Prof: Scott Robinson Organization Theory PA-6320

GR 2.537 (x4043) GR 3.402

scottr@utdallas.edu 6-10pm
Office Hours: 6-7pm R

Course Objectives:

There are few qualities more common to humanity, in all of its diversity, than the
presence of organizations. We spend most of our lives and accomplish most of our goals
in organizations. Given the prominence of organizations in contemporary life, it is
natural to want to understand how organizations operate.

All of the social sciences have niches that study organizations. Consider these examples
(there could be many more). Some political scientists study bureaucracies and political
parties. Some economists study the organization of markets (and oligopoly) and firms.
Some sociologists study the relationships between work organizations and individual
behavior. While the approaches of these traditions differ, they share common research
questions.

Where do organizations come from? How do they develop and change over time? How
can we best use organizations to accomplish our goals? To what extent can we
generalize about organizations?

This semester will focus on a review of the dominant approaches to the study of
organizations. We will discuss the historical development of the literature (reading
works from authors in a variety of disciplinary traditions) as well as review some of the
contemporary approaches to the study of organizations. This is a “theory” course so it
will focus on the development and application of organization theory rather than solely
(or even predominately) on the application of the theory – as one might get in an
organization behavior course.

Textbooks:

Hall and Tolbert. Organizations: Structures, Processes, and Outcomes. Ninth Edition.
Shfritz, Ott, and Jang. Classics of Organization Theory. Sixth Edition

PhD students also need:

Barnard. The Functions of the Executive
Selznick. Leadership in Administration
Pfeffer and Salanick. The External Control of Organizations
Examination Schedule:

There will be two take home examinations. The first will be given out on June 20th, the
second on July 18th – both will be due the next week.

Attendance:

Attendance is optional – but strongly recommended. The examinations will be based on

a combination of reading and class room discussion.

Grading:

MA students - Each examination counts for 50%.

PhD students – Each exam counts 33%, the term paper counts for 34%

Academic Dishonesty:

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course. The university policies
regarding academic dishonesty are in force for all examinations and term papers. I will
pursue the fullest possible punishment for any violations of the university policies
regarding academic dishonesty (plagiarism, cheating, etc.).

Late Examinations:

Allowing some students to turn in examinations late is not fair to students who completed
the task in the assigned period of time. Examinations turned in within one week late will
be penalized 10 points (out of 100). Examinations turned in between one and two weeks
late will be penalized 20 points. Examinations will not be accepted more than two weeks
late. The due date of grades represents a “hard” deadline for late papers on the second
exam – so I can not accept any papers after 24 hours prior to this deadline.

Schedule of Topics and Readings:

All of the following readings are considered required reading – though readings listed as
for PhD students are only required for those students. The exams will draw from all of
the reading as well as the materials discussed in class. Do not assume that because a
point from a reading was not explored in class one may ignore that material when
preparing for the exams. Any point from the class discussion OR the reading is fair
material for the exam.

I reserve the right to revise the syllabus at any time (for example, by adding or removing
reading material, changing the daily topics, or moving back the tests [but never forward]).
I will announce any changes ahead of time in class.
 5/16 – Introduction to Organization Theory

5/23 – Classical Origins of Organization Theory

H&T Chapter 1 – “The Nature of Organizations”
SOY – Weber “Bureaucracy”
Barnard “The Economy of Incentives”
Taylor “The Principles of Scientific Management”
Gulick “Notes on the Theory of Organization”
PhD students should also read all of Barnard’s Functions of the Executive

5/30 – Leadership in Organizations (Guest Lecture – Dr. Kiel)

H&T Chapter 5 – “Leadership”
SOY – Follet “The Giving of Orders”

6/6 – NO CLASS

6/13 – Neo-structuralism
H&T Chapters 2-3 – “Organizational Structure”
SOY – Simon “The Proverbs of Administration”
Selznick “Foundation of the Theory of Organization”

6/20 – Behavioral Approaches to the Study of Organizations

SOY – Roethlisberger “The Hawthorne Experiments”
Maslow “A Theory of Human Motivation”
McGregor “The Human Side of Enterprise”
Merton “Bureaucratic Structure and Personality”
Janis “Groupthink”
PhD students should read all of Selznick’s Leadership in Administration
EXAM #1 DISTRIBUTED

6/27 Power in Organizations

H&T Chapter 4 – “Power and Power Outcomes”
SOY – Pfeffer “Understanding the Role of Power in Decision Making”
Kanter “Power Failure in Management Circuits”
EXAM #1 DUE

7/4 NO CLASS

7/11 Organizational Culture and Organizational Change

H&T Chapter 8 – “Change”
SOY – Schein “Defining Organizational Culture’
Cook and Yanow “Culture and Organizational Learning”
Trice and Beyer “Changing Organizational Cultures”
Meyer and Rowan “Institutionalized Organizations”
 7/18 Organizations and their Environments
H&T Chapter 9 – “Organizational Environments and Interorganizational Relationships”
SOY – Katz and Kahn “Organizations and the Systems Concept”
Thompson “Organizations in Action”
Pfeffer and Salanick “External Control of Organizations”
Carroll and Hannan “Demography of Corporations and Industries”
PhD students should read all of Pfeffer and Salanick’s The External Control of
Organizations
EXAM #2 DISTRIBUTED

7/25 Conclusion
H&T Chapters 10-11 “Organizational Theory” and “Organizational Effectiveness”
EXAM #2 DUE