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Strategic Organizational Diagnosis and Design

Developing Theory for Application

  • Book
  • © 1995

Overview

Authors:
  1. Richard M. Burton

    1. The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, USA

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Børge Obel

    1. Department of Management, Odense University, Odense, Denmark

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Develops the multi contingency theory for organizational design – the fit of environment, strategy, technology, size, organizational climate and leadership style with the organizational configuration, decentralization, information system and the managerial incentives
  • Is unique together with the OrgCon diagnosis and design program, as complementary hands on tools for learning about and applying a deeper and practical theory for diagnosis and design

Part of the book series: Information and Organization Design Series (INOD, volume 4)

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
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  2. Multiple-Contingency Theory

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Introduction

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 3-36

    3. Describing the Organization for Design Purposes

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 37-86

    4. Management Style

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 87-117

    5. Size

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 119-141

    6. The Environment

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 143-184

    7. Technology

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 185-214

    8. Strategy

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 215-257

    9. Organizational Design: A Synthesis

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 259-318

  3. Organizational Consultant: A Decision Support System for Organizational Design

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 319-319
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    2. Organizational Consultant

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 321-327

    3. How to Use Organizational Consultant

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 329-346

    4. The Microlink Case

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 347-388

    5. Creating Written Reports and Presentations

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 389-408

    6. Sample Cases and Exercises

      • Richard M. Burton, Børge Obel
      Pages 409-446

  4. Back Matter

    Pages 447-464
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Keywords

About this book

Organizational design is a normative science with the goal of prescribing how an organization should be structured in order to function effectively and efficiently. Organizational theory is a positive science that states our understanding about how the world operates and contrasts that under­ standing with a view of how the world could possibly operate. It provides the theoretical underpinnings for organizational design. In this book, we attempt to construct an approach for diagnosing and designing organiza­ tions built on a knowledge base of organizational theory. Organizational design is a young field that incorporates many concepts and approaches. In organizational design literature to date, there seems to have been only two ways of doing things in this field-either to be so general and so simple that the various interpretations do not yield practical design implications, or to be so detailed and specific that generalization to other situations is almost impossible. We attempt here to strike a balance-and offer an approach that is applicable to a broad range of situations. In our view, organizational theory exists as a large body of related languages, definitions, hypotheses, analyses, and conclusions. Our know­ ledge is vast, diverse, somewhat inconsistent, and generally unconnected. Yet there is an underlying core of knowledge that can be used for analytical purposes. Creating this balanced approach requirs that the knowledge be distilled and augmented to produce a set of clear and consistent design rules that can be used to recommend what the organiza­ tion's design should be.

Authors and Affiliations

  • The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, USA

    Richard M. Burton

  • Department of Management, Odense University, Odense, Denmark

    Børge Obel

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