communication -> relationships -> organizations -> value
Every theory we have looked at so far bears on this progression
Classical management theories assume a particular set of relationships and communication patterns in helping an organization to create value
Human relations theories change that set of relationships in asserting that a focus on human value can affect an organizations ability to create value
Human resources theories change them again in asserting that all employees are valuable and that enabling their team communication can further enhance corporate value
Systems theories take the next step, and assert that an organization is formed in the intersection of all its relationships, and that the value they create together can far exceed the value they can create individually
Cultural theories track the emergence of organizational structures and processes from these intersections
Two additional kinds of theory bear mention
Critical Theories
Post-Modern Theories
But as we start, lets look at the progression a little differently
Critical and Post-Modern Approaches
Eisenburg and Goodall, c. 6, 7
Critical Theories
Are fundamentally about power and its distribution
Marxist
Feminist
Critical theory seeks to unmask the political underpinnings of social practices
In this sense, critical theories are perspective-based cultural theories
They often start with the solution and move to finding the problem
Something to be careful of
Critical Theories Frequently put Ideologies in opposition
Most often framed from the perspective of a class of "victims"
Ideology is rarely neutral
There are certainly perspective from which it cannot be
Ideology assumes
Superiority
Ethnocentrism
Universality
Manufactured Consent ("I'm just doing my job")
And often justifies its bias by claiming bias in the opposing "ideology"
Marxists attack the self-serving privileged classes
Feminists attack the structure of business as serving male biases
Fundamentalist Christianity attack scientific method for presuming objectivity and empiricism
The question is who has power and who should have power
Types of Social power (French and Raven)
Reward power
Coercive power
Referent power
Expert power
Legitimate power
Covert power (Conrad)
Well Known Critical Theories
Marxism
assumes that industrial power relationships are immutable reexpressions of existing class relationships
the question: is division of power between capital and resource unfair, or simply unavoidable
Feminist Theory
Women have a distinct perspective that has value to organizations
Organizational dialogue can be transformed by women's voices
Traditional organizational values and women's values
Fluid boundaries between personal and work
Relational aspects of work
Balanced lifestyles
Nurturing approaches to coworkers
Networks of relationships outside the organization
Leadership as web, not hierarchy
Service orientation to clients
Work as means of developing personal identity
All of these perspectives are encapsulated in organizational theories we have already looked at
Four dialectics
Male and female values
Male-dominated cultures
High-context cultures
Woman as meaning
Pro-People vs Pro-Profits (Deetz)
Multiple Stakeholder Model
Are any stakeholders really power free in organizations?
I prefer to think of stakeholders as interdependent and contending
Interdependent because the success of any depends on the success of all
Contending because their definitions of success and value differ
That doesn't mean that each isn't important
But some would say that at least one, the owner(s), is more important
Elaine Sternberg
And others would put everyone but the owner in power
Critical theories are often presented as revolutionary reworkings of what is
their practical effect is to point out problems
they most often work out to be negotiating positions
with effects that are evolutionary
Postmodern Perspectives
Another variant on cultural theory
Often seen as an attempt to avoid encompassing definitions or truths
A focus on nonlinear, counter-rational, and network models
Assumptions
self-concept: identity is not found in rules and traditions
morality and ethics: morals are found in discourse rather than culture
art and culture: parallelism overwhelms progression
globalization: mass culture is driving out local culture
Primary methods
Deconstruction
taking apart meanings
interpreting signs and surfaces
Challenging status quo methods and systems
a critical turn
often focuses on giving power to teams
and minimizing rules
thus giving power to individuals
"Rule #1. Use your good judgment in all situations.
There are no other rules
Please feel free to ask (management) any question at any time.
In other words. There is only one rule, but when in doubt, your manager knows the other rules.
Unless otherwise noted, the contents of this page
were written by participants on the Media Space Wiki, operated by Davis Foulger,
and should be cited accordingly. For example (APA): Foulger, D. and other
participants. (September 18, 2015). Spring03 Organizational Session13. MediaSpaceWiki. Retrieved on from
http://evolutionarymedia.com/wiki.htm?Spring03OrganizationalSession13.
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