SOC208H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Human Capital, Social Psychology, Organization Studies
Document Summary
Article #1 - organizations & organizing by scott & davis. Commonality - organizations share certain features that differentiate them from other social forms. Students of this field believe that we can understand much about a specific organization from knowing about other organizations. Understanding how a factory functions can illuminate the workings of a hospital. Diversity - although organizations may possess common, generic characteristics, they exhibit staggering variety-in size, in structure, and in operating processes. What kinds of organizations exist also varies over time. Some see the character of a nation"s organizations as providing insights into its overall social structure. 3 influential perspectives as competing defns of organizations: rational, natural, open system conceptions. Organizations are perhaps the dominant characteristic of modern societies. Establishment - an economic unit at a single location. Firm/company - a business organization consisting of 1 or more domestic establishments under common ownership. 2002 u. s census bureau reported the existence of 7. 2 million establishments.
