SOCS2100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Formal System
29 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
SOCS2100
Organizational Management and Social Behavior
February 28, 2018
WEEK 1
Introduction and Key Concepts
Human beings like to organize things to achieve some sort of goal.
• Systematic, efficient method to get a desirable outcome
Organization is a powerful thing for humans to get things done.
Organization
• Precisely defining what is meant by the term organization is difficult. However, a
common definition holds that organizations are:
o deliberately planned groups
o with some specific apparent goal or goals
o generally designed to outlive the participation of the particular individuals
who participate at any one time
o having a more or less well-developed set of formal rules and
o a relatively fixed structure of authority, roles, and responsibilities that is
independent of the personal characteristics of those filling the roles at any
particular time
• Collective group of people working to achieve a goal
• Can’t have just one person in an organization – has to consist of people
Organizations are diverse
• Examples – hospital, uni, sporting club, shopping center
Challenges to defining the term organization
• Deliberately planned – overlooks the informal structure
• Common goals – may have internal politics, contestations, competing agendas
• Common goals – may shift over time
• Formal system of authority – denies possibility for democratic/egalitarian
organizations, many of which exist (ex. collectives)
Management
• What do you mean by the term?
• Why do we have it? What are its purposes?
• What does the term suggest about the structure of organizations?
• Who or what is manager?
• What qualities does a manager need to be successful in the roles?
Check following links for additional information:
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
