Formal organizations : a comparative approach
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Formal organizations : a comparative approach
（Stanford business classics）
Stanford Business Books, 2003
- : pbk
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Originally published: San Francisco : Chandler Publishing Company, 1962. Chandler publications in anthropology. With new introd
New introduction includes biographical and professional data for both authors
Includes bibliographical references (p. 258-301) and indexes
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Upon its publication in 1962, this book became one of the founding texts of organizational sociology. Bringing together diverse approaches, it presented a new focus of interest: the formal organization. Blau and Scott raised the level of analysis from attention solely on individual participants and work groups to a broader understanding of organizations as collective actors.
In the book, the authors reviewed multiple types of studies-including case studies, experimental research, and surveys-and integrated them to define new central themes. They used their own empirical studies of two social welfare agencies to illustrate the ways in which varying organizational contexts shape work group and participant attitudes and activities. Formal Organizations served to integrate research on both formal and informal systems, authority and leadership, and stressed the importance of links to the wider environment. This reissue, which includes a new introduction by Scott, makes this seminal work accessible to a new generation of scholars and practitioners.
Table of Contents
Contents Introduction to the Classic Edition Preface 1. Introduction 1 The Concept of Formal Organization The Study of Formal Organizations Methods in the Study of Organizations The Comparative Approach 2. The Nature and Types of Formal Organizations Theoretical Concepts Typologies of Formal Organizations Types of Formal Organizations Concluding Remarks 3. The Organization and Its Publics Professional and Bureaucratic Orientation The Public Conflicts with Clients Concluding Remarks 4. The Social Structure of Work Groups Informal Organization Effects of Group Structure The Larger Organization and Work-Group Structure Concluding Remarks 5. Processes of Communication Experiments on Communication and Performance Field Studies of Communication in Formal Organizations Variations in Communication Patterns Concluding Remarks 6. The Role of the Supervisor Styles of Supervision Supervision and Performance Hierarchical and Peer Relations Concluding Remarks 7. Managerial Control The Hierarchy Impersonal Mechanisms of Control Questioning Some Prevailing Assumptions Concluding Remarks 8. The Social Context of Organizational Life The Social Environment of Organizations Organizational Analysis Interorganizational Processes Concluding Remarks 9. Organizational Dynamics Organizational Development Emergent Patterns Dilemmas of Formal Organization Dialectical Processes of Change Appendix. Description and Comparison of the Two Welfare Agencies Bibliography Index of Names Index of Topics Tables 1. Location of Reference Groups and Graduate Work 2. Type of Orientation and Professional Characteristics 3. Type of Orientation and Loyalty to the Agency 4. Type of Orientation and Criticism of the Agency 5. Type of Orientation and Criticism of Administrative Policies 6. Seniority, Informal Acceptance, and Orientation to Clients 7. Seniority, Popularity, and Reference Group 8. Group Climate, Individual's Orientation, and Attitudes 9. Group Climate, Acceptance, and Individual's Orientation 10. Group Cohesion, Popularity, and Reaction to Clients 11. Reciprocity in Consultations, Work Pressure, and Per Cent Regularly Consulting Colleagues 12. Reciprocity in Consultations, Self-Confidence, and Per Cent Regularly Consulted 13. Worker Visits to Recipients and Orientation of Supervisor 14. Supervisor's Self-Confidence, Supervisor's Approach, and Worker Loyalty Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Comparative organization, Associations, institutions, etc
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