LibGuides: LDRS-Value Based Leadership-Whittington: Session 2

Session 2

The Design of Organizations: Organizational Structures and Organizational Cultures

This session focuses on two important images of organizations: Organizations as Machines and Organizations as Organisism. We will look at the characteristics of mechanistic and organic systems and discuss the environmental and technological design imperatives. We will also examine the idea of oganizational culture from a variety of perspectives.

Readings

Readings

Background reading (no discussion points required):

Gerloff, "Models of the Environmental Connection: Guides to Organizational Design"
Gerloff, "The Technology Connection"

Images of Organization: Organizations as Machines (located in e-reserves module)
"Mechanistic approaches to organization work well under conditions when machines work well."
Images of Organization: Organizations as Organisms (located in e-reserves module)
"The image of an organism seeking to adapt and survive in a changing environment offers a powerful perspective for managers who want to help their organizations flow with change."