Summary Organization Theory, Chapter 11 and 12
Organizational Structure (EBP670C05)
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
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By Martijn Helder, Tijmen Oudshoorn, Phillip Gerlof and Dennis Skiller
Chapter 11. Managing the environment
As every organisation faces a certain degree of environmental uncertainty, all firm’s managements quest to control its environment. Managers have some options to reduce the environment’s impact on their organisation’s businesses, they have options to manage an organisation’s environment. Where the population-ecology approach states that the environment cannot be influenced or managed and selects which organisations will survive, this chapter serves as a counterpoint to that view. There are environmental management strategies, which are explained in this chapter.
Two general strategies Managers basically have to options in managing the environment: they can adapt their organisation’s operations to better accommodate the environmental uncertainty, or they can try to influence the environment to adjust it to the firm’s capabilities. The former is called Internal Strategies, the latter External Strategies.
Internal strategies Managers have the option to lessen their organisation’s environment dependence by taking several internal actions within the firm’s operations. For instance:
● Domain choice: managers can decide to change the domain in which the organisation operates, preferably to a domain that provides less environmental uncertainty. ● Recruitment: managers have the option to recruit staff with appropriate skills in coping with the organisation’s environmental influences. They can provide expertise which the company lacks in their operations. ● Environmental scanning: managers could scrutinise the environment to get a clear view of different factors that affect their organisation. In this, the role of earlier discussed Boundary Spanners is very important: they act as interpreter between the firm and its environment. ● Buffering: managers can provide an input and output buffer to their organisation. Buffers protect the operating core from environmental influences in supply and demand. ● Geographic dispersion: managers have to consider their organisation’s geographic dispersion, as environmental uncertainty can vary with location. ● Others: smoothing demand fluctuations, rationFing products/services or improve on IT. External strategies Managers also have the option to take actions which seek to alter the environment in the organisation’s favour.
● Bridging: managers can regulate environment through negation and cooperation with their critical constituencies (which form the environment), e. building personal relationships with suppliers. ● Contracting: mangers have the option to make long-term contracts in order to protect the organisation from changes in quantity or price of products. ● Co-opting and coalescing: managers can decide to absorb individuals/organisations that threaten the organisation’s stability, or they can merge with other organisations for joint action. ● Lobbying: managers can use their influence on an external party to achieve better outcomes for their organisation by lobbying. ● Others: advertising, insuring, or hedging.
Chapter 12. Managing organisational change
Within the concept of organizational change there are 4 different kinds. Revolutionary and Evolutionary, Planned and Emergent change.
● Revolutionary change: a big, nature altering change that occurs as a consequence of major changes in the environment or technology of an organization. ● Evolutionary change: minor, ongoing changes not harming the organizational culture except for small adaptions.
● Planned change: planned changes that are usually cheaper and involve less disruption. ● Emergent change: unplanned changes as a consequence of a sudden threat or event.
Combining these you can create a 2x2 matrix:
Revolutionary change Evolutionary change
Planned change Systematic change Adaptive change
Unplanned change Chaotic change Transitory change
● Adaptive change: small, planned change affecting only a part of the organization. ● Systematic change: Large, planned changes affecting the whole company. ● Transitory change: small, unplanned change, affecting only a small part of the organization causing easy implementation of modifications. ● Chaotic change: unplanned, large change threatening the existence of the organization.
Group 15 summary Organizati
Managing unplanned change Unplanned change would have changes require management. can be made quickly and inform A crisis often has multiple effec deal with the problems. These recourses, need for active lead
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We think this cartoon really we of the book provides us with al managers can deal with the org part, we have thought about th environmental uncertainty will all: a strong manager, in charge environmental factors which he provides us with various intere external strategies, always thin uncertainty? If it is ‘yes’, it’s pro answer can very well be ‘no’ so
Organization Theory, chap. 11+12October 11, 2013
ge ave very little management involvement. But ev ent. Centralisation is often very important to ma formation can spread quickly. ffects on a company. Special taskforces need to ese can be: Active management of the environm leadership.
Food for Thoughts
pter 11: Managing the environment
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y well fits chapter 11 about Managing the environ th all kinds of theories, techniques and strategies e organisation’s environment. But as this is the fo ut the chapter a bit deeper and came to the conc will always be uncontrollable to a certain exten arge of his company or division, can still be conf ch he cannot adjust to his company’s favour. So a teresting ideas on how to alter the environment think about it yourself. Can we really manage th s probably because of one of the strategies is ap sometimes, as these strategies can simple not
11, 2013
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vironment. The theory gies with which he food for thoughts conclusion that tent. The cartoon says it onfronted with So although this chapter ent with internal and e this environmental s applicable. But the not always be applied.
Food for Thoughts
Chapter 12: Managing organisational change
Reference: skillfulmeanstraining/what-2-key-personality-traits-help-managers-manage-change/
We think that this picture illustrates a view that many companies have. Often they fear change as they do not know what will come next and how to handle it. Therefore, many companies choose to not act on change and instead wait for everything to come back to normal. However, oftentimes solutions need to be found and changes need to be made in order to maintain profits and sales. Opposed to the chapter it is not always clear what the forces are that bring the change. Also, it is not always possible for the change agent to find a solution. As a Food for Thought this cartoon is very useful, as we should always ask ourselves what we would do in this position. Is a solution to a change always identifiable and if yes, how do we realize that solution? Furthermore, is it possible for us to not change anything about the change, but keep sales high, if yes, how and in what way is that achievable?
Summary Organization Theory, Chapter 11 and 12
Vak: Organizational Structure (EBP670C05)
Universiteit: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
