MGCR 222 Lecture 3: MGCR222, Lecture 3
Document Summary
Lecture 3: from classical to contemporary views of organizations. The hawthorne studies: scientific management and light (1920s-1940s: the hawthorne studies looked at how companies can alter the physical work environment to increase productivity, took place in the hawthorne plant of western. Electric (near chicago: tayloristic design control and experimental groups. Complicating the classical view: the classical view sees companies as operating like machines, technical systems (production and efficiency, one best way to design, closed systems where internal design matters. In more contemporary views, companies are seen as operating like organisms: social systems (survival and adaptations, equifinality - a(cid:374)y (cid:449)ays; (cid:374)o (cid:862)o(cid:374)e (cid:449)ay(cid:863, open systems where the external environment matters (competitors, customers) Open systems summary: operates like an open system, as opposed to as a machine. Process: input comes from the environment, products, services, process subsystems working together inside the organization, organizations must balance internal needs and continuously adapt to the changing environment, the question of how to organize then arises.
