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Postmodern perspective organizational theory
What is Organization theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives
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According to Hatch and Cunliffe (2006), there are three major perspectives about the study of organization theory (OT): modern, symbolic interpretive, and postmodern. Each of these perspectives comes with its own assumptions and methodologies. Hatch and Cunliffe provided an introduction text about the concepts and characteristics of the three OT perspectives. Tsoukas and Knudsen also compiled a comprehensive handbook summarizing all facets of the meta-theoretical perspectives. In this post the writer will discuss the basic concepts of three perspectives, present Hatch and Cunliffe’s reasons why a multiple perspectives approach to organization theory is important, and compare Tsoukas and Knudsen’s introduction to the Hatch and Cunliffe introduction in their books.
According to Hatch and Cunliffe, modern perspective was prevailed in 1960s and 1970s. Modernists believe that organizations are objectively real entities operating in a real world. When well-designed and managed they are systems of decision and action driven by norms of rationality, efficiency and effectiveness for stated purposes. Modernists put focus on organization theory by finding universal laws, methods and techniques of organization and control; favors rational structures, rules, standardized procedures and routine practices (Hatch & Cunliffe, 2006, p. 14). Modernists collect data through five senses: heard, smell, taste, or touch, with sense-enhancing devices such as microscope or telescope (Hatch & Cunliffe, 2006, p. 15).
Symbolic-interpretive perspective was prevailed in 1980s. Symbolic-interpretivists believe that we cannot know an external or objective existence apart from our subjective awareness of it. They think organization are continually construct...
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...sessment of fellow practitioners. Tsoukas and Knudsen (2005) commented Hatch and Cunliffe symbolic-interpretive view as meaning-making with storytelling and narration (p. 17).
In this essay the writer summarized three perspectives (modern, symbolic interpretive, and postmodern) about the OT study and pointed out the differences between Hatch and Cunliffe recommendation and Tsoukas and Knudsen’s critical approach in their book introductions.
Works Cited
Hatch, M. J., & Cunliffe, A. L. (2006). Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.
Tsoukas, H., & Knudsen, C. (2005). Introduction: The need for meta-theoretical reflection in organizatin theory. In H. Tsoukas & C. Knudsen (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Organization Theory: Meta-theoretical Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.
organization: it goes beyond that. It is a concept, a people's movement, an idea. The concept of
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2013). Reframing Organizations (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Parker, Robert Dale. How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and Cultural Studies. New York: Oxford, 2011. Print.
Boje, D. M. , Luhman, J. T. , and Cunliffe, A. L. “ A Dialectic Perspective on the Organization
Parker, Robert Dale. How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and Cultural Studies. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
Every organization, whether it is an educational setting or a business setting, has the same basic principle. Each shapes and molds different ideas and ingredients to produce a good or service to deliver to external clients in the community or society. The success of the organization depends on the client satisfaction and the usefulness of what was delivered (Quality Management Plus, 30). Roger Kaufman’s Organizational Elements Model distinguishes between the different elements that make up an organization’s work.
The first theory used to analyze this magazine is the semiotic theory, developed by C.S. Peirce. This theory is used to find the meaning of signs and claims it is all in the meaning of the signs used. “A sign refers to something other than itself – the object, and is understood by somebody.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2008). Reframing organizations. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.
As the theme of my essay I have chosen to find out what our contemporary society must not forget in order to be able to make organizational theory evolve well into the 21st century. For this task I have decided to take a look back to Aldous Huxley’s modern dystopia “Brave new world”, that warned against totalitarian regimes that intended to suppress individuality in order to advance the interest of the state in its time. Even as those regimes might not be a direct threat nowadays we can eerily conclude that some aspects of it are quite accurate for the times we live in. According to Phillip Yancey who suggested that “there is a much more subtle enemy inchoate within each of us - a natural tendency for people to trade autonomy for comfort, safety and amusement.” This for the most people does not set off alarms but I will argue that it is the most basic requirement that has to be met in our day and age in order to tackle the wide range of issues that we face at the crossroads leading to the future, whether we talk about humanity or organizational theory itself. I think the novel gives us the perfect opportunity to draw parallels with our contemporary society, and see what must be corrected within post modernity based on how things evolved over the course of history and from prophetical books like Huxley’s even as at his time it was only intended to be satire. In the World State people are controlled by technologies like genetic engineering, sleep-learning and drugs like soma to satisfy needs and gently induce masses to enjoy their servitude. If one were to describe postmodernism in just a word or two, "skepticism" and "relativism" would probably best capture the overall ethos of its adherents. Deep skepticism about...
It may be time to consider a literary work not as a predetermined product cast in a deterministic mold, but as a dynamic system that transcends the prevailing assumptions that are supposed to define its identity. The formal definitions can be just external to the composition of the text since we cannot expect the reader to know exactly what the author intended to write without falling into the trap of intentional fallacy.
Literary interpretation and theoretical perspectives are interdependent. Interpretation on any work of literature can be treated through theories and that theories cannot do anything without interpretation.
When studying organizational theory, two different belief systems help to determine which theory stream that each individual person follows. These are a person’s ontological beliefs or epistemological beliefs. It is important to recognize how both Ontology and Epistemology apply to organizational theory, and for each person to decide where they fit inside these branches.
Jones, G. R. (2010). Organizational theory, design, and change. 6th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Organizations must operate within structures that allow them to perform at their best within their given environments. According to theorists T. Burns and G.M Stalker (1961), organizations require structures that will allow them to adapt and react to changes in the environment (Mechanistic vs Organic Structures, 2009). Toyota Company’s corporate structure is spelt out as one where the management team and employees conduct operations and make decisions through a system of checks and balances.
An organisation does not exist in a vacuum. It exists in its environment, which provides resources and limitations.