Macro theories of organizations generally rely on the concept of the goal as the mechanism that gives direction and achieves solidarity of organizational action. In recent years, research and theory building has begun to recognize the importance of such concepts as resource dependence, power, and conflict and to incorporate them into open systems models of organizations. While these open systems models do allow for change in organizational direction, they generally hold to the contention that environmental influence on organizational direction is achieved through a goal-setting process. Likewise, the concepts of power and conflict are incorporated into a goal model. An alternative model, termed the political model, is presented that allows for system openness at ad levels of an organization and does not rely on the concept of the goal in explaining direction or solidarity. Points of conflict between the goal model and the political are discussed along with some of the implications of adopting a political perspective in studying organizational behavior.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ALLISON, G. T. (1969) "Conceptual models and the Cuban missile crisis."Amer. Pol. Sci. Rev. 63:689-718.
2.
ANGYAL, A. (1958) Foundations fora Science of Personality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
3.
BARNARD, C. I. (1938) The Functions of the Executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
4.
BLAU, P. M. (1964) Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: John Wiley.
5.
BLAU, P. M. and W. R. SCOTT (1962) Formal Organizations: A Comparative Approach. San Francisco: Chandler.
6.
BOSCHKEN, H. L. (1974) Corporate Power and the Mismarketing of Urban Development. New York: Praeger.
7.
BURNS, T. (1967) "The comparative study of organizations," pp. 113-170 in V. Vroom (ed.) Methods of Organizational Research. Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press.
8.
BURNS, T. and G. M. STALKER (1961) The Management of Innovation. London: Tavistock.
9.
CAMPBELL, J. P. (1976) "Contributions research can make in understanding organizational effectiveness," pp. 29-45 in S. L. Spray (ed.) Organizational Effectiveness: Theory-Utilization-Research. Kent, OH: Kent State Univ. Press.
10.
CHILD, J. (1973) "Predicting and understanding organizational structure."Administrative Sci. Q.18:168-185.
11.
COSER, L. A. (1956) The Functions of Social Conflict. New York: Free Press.
12.
CYERT, R. M. and J. G. MARCH (1963) A Behavioral Theory of the Firm. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
13.
CYERT, R.M. , H. A. SIMON, and D. B. TROW (1956) "Observation of a business decision."J. of Business29:237-248.
14.
DUBIN, R. (1976) "Organizational effectiveness: Some dilemmas of perspective."Organization and Administration7 (Spring/Summer):7-13.
15.
DUBIN, R. (1958) The World of Work. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
16.
DUNCAN, R. B. (1973) "Multiple decision-making structures in adapting to environmental uncertainty: The impact on organizational effectiveness."Human Relations26:273-291.
17.
DUNCAN, R. B. (1972) "Characteristics of environment and perceived environmental uncertainty."Administrative Sci. Q.17:313-327.
18.
DUNCAN, W. J. (1976) "Organizations as political coalitions: A behavioral view of the goal formation process."J. of Behavioral Economics5 (Summer):25-44.
19.
DURKHEIM, E. (1933) The Division of Labor in Society. New York: Free Press.
20.
EMERSON, R. M. (1962) "Power-dependence relations."Amer. Soc. Rev. 27:31-41.
21.
ETZIONI, A. (1964) Modem Organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
22.
FRIEDLANDER, F. and H. PICKLE (1968)-"Components of effectiveness in small organizations."Administrative Sci. Q.13: 289-304.
23.
GEORGIOU, P. (1973) "The goal paradigm and notes towards of counter paradigm."Administrative Sci. Q.18:291-310.
24.
GHORPADE, J. (1970) "Study of organizational effectiveness: Two prevailing viewpoints."Pacific Soc. Rev. 13 (Winter):31-41.
25.
GOULDNER, A. W. (1970) The Coming Crisis of Western Sociology. New York: Basic Books.
26.
GOULDNER, A. W. (1959) "Organizational analysis," pp. 400-428 in R. Merton et al. (eds.) Sociology Today: Problems and Prospects. New York: Basic Books.
27.
GROSS, E. (1969) "The definition of organizational goals."British J. of Sociology20:277-294.
28.
HACKMAN, J. R. and J. L. SUTTLE (1977) Improving Life at Work: Behavioral Science Approaches to Organizational Change. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear.
29.
HALBERSTAM, D. (1969) The Best and the Brightest. New York: Random House.
30.
HALL, R. H. (1972) Organizations: Structure and Process. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
31.
HALL, R. H.J. E. HAAS , and N. J. JOHNSON (1967) "An examination of the Blau-Scott and Etzioni typologies."Administrative Sci. Q.12:118-139.
32.
HANNAN, M. T. and J. FREEMAN (1977) "The population ecology of organizations."Amer. J. of Sociology82:929-964.
33.
HICKSON, D. J. , C. R. HININGS, C. A. LEE, and J. M. PENNINGS (1971) "A strategic contingencies theory of intraorganizational power."Administrative Sci. Q.16:216-229.
34.
HININGS, C. R. , D. J. HICKSON, J. M. PENNINGS, and R. E. SCHNECK (1974) "Structural conditions of intraorganizational power."Administrative Sci. Q.19:22-44.
35.
HIRSCH, P. (1975) "Organizational effectiveness and the institutional environment."Administrative Sci. Q.20:327-344.
36.
JACOBS, D. (1974) "Dependency and vulnerability: An exchange approach to the control of organizations."Administrative Sci. Q.19:45-59.
37.
KATZ, D. and R. L. KAHN (1966) The Social Psychology of Organizations. New York: John Wiley.
38.
KILMANN, R. H. , L. R. PONDY, and D. P. SLEVIN (1976) The Management of Organizational Design. New York: Elsevier North-Holland.
39.
KUHN, T. S. (1962) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
40.
LAWRENCE, P. R. and J. W. LORSCH (1967) Organization and Environment: Managing Differentiation and Integration. Boston: Harvard University Graduate School of Administration, Division of Research.
41.
LEVINE, S. and P. E. WHITE (1961) "Exchange as a conceptual framework for the study of interorganizational relationships."Administrative Sci. Q.5:583-601.
42.
MARCH, J. G. (1962) "The business firm as a political coalition."J. of Politics24:662-678.
43.
MARCH, J. G. and H. A. SIMON (1958) Organizations. New York: John Wiley.
44.
MAYES, B. T. and R. W. ALLEN (1977) "Toward a definition of organizational politics."Academy of Management Rev. 2:672-677.
45.
McGUIRE, J. W. (1977) "Organizational effectiveness, organizational equilibria, and organizational welfare." Presented at the meeting of the Academy of Management, Orlando, FL.
46.
MOTT, P. E. (1972) The Characteristics of Effective Organizations. New York: Harper & Row.
47.
NEGANDHI, A. R. and B. C. REIMANN (1973) "Correlates of decentralization: Closed and open system perspectives."Academy of Management J.16:570-582.
48.
NIGHTINGALE, D. (1974) "Conflict and conflict resolution," pp. 141-163 in G. Strauss et al. (eds.) Organizational Behavior: Research and Issues. Madison, WI: Industrial Relations Research Association.
49.
PARSONS, T. (1960) Structure and Process in Modern Societies. New York: Free Press.
50.
PENNINGS, J. M. (1975) "The relevance of the structural contingency model for organizational effectiveness."Administrative Sci. Q.20:393-410.
51.
PERROW, C. (1961) "The analysis of goals in complex organizations."Amer. Soc. Rev. 26:859-866.
52.
PETTIGREW, A. M. (1973) The Politics of Organizational Decision-Making. London: Tavistock.
53.
PFEFFER, J. (1973) "Size, composition, and function of hospital boards of directors: A study of organization-environment linkage."Administrative Sci. Q.18:349-364.
54.
PFEFFER, J. (1972a) "Size and composition of corporate boards of directors: The organization and its environment."Administrative Sci. Q.17:218-228.
55.
PFEFFER, J. (1972b) "Merger as a response to organizational interdependence."Administrative Sci. Q.17:382-394.
56.
PFEFFER, J. and G. R. SALANCIK (1974) "Organizational decision-making as a political process: The case of the university budget."Administrative Sci. Q.19:135-151.
57.
PRICE, J. L. (1968) Organizational Effectiveness: An Inventory of Propositions. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
58.
SELZNICK, P. (1949) TVA and the Grass Roots: A Study in the Sociology of Formal Organizations. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
59.
SIMPSON, R. L. and W. H. GULLEY (1962) "Goals, environmental pressures, and organizational characteristics."Amer. Soc. Rev. 27:344-351.
60.
SIMON, H. A. (1964) "On the concept of organizational goal."Administrative Sci. Q.9:1-22.
61.
STEERS, R. M. (1975) "Problems in the measurement of organizational effectiveness."Administrative Sci. Q.20:546-558.
62.
THOMPSON, J. D. (1967) Organizations in Action. New York: McGraw-Hill.
63.
THOMPSON, J. D. and A. TUDEN (1959) "Strategies, structures, and the process of organizational decision," pp. 195-216 in J. D. Thompson et al. (eds.) Comparative Studies in Administration. Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press.
64.
THOMPSON, V. A. (1961) Modern Organizations. New York: Knopf.
65.
TUSHMAN, M. L. (1977) "A political approach to organizations: A review and rationale."Academy of Management Rev. 2:206-216.
66.
WAMSLEY, G. L. and M. N. ZALD (1973) The Political Economy of Public Organizations: A Critique and Approach to the Study of Public Organizations. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.
67.
WEBER, M. (1947) The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. New York: Free Press.
68.
WEICK, K. E. (1977) "Enactment processes in organizations," pp. 267-300 in B. M. Staw and G. R. Salancik (eds.) New Directions in Organizational Behavior. Chicago: St. Clair.
69.
WEICK, K. E. (1976) "Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems."Administrative Sci. Q.21:1-19.
70.
WEICK, K. E. (1969) The Social Psychology of Organizing. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
71.
WHITE, P. E. (1974) "Resources as determinants of organizational behavior."Administrative Sci. Q.19:366-379.
