' It also eliminates the need for physical upgrades of software in the company's various locations. The process of setting up an intranet is discussed.

    Record: A59282627

Competing effectively: environmental scanning, competitive strategy, and organizational performance in small manufacturing firms. Reginald M. Beal.

Journal of Small Business Management, Jan 2000 v38 i1 p27

First Paragraph: Environmental scanning is generally viewed by strategic management scholars as a prerequisite for formulating effective business strategies. Moreover, effective scanning of the environment is seen as necessary to the successful alignment of competitive strategies with environmental requirements and the achievement of outstanding performance. This study of small manufacturing firms competing in a wide variety of industries examines the effect of the frequency and scope of environmental scanning on environment-competitive strategy alignment. Results suggest that obtaining information on several aspects of specific environmental sectors (for example, customers, competitors, suppliers) facilitates alignment between some competitive strategies and environments (that is, industry life cycle stages) whereas the frequency of scanning has no effect on such alignments.

    Record: A61838380

Not-so-stuck in the middle. (Company Operations) Heidi Elliott.

Electronic News (1991), April 24, 2000 v46 i17 p34

First Paragraph: Reports of the demise of the midtier distributor are greatly exaggerated, or at least that's the case for Sager Electronics. "Two years ago, we were saying, 'What's going to become of us? There are only going to be two players (Arrow and Avnet) in the market.' Now, two years later, we see we have an advantage, and we market ourselves as a true midtier distributor," said Edward D'Entremont, senior vice president for Sager, Hingham, Mass.

Mechanistic and Organic Systems (also Bureaucracy, Division of Labor, Impersonality):

    Record: A18691397

Breathing life into organizations: a new world view based on chaos and complexity. Margaret J. Wheatley; Myron Kellner-Rogers.

Public Management, Sep 1996 v78 n9 p10(5)

Abstract: A world view that is infused with a respect for human endeavor and change and not handicapped by a mechanistic bias is advocated for organizations. This attitude considers constant learning as a fact of life despite its seeming chaotic complexity and the importance of self-organization.

    Record: A21001402

Socialization and newcomer adjustment: the role of organizational context. Blake E. Ashforth; Alan M. Saks; Raymond T. Lee.

Human Relations, July 1998 v51 n7 p897(30)

Author's Abstract: Research on how the context of work affects HRM practices in general, and socialization practices in particular, is relatively scarce. The present study assesses a model linking context, socialization, and newcomer adjustment. Self-report data from business school graduates after 4 months (N = 295) and 10 months (N = 223) on the job revealed that mechanistic (vs. organic) structure, organization size, and jobs of high motivating potential were each positively associated with organizations' use of what Jones (1986) refers to as institutionalized socialization, and this form of socialization was positively associated with newcomer adjustment. Contrary to expectations, neither a newcomer's bureaucratic orientation nor growth need strength moderated the relationship between socialization and adjustment.

    Record: A53945279

Toward less division of labor? New production concepts in the automotive, chemical, clothing, and machine tool industries. Rik Huys; Luc Sels; Geert Van Hootegem; Jan Bundervoet; Erik Henderickx.

Human Relations, Jan 1999 v52 i1 p67(2)

Author's Abstract: In this contribution, we focus on the results of the Belgian Trend Study. The intention of this study was to examine the prevalence of new production concepts within the widest possible range of companies in the automotive, the machine tool, the chemical, and the clothing industries. The Trend Study aimed to answer the following questions: is the Taylorist division of labor a thing of the past? What are the alternatives? Are shifts in the division of labor accompanied by another type of personnel policy, and do traditional industrial relations have to make way for this new approach? The methodological concept used had to guarantee that the findings at the level of each industry could be generalized. Though the picture emerging from the empirical data collected in the four industrial sectors is inevitably diverse, the data make it possible merely to suggest a neo- rather than a post-Taylorist or -Fordist concept.

    Record: A57829894

The politics, power, and pathologies of international organizations. Michael N. Barnett; Martha Finnemore.

International Organization, Autumn 1999 v53 i4 p698

Author's Abstract: International Relations scholars have vigorous theories to explain why international organizations (IOs) are created, but they have paid little attention to IO behavior and whether IOs actually do what their creators intend. This blind spot flows logically from the economic theories of organization that have dominated the study of international institutions and regimes. To recover the agency and autonomy of IOs, we offer a constructivist approach. Building on Max Weber's well-known analysis of bureaucracy, we argue that IOs are much more powerful than even neoliberals have argued, and that the same characteristics of bureaucracy that make IOs powerful can also make them prone to dysfunctional behavior. IOs are powerful because, like all bureaucracies, they make rules, and, in so doing, they create social knowledge. IOs deploy this knowledge in ways that define shared international tasks, create new categories of actors, form new interests for actors, and transfer new models of political organization around the world. However, the same normative valuation on impersonal rules that defines bureaucracies and makes them powerful in modem life can also make them unresponsive to their environments, obsessed with their own rules at the expense of primary missions, and ultimately produce inefficient and self-defeating behavior. Sociological and constructivist approaches thus allow us to expand the research agenda beyond IO creation and to ask important questions about the consequences of global bureaucratization and the effects of IOs in world politics.

Organizations of the Future (Matrix, Network, Multinational, Virtual):

    Record: A54895534

Cultural theory and contemporary management organization. John Hendry.

Human Relations, May 1999 v52 i5 p557(2)

Author's Abstract: Mary Douglas's cultural theory of grid and group provides a framework for the description of three distinct cultural types corresponding to three logics for the legitimation of collectivity and collective coercion. Each type is distinguished by characteristic structures of classification, power, and moral order operating at the individual cognitive level. In this paper, the theory is used to illuminate some of the major developments in the structuring of business organizations in the late twentieth century, including the introduction of matrix, project and network organizations, the focus on de-layering, downsizing and outsourcing, and the emergence of concerns with cultural control, organizational learning, and core competence. The problems arising from these developments are discussed in terms of an unresolved conflict between the cognitive frameworks of two of Douglas's cultural types, market, and hierarchy.

    Record: A18426748

Five approaches to organize an integrated marketing communications agency. Anders Gronstedt; Esther Thorson.

Journal of Advertising Research, March-April 1996 v36 n2 p48(11)

Abstract: Probably the most serious challenge facing advertising agencies that have embraced integrated marketing communications is how to organize themselves in a way that promotes good working relations among various professionals. A study of several integrated marketing communications agencies has identified five types of organizational structures that support the integrated approach to marketing communications. These organizational models are the consortium, where the main advertising agency serves as the main contractor of a group of specialist agencies; the consortium with a dominant agency, where the main agency integrates the works of in-house departments and outside suppliers; the corporation with autonomous units, where all specialists are brought in to become separate and independent in-house units; the matrix organization, where in-house departments work closely together; and the integrated organization where specialist functions are combined.

    Record: A18926721

The organization of global service MNEs. (multinational enterprises)(Global Strategic Alliances Among Service Organizations) Yair Aharoni.

International Studies of Management & Organization, Summer 1996 v26 n2 p6(18)

Abstract: The increasing globalization of business makes it imperative for companies that want to become market leaders to transform themselves into 'transnational' organizations. Such an organization is able to simultaneously respond to local conditions, achieve global efficiency and facilitate learning. The link between organizational structure and business strategy has long been accepted. Companies are more likely to implement their strategy effectively if they have the proper structures and systems in place. To succeed in the new environment, knowledge-based corporations will have to organize themselves like professional service firms or institutions of higher learning. The relationships between major determinants of success in multinational professional service companies and their structure and systems are analyzed.

    Record: A54278138

Going virtual, getting real. (includes related articles)(ARC International's transformation into a virtual corporation) Randall J. Alford.

Training & Development, Jan 1999 v53 i1 p34(1)

Abstract: ARC International's leaders successfully transformed the company into a virtual organization by applying the principles and techniques that they would provide to clients. The first step was their acceptance for the need for change. They then communicated their plans to employees and asked for suggestions on alternative options. They made a firm commitment to accept strategies that would help the company. They helped employees develop actions plans for strategies and gave them time to come to grips with the changes being implemented. The transition also taught ARC's leaders that true leadership is not something that is given but the outcome of a responsible engagement with reality.

    Record: A20766510

On becoming virtual. (virtual organizations)(includes related articles)(Cover Story) Sacha Cohen. Training & Development, May 1997 v51 n5 p30(8)

Abstract: The concept of the virtual organization is becoming popular. Corporations that are considering to adopt a virtual setup should recognize that this strategy involves more than just setting up the latest in technology. Importantly, cultural issues should be considered to ensure the success of such an endeavor. The entire organization should be acceptable to open communication, knowledge sharing and autonomy to make a virtual operation a success. Trust and control issues should also be addressed to obviate the need for constant monitoring. Self-discipline and goal-orientation should also be encouraged. To avoid feeling isolated and out-of-touch, employees should be encouraged to network with their peers to facilitate regular face-to-fact contact. Finally, the workforce should be trained to be technologically knowledgeable.

    Record: A58529109

Do you know Cisco? The company whose routers rule the Web now wants to be in your house and on your mind. (Business)(Company Profile)

Time, Jan 17, 2000 v155 i2 p72+

First Paragraph: At this Westin Hotel Convention Center, just east of San Jose, Calif., a revival meeting is in progress. Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers, 50, struts across the stage wearing a gray tweed suit and preaching the gospel of the network to a packed, 8,000-strong congregation of the converted. We have made great strides, Chambers drawls in his West Virginian birch-beer-sweet voice, but we need to be ever vigilant, for around the corner, right outside this hall, lurks the enemy-Nortel, Lucent and start- up companies we've never heard of, jesters who would steal our cybercrown.

2. ARAMARK Corporation, a global provider of managed services, is organized by product line, including campus dining, uniform rentals, corrections (feeding prisoners), and sports and recreation (managing concessions at various sports arenas). What are some likely organization design problems that Joe Neubauer, ARAMARK's CEO, faces?

    Record: A19642939

The extended corporation. (interview with Aramark Chairman/CEO Joseph Neubauer)(Interview) A.J. Vogl.

Across the Board, June 1997 v34 n6 p37(5)

Abstract: Joseph Neubauer is the chairman and CEO of Aramark Corp, a $6-billion global company that provides support services to hundreds of companies. He believes that outsourcing should be viewed as a strategic growth tool rather than as a bottomline enhancer. He stresses that companies should outsource their non-core operations in order to improve customer service and product/service quality.