Despite innovations in management science, leaders struggle to adapt their organizations against rapid environmental changes. Based on the assumption that this struggle results from obsolete management paradigms, this work aims to outline a systemic view of organizations and groups, as well as approaches to manage and change them. This work adopts a fundamental question: What dynamics evolve in organizations and groups (or teams) as a significant part of organizations that increase or decrease management's influence and the organizations’ or groups’ ability to induce change? This work delivers a systematic approach to equip readers with analytical tools to arrive at their own understanding of a wide range of different organizations or groups.
This literature-based work describes causal and systemic theories to explain human behavior based on an analysis of organizations based on systems theory. Looking through different lenses provides insights into organizations’ underlying structures—namely, the machine, game, or façade metaphors. Formal and informal structures and their interactions have been analyzed in different lifecycle stages, immobility, and replaceability. The construction of a systemic view of groups shows group-specific dynamics and behavioral patterns. The specialization in groups drives local best practices, expected informal behavior, and a narrowed perspective of what is essential for the department or organization. These local rationalities are critical to leading groups or organizations.
The explanations of groups and organizations clarify that a hierarchical understanding or an understanding that an organization, or even its culture, can be rationally planned is misleading. Organizations continually adjust to changing conditions in their environment but, unfortunately, not as their executives intend. Therefore, the change of organizations or groups is hypothesis-driven experimentation that integrates the “change of the change” from the beginning. Systemic interventions are based on observations and do not claim predictability. The manager’s primary tasks are to develop team reflexivity and autonomous decision-making, as well as increase variation and promote selections in the group or organization. Incremental approaches to management, group-reflection, and development, and lateral and formal mechanisms of influence must be utilized in combination with a comprehensive organizational analysis.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Why Organizational Theory Matters
- Why Management Fails
- Increasing Pace of Change
- Management Dysfunction
- A Comprehensive Understanding of Organizations and Groups
- Approach
- Key Terms and Definitions
- Society, Institutions, and Organizations
- Groups and Teams
- Management and Leadership
- Explanatory Models of Human Behavior
- Personality Trait Theories
- Behavioral Theories
- Action Theory and Constructivism
- System Theories
- General Systems Theory, Cybernetics, and System Dynamics
- Evolutionary Systems: The Model of Living Systems
- Sociological Systems Theory: The Theory of Social Systems
- Combinations of System Theories and Causal Approaches
- Personal Systems Theory
- Group Dynamics
- Observing Systems
- The Problem of Intervention in Organizations or Groups
- A Systemic view of Organizations
- Goals
- Organizations as Goal-Oriented Structures
- Membership
- Hierarchies
- Three Images of Organizations
- The Formal Aspect: Organizations as Machines
- The Informal Aspect: Organizational Games
- Organizational Analysis
- A Systemic View of Groups
- Two Archetypes of Communication: Hierarchy and Group Communication
- A Vertical View: The External and Internal Environment of Groups
- A Horizontal View: The Visible and the Invisible in Groups
- Norms and Roles in Groups
- Evolution of Norms in Groups
- Differentiation of Roles in Groups
- Replacing Roles with Behavioral Activities
- The Dynamic Field of a Group
- In or Out: Membership
- Up or Down: Power and Influence
- Close or Distant: The Dimension of Intimacy
- Group Processes
- Groups in Hierarchical Organizations
- Controlling Groups and Organizations
- Lateral Leading
- Mechanisms of Influence: Power, Trust, and Understanding
- Connection to the Formal Structure of Organizations
- Reflexive Control - How \"Control\" works in Groups
- Leadership Styles
- Delegation in the Context of the Formal Structure
- Leadership as a Developmental Work
- Team Reflexivity
- Reflection Cycle
- Systemic Strategy Development
- Conceptional Understanding of Systemic Strategy Development
- Structural Reflexivity as the Main Requirement
- Strategy Loops as Process Architecture
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This work explores the reasons behind the failure of management in the face of rapidly changing environments. It utilizes systems theory to analyze organizations and groups, focusing on their underlying structures, dynamics, and the factors that influence their ability to adapt to change.
- Understanding the dynamics of organizations and groups
- The limitations of traditional management paradigms
- The role of informal structures and behaviors in organizational success
- The importance of systemic interventions and team reflexivity
- Developing a framework for analyzing and managing organizational change
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter establishes the context for the thesis, explaining why organizational theory is relevant and the reasons why management frequently fails. It outlines the scope and approach of the work, introducing the focus on understanding organizations and groups within a systems framework.
Chapter two defines key terms, including those related to society, institutions, organizations, groups, teams, management, and leadership. This chapter provides a foundational vocabulary for the analysis that follows.
Chapter three delves into different explanatory models of human behavior. It explores various theories, including personality trait theories, behavioral theories, action theory, and constructivism. The chapter culminates in a detailed discussion of systems theories, encompassing general systems theory, cybernetics, system dynamics, evolutionary systems, sociological systems theory, combinations of system theories and causal approaches, personal systems theory, and group dynamics. It also addresses the challenges of observing systems and intervening in organizations or groups.
Chapter four presents a systemic view of organizations. It examines organizations as goal-oriented structures, analyzing their membership, hierarchies, and different images, including the machine metaphor and the game metaphor. The chapter concludes with a discussion on organizational analysis, providing tools for a more comprehensive understanding of organizations.
Chapter five explores a systemic view of groups. It investigates the dynamics of group communication, both vertically and horizontally, examining the external and internal environment, visible and invisible aspects, norms, roles, and group processes. It also explores the dynamic field of a group, focusing on membership, power and influence, and intimacy. This chapter delves into the role of groups in hierarchical organizations.
Chapter six focuses on controlling groups and organizations. It discusses lateral leadership, mechanisms of influence, leadership styles, delegation, leadership as developmental work, team reflexivity, and the reflection cycle. The chapter culminates in an exploration of systemic strategy development, its conceptual understanding, the importance of structural reflexivity, and the application of strategy loops.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This work delves into the fields of organizational theory, management science, systems theory, group dynamics, organizational change, and leadership. It focuses on concepts such as organizational structures, informal behaviors, systemic interventions, team reflexivity, and the limitations of traditional management paradigms. The analysis draws on various theories, including those related to personality, behavior, action, and constructivism, along with specific system theories like general systems theory, cybernetics, system dynamics, and evolutionary systems. The work aims to equip readers with analytical tools to understand a wide range of organizations and groups.
- Citation du texte
- Anonym (Auteur), 2020, Why Management Fails. How Organizations Function and How to Impact Them, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1152743
