Organizational Processes and Received Wisdom

Organizational Processes and Received Wisdom PDF

Author: Daniel J. Svyantek

Publisher: IAP

Published: 2014-03-01

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 1623965527

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This Research in Organizational Sciences volume to explore and question the received wisdom of organizational sciences. The chapters in this volume (and the companion volume) seek to establish boundary conditions for important organizational constructs and processes. They illustrate the importance of context for interpreting the received wisdom of organizational science by showing when constructs must be adapted to changing circumstances. The volume begins with four chapters looking at the construct of leadership. Each of these addresses an important aspect of our understanding of leadership and its practice. The four chapters on leadership are followed by five chapters dealing with other organizational processes including motivation, organizational change, the role of diversity in organizations and organizational citizenship. The last three chapters deal with the issue of knowledge in large systems. Two chapters address how information may be transmitted across organizations and generations of workers. The final chapter deals with the use of information by organizational decision-makers. The 12 papers in this volume all, in some way question received wisdom and present alternatives which expand our understanding of organizational behavior. These chapters each strive to present new ways of understanding organizational constructs, and in so doing reveal how received wisdom does not always lead to best practice in research or application. It is our hope that these chapters illustrate how challenging received wisdom in organizational studies can provide new ways of thinking about organizational processes. These new ways of thinking in turn can provide better understanding of the processes necessary to increase organizational effectiveness.

Received Wisdom, Kernels of Truth, and Boundary Conditions in Organizational Studies

Received Wisdom, Kernels of Truth, and Boundary Conditions in Organizational Studies PDF

Author: Daniel J. Svyantek

Publisher: Information Age Publishing

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781623961893

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This volume of the Research in Organizational Sciences is entitled "Received Wisdom, Kernels of Truth, and Boundary Conditions in Organizational Studies". Received wisdom is knowledge imparted to people by others and is based on authority and tenacity as sources of human knowledge. Authority refers to the acceptance of knowledge as truth because of the position and credibility of the knowledge source. Tenacity refers to the continued presentation of a particular bit of information by a source until this bit of information is accepted as true by receivers. The problem for organizational studies, however, is that this received wisdom often becomes unquestioned assumptions which guide interpretation of the world and decisions made about the world. Received wisdom, therefore, may lead to organizational practices which provide little or no benefit to the organization and, potentially, negative organizational effects, because this received wisdom is no longer valid. The 14 papers in this volume all, in some way, strive to question received wisdom and present alternatives which expand our understanding of organizational behavior in some way. The chapters in this volume each strive to present new ways of understanding organizational constructs, and in so doing reveal how received wisdom has often led to confirmation bias in organizational science. The knowledge that some perceived truths are actually the products of received wisdom and do not stand up to close scrutiny shakes up things within research areas previously thought settled allowing new perspectives on organizational science to emerge.

Received Wisdom, Kernels of Truth, and Boundary Conditions in Organizational Studies

Received Wisdom, Kernels of Truth, and Boundary Conditions in Organizational Studies PDF

Author: Daniel J. Svyantek

Publisher: Information Age Publishing

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781623961909

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This volume of the Research in Organizational Sciences is entitled "Received Wisdom, Kernels of Truth, and Boundary Conditions in Organizational Studies". Received wisdom is knowledge imparted to people by others and is based on authority and tenacity as sources of human knowledge. Authority refers to the acceptance of knowledge as truth because of the position and credibility of the knowledge source. Tenacity refers to the continued presentation of a particular bit of information by a source until this bit of information is accepted as true by receivers. The problem for organizational studies, however, is that this received wisdom often becomes unquestioned assumptions which guide interpretation of the world and decisions made about the world. Received wisdom, therefore, may lead to organizational practices which provide little or no benefit to the organization and, potentially, negative organizational effects, because this received wisdom is no longer valid. The 14 papers in this volume all, in some way, strive to question received wisdom and present alternatives which expand our understanding of organizational behavior in some way. The chapters in this volume each strive to present new ways of understanding organizational constructs, and in so doing reveal how received wisdom has often led to confirmation bias in organizational science. The knowledge that some perceived truths are actually the products of received wisdom and do not stand up to close scrutiny shakes up things within research areas previously thought settled allowing new perspectives on organizational science to emerge.

Creating an Environment for Successful Projects, 3rd Edition

Creating an Environment for Successful Projects, 3rd Edition PDF

Author: Randall Englund

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Published: 2019-10-01

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 1523085495

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Now in its third edition, this project management classic has been updated with an array of field-tested tools to help upper management ensure the success of projects within organizations. For over twenty years, Creating an Environment for Successful Projects has been a staple for upper managers who want to help projects succeed. This new edition includes case studies from companies that have successfully applied the approach, along with practical tools such as templates, surveys, and benchmark reports for savvy leaders who want to ensure project success throughout their organizations. The insights in this book will help management speed projects along instead of getting in their way. All too often, well-intentioned managers put roadblocks in the team's way instead of empowering them with the tools they need to succeed. This approach to project environments, grounded in decades of research and practice, will help you make your organization the most project-friendly it's ever been. Organizational changes rarely work unless upper management is heavily involved. Although project managers are most closely responsible for the success of projects, upper managers are the ones who ultimately create an environment that supports those projects. The way upper managers define, structure, and act toward projects has an important effect on the success or failure of those projects and, consequently, the success or failure of the organization. This book helps all managers understand the need for project management changes and shows how to develop project management as an organizational practice.

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology PDF

Author: Steven G. Rogelberg

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2016-09-27

Total Pages: 1923

ISBN-13: 1483386880

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The well-received first edition of the Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2007, 2 vols) established itself in the academic library market as a landmark reference that presents a thorough overview of this cross-disciplinary field for students, researchers, and professionals in the areas of psychology, business, management, and human resources. Nearly ten years later, SAGE presents a thorough revision that both updates current entries and expands the overall coverage, adding approximately 200 new articles, expanding from two volumes to four. Examining key themes and topics from within this dynamic and expanding field of psychology, this work offers a truly cross-cultural and global perspective.

The Science of Successful Organizational Change

The Science of Successful Organizational Change PDF

Author: Paul Gibbons

Publisher: FT Press

Published: 2015-05-15

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 0133994821

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Every leader understands the burning need for change–and every leader knows how risky it is, and how often it fails. To make organizational change work, you need to base it on science, not intuition. Despite hundreds of books on change, failure rates remain sky high. Are there deep flaws in the guidance change leaders are given? While eschewing the pat answers, linear models, and change recipes offered elsewhere, Paul Gibbons offers the first blueprint for change that fully reflects the newest advances in mindfulness, behavioral economics, the psychology of risk-taking, neuroscience, mindfulness, and complexity theory. Change management, ostensibly the craft of making change happen, is rife with myth, pseudoscience, and flawed ideas from pop psychology. In Gibbons’ view, change management should be “euthanized” and replaced with change agile businesses, with change leaders at every level. To achieve that, business education and leadership training in organizations needs to become more accountable for real results, not just participant satisfaction (the “edutainment” culture). Twenty-first century change leaders need to focus less on project results, more on creating agile cultures and businesses full of staff who have “get to” rather than “have to” attitudes. To do that, change leaders will have to leave behind the old paradigm of “carrots and sticks,” both of which destroy engagement. “New analytics” offer more data-driven approaches to decision making, but present a host of people challenges—where petabyte information flows meet traditional decision-making structures. These approaches will have to be complemented with “leading with science”—that is, using evidence-based management to inform strategy and policy decisions. In The Science of Successful Organizational Change , you'll learn: How the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world affects the scale and pace of change in today’s businesses How understanding of flaws in human decision-making can help leaders guide their teams toward wiser strategic decisions when the stakes are largest—including “when to trust your guy and when to trust a model” and “when all of us are smarter than one of us” How new advances in neuroscience have altered best practices in influencing colleagues; negotiating with partners; engaging followers' hearts, minds, and behaviors; and managing resistance How leading organizations are making use of the science of mindfulness to create agile learners and agile cultures How new ideas from analytics, forecasting, and risk are humbling those who thought they knew the future–and how the human side of analytics and the psychology of risk are paradoxically more important in this technologically enabled world What complexity theory means for decision-making in the context of your own business How to create resilient and agile business cultures and anti-fragile, dynamic business structures To link science with your "on-the-ground" reality, Gibbons tells “warts and all” stories from his twenty-plus years consulting to top teams and at the largest businesses in the world. You'll find case studies from well-known companies like IBM and Shell and CEO interviews from Nokia and Barclays Bank.

Creating an Environment for Successful Projects

Creating an Environment for Successful Projects PDF

Author: Robert J. Graham

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-05-20

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1118739302

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Since it was first published in 1997, Creating an Environment for Successful Projects has become a landmark work that shows how to develop project management as an organizational practice. This second edition offers solid, results-oriented advice on how upper management can create an environment that supports the success of special projects and the development of new products. The book also includes a wealth of examples from the authors' workshop participants and readers of the first edition who have successfully implemented these concepts within their organizations. New in the second edition: Ideas and practices about portfolio management to achieve greater overall success from a portfolio of projects Advice for helping project teams come together to become more effective Information for developing the chief project officer Suggestions for implementing project management information systems More descriptions about organizations and people who have used these principles to develop vastly improved environments

The Practice of Behavioral Strategy

The Practice of Behavioral Strategy PDF

Author: T. K. Das

Publisher: IAP

Published: 2015-10-01

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 1681231603

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Behavioral strategy continues to attract increasing research interest within the broader field of strategic management. Research in behavioral strategy has clear scope for development in tandem with such traditional streams of strategy research that involve economics, markets, resources, and technology. The key roles of psychology, organizational behavior, and behavioral decision making in the theory and practice of strategy have yet to be comprehensively grasped. Given that strategic thinking and strategic decision making are importantly concerned with human cognition, human decisions, and human behavior, it makes eminent sense to bring some balance in the strategy field by complementing the extant emphasis on the “objective” economics-based view with substantive attention to the “subjective” individual-oriented perspective. This calls for more focused inquiries into the role and nature of the individual strategy actors, and their cognitions and behaviors, in the strategy research enterprise. For the purposes of this book series, behavioral strategy would be broadly construed as covering all aspects of the role of the strategy maker in the entire strategy field. The scholarship relating to behavioral strategy is widely believed to be dispersed in diverse literatures. These existing contributions that relate to behavioral strategy within the overall field of strategy has been known and perhaps valued by most scholars all along, but were not adequately appreciated or brought together as a coherent sub-field or as a distinct perspective of strategy. This book series on Research in Behavioral Strategy will cover the essential progress made thus far in this admittedly fragmented literature and elaborate upon fruitful streams of scholarship. More importantly, the book series will focus on providing a robust and comprehensive forum for the growing scholarship in behavioral strategy. In particular, the volumes in the series will cover new views of interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks and models (dealing with all behavioral aspects), significant practical problems of strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation, and emerging areas of inquiry. The series will also include comprehensive empirical studies of selected segments of business, economic, industrial, government, and non-profit activities with potential for wider application of behavioral strategy. Through the ongoing release of focused topical titles, this book series will seek to disseminate theoretical insights and practical management information that will enable interested professionals to gain a rigorous and comprehensive understanding of the subject of behavioral strategy. The Practice of Behavioral Strategy contains contributions by leading scholars in the field of behavioral strategy research. The 9 chapters in this volume cover a number of significant topics that speak to the practice perspectives on behavioral strategy, covering diverse topics such as M&A decision making in the high-tech sector, scenario thinking, business modeling, project-based organizations, fair trade market certification, and the movie and insurance industries. The chapters include empirical as well as conceptual treatments of the selected topics, and collectively present a wide-ranging review of the noteworthy research perspectives on the practice of behavioral strategy.

The Organizational Hologram: The Effective Management of Organizational Change

The Organizational Hologram: The Effective Management of Organizational Change PDF

Author: Kenneth D. Mackenzie

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-06-28

Total Pages: 503

ISBN-13: 9401139172

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Previously, the conventional wisdom about organizations was "If it's not broken, then don't fix it. " Today, the new dictum seems to be "If it works, make it work better. " There is a shift from a posture of reaction to one that embraces change. The prevailing wisdom is changing because many of our organizations are now or will soon be in a state of crisis. Every day we read about a proud old firm going bankrupt, manufacturers who must cut costs and retrench in order to survive, and failures in our governmental agencies. Who's next? Many organizations are failing but others are doing well. All wonder if something terrible could happen to their organization. Thus, it seems prudent to anticipate and proactively manage change rather than to passively sit by until some crisis strikes. All of us know that any organization can be improved. There will always be a gap between some desired state and our current reality. There will always be differences among people about what is desirable and what is not. Every change energizes these gaps. Because there are so many changes taking place, it is no wonder that there is continuous clamor for organizational change. These gaps and differences are the source of problems. Once a problem is recognized and agreed to, efforts are made to generate a solution to it. Every solution has both its intended and unintended consequences.

Received Wisdom, Kernels of Truth, and Boundary

Received Wisdom, Kernels of Truth, and Boundary PDF

Author: Daniel J. Svyantek

Publisher: IAP

Published: 2013-03-01

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 1623961912

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This volume of the Research in Organizational Sciences is entitled “Received Wisdom, Kernels of Truth, and Boundary Conditions in Organizational Studies”. Received wisdom is knowledge imparted to people by others and is based on authority and tenacity as sources of human knowledge. Authority refers to the acceptance of knowledge as truth because of the position and credibility of the knowledge source. Tenacity refers to the continued presentation of a particular bit of information by a source until this bit of information is accepted as true by receivers. The problem for organizational studies, however, is that this received wisdom often becomes unquestioned assumptions which guide interpretation of the world and decisions made about the world. Received wisdom, therefore, may lead to organizational practices which provide little or no benefit to the organization and, potentially, negative organizational effects, because this received wisdom is no longer valid. The 14 papers in this volume all, in some way, strive to question received wisdom and present alternatives which expand our understanding of organizational behavior in some way. The chapters in this volume each strive to present new ways of understanding organizational constructs, and in so doing reveal how received wisdom has often led to confirmation bias in organizational science. The knowledge that some perceived truths are actually the products of received wisdom and do not stand up to close scrutiny shakes up things within research areas previously thought settled allowing new perspectives on organizational science to emerge.