Book Description
Master the basics of organizational communication with STRATEGIC ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION with InfoTrac®! Readable and direct, this communication text integrates organization psychology, organizational sociology, and organizational communication to provide you with a comprehensive overview. Multiple case studies from non-U.S. organizations create a global focus with a strong cultural perspective. The book-specific website makes studying easy by providing sample essay questions and tutorial quizzes.
Amazon.com
Peter Senge, founder of the Center for Organizational Learning at MIT's Sloan School of Management, experienced an epiphany while meditating one morning back in the fall of 1987. That was the day he first saw the possibilities of a "learning organization" that used "systems thinking" as the primary tenet of a revolutionary management philosophy. He advanced the concept into this primer, originally released in 1990, written for those interested in integrating his philosophy into their corporate culture.
The Fifth Discipline has turned many readers into true believers; it remains the ideal introduction to Senge's carefully integrated corporate framework, which is structured around "personal mastery," "mental models," "shared vision," and "team learning." Using ideas that originate in fields from science to spirituality, Senge explains why the learning organization matters, provides an unvarnished summary of his management principals, offers some basic tools for practicing it, and shows what it's like to operate under this system. The book's concepts remain stimulating and relevant as ever. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
An MIT Professor's pathbreaking book on building "learning organizations" -- corporations that overcome inherent obstacles to learning and develop dynamic ways to pinpoint the threats that face them and to recognize new opportunities. Not only is the learning organization a new source of competitive advantage, it also offers a marvelously empowering approach to work, one which promises that, as Archimedes put it, "with a lever long enough... single-handed I can move the world."
Customer Reviews:
What am I missing?.......2007-08-07
Maybe this book was revolutionary when written, but the concepts seem pretty obvious now. If you have ever worked in any medium- to large-sized organization, you have likely experienced plenty of quality improvement meetingspeak. If so, I don't think this book will seem particularly earthshaking.
To me, the book often seems to have a quasi-religious new age tone. "If you master the 5 disciplines, you will achieve a higher level of meaning in your life," etc.
I didn't feel the book was well written. It managed to be repetitive without being that clear about it's main points. Honestly, after finishing the whole book, I had to look back to find out which Discipline was the 5th! It turns out that it's "Systems Thinking," but Senge actually lists that one 1st when first presenting the 5 disciplines. How didn't his editor pick up on that?
I'm giving the book 3 stars because there are some useful insights and some intriguing parables (originally written by others) mixed in the text. It wasn't completely useless, but I found it painful to get through.
Brilliant ideas, but sadly still rarely implemented.......2007-06-07
This is quite an impressive book. It introduces the art of "organizational learning," which is the ability of a large group to learn and adapt. It is not sufficient for individuals in the group to learn; the entire group must learn, or its competitive advantage and survival are at risk.
This art is broken down into five main groups, or disciplines:
1) Personal Mastery: Individuals should set personal growth goals, and the organization must help them achieve them... even if that increases the risk of losing that individual
2) Mental Models: People need to understand what assumptions they are making about the system, and the people within it. Our observations may be 100% correct, but our judgments are frequently wrong.
3) Shared Vision: Empowering people will lead to disaster unless there is a true vision that binds the group together. Don't mistake a mission statement for shared vision: they're not even close.
4) Team Learning: You must have rules to encourage useful "dialog" and discourage useless "discussion". Make sure your teams feel safe to submit their opinions, so the optimal solution can be reached via consensus.
5) Systems Thinking: The Fifth Discipline, and what pulls everything together. You need to step away from the current problem and take a big picture view to see feedback loops, cause-and-effect delays, and other side-effects of system events. These are what turn small mistakes into huge problems... or small changes into huge benefits.
This second edition includes interesting anecdotes... for example, both the Total Quality Management movement and the Society for Organizational Learning made big waves when introduced, but very few people successfully put the theory into practice. Why? The author argues that our educational system is too insistent that there is always a "right" solution to every problem... and this is the solution that makes the teacher/boss happy.
As long as the teacher is always "right", and the boss is always "right," and we'll be completely blind to new ideas. What we need is new perspectives so we can design and implement more effective solutions. Frequently, the most optimal solution is doing the exact opposite of what the boss told you to do. Of course, doing this frequently gets you an F, or a poor performance review, so only the fearless can get away with it.
Sadly, I doubt these ideas make serious inroads into academia or the private sector without a massive retraining program... but I admire Senge for trying!
A Visionary Leader's Call to Action.......2007-04-22
Besides being a brilliant system thinker, Peter Senge is a terrific human being. I once had the privilege of attending a seminar on leadership taught by Peter, and it literally changed my life.
Much of the brilliance, conviction, and humanity of Peter Senge shine through in his writing. The Fifth Discipline, arguably his most famous work, is no exception.
Yes, this is a book about organizational learning. But, more than that, "The Fifth Discipline" is a book about the power and necessity of visionary leadership in today's ever changing, ever shrinking, interconnected world.
A true visionary himself, Senge writes in this book of the need for each us to take the lead in making the world a better place by striving for personal mastery, using better mental models as well as system thinking (the fifth discipline) to see and comprehend the big picture more clearly, collaborating with others to develop a shared vision of a better group, organization, or, by extension, nation or world, and engaging in ongoing dialogue to foster our continuous learning.
We need to heed this advice, which is as applicable today as it was when Senge first wrote it, and arguably more imperative. If you aspire to be one of the leaders of tomorrow, you need to read and apply the lessons of this book.
Robert E. Levasseur, Ph.D., author of "Leadership and Change in the 21st Century"
Management Speak 101.......2006-11-02
Unreadable...Maybe he has some good ideas in this book, but I wouldn't know. I found his writting style completely unreadable. I found myself having to read chapters over and over trying to recall what I just read. The whole book felt like I was trapped in a never ending meeting full of middle management. Painful. I couldn't help feel like I was reading some lame new-age self help book.
If you are already in middle management or above, you will probably think this book is fantastic as it reads just like you talk.
But if you are in lower management or below and you see what's wrong with most company's mid and upper management, then you will find this book worthless.
When Senge released this book, it helped change the way we viewed organizations.......2006-10-26
I read this book when it first came out and as I have revisited it, I am struck with the solid foundation that it has created for learning organizations. I have invested substantial time in studying human and organizational learning and this book has had a major impact on informing my practice. I am most interested in community leaning in any community setting from an experiential framework and this book certainly supports my work. I believe Senge has a new release of the book out but I do not know what has been updated as I have not read the new text. If you have not read the book, buy the new text and use as the foundation for creating a learning organization.
Book Description
Can you explain the explosion of social activities like text messaging with little or no promotion of the behaviour? How a Mexican wave happens? The emergence of online communities? Or – more sensitively – the steady rise of floral roadside tributes to traffic accident victims from complete strangers? Unless you have a good explanation of mass behaviour, you’ll have little chance of altering it.
Herd reveals that most of us in the West have completely misunderstood the mechanics of mass behaviour because we have misplaced notions of what it means to be a human being. With a host of examples from Peter Kay and urinal etiquette to Apple and Desmond Tutu, Mark Earls offers the most new radical, controversial and significant new theory of consumer behaviour in a generation.
"At one level a profoundly simple and important idea, that just happens to overturn everything we thought we knew about marketing to the individual."
—Adam Morgan, Founder, Eatbigfish
"Mark Earls helps us see clearly that we need to re-write the rules and provides us with a playbook for doing so. Are you ready for the ‘we’ revolution?"
—Ed Keller, CEO, The Keller Fay Group
"Herd is a dazzling, nutrient-rich read that urged me to see afresh the big underlying forces driving media behaviour and why they especially matter now."
—David Abraham, EVP, The Learning Channel
"As important to read as Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Morgan were. I cannot recommend it highly enough unless you are a luddite or an ostrich."
—Mark Sherrington, Global Brands Director, SABMiller
"Read this book. Think about it. If you’re going to be any good at your job in the next 20 years then you need to questions your assumptions about how stuff works."
—Russell Davies, Founder, Open Intelligence Agency
Customer Reviews:
Not what I thought.......2007-10-02
The content of this book is not what I expected, and after reading it cover to cover, I believe I gained nothing, and simply wasted my time. Much of the content is just a re-hash of other peoples' published research and long anecdotal personal stories. I found no insights, answers or innovative actionable ideas.
A rare 'business' book - it actually makes you think.......2007-07-02
I've just finished reading Herd. Actually, I devoured it in two sittings. And I urge you to go and read it if you want to think about how to better trigger changes in mass behaviour.
Unlike most business or marketing books it's not a set of case studies or a 'how to' process guide to mechanistic thinking.
Rather, it's an excellently written analysis of the new thinking (and the forgotten old thinking) about how people think, act and behave. It doesn't give you answers or tell you what to do, but rather raises questions in your mind about the principles on which most communications thinking is built.
Already, it's made me question a lot of the assumptions I have been taking for granted, made me think differently about some of the problems I'm trying to solve and helped me ground some of the different thinking I've been doing over the last couple of years.
Whether you agree with all the conclusions or not, we need more stuff like this that brings fresh, challenging, provocative thinking into the far too conservative world of marketing and communications.
How movements really happen........2007-05-19
Recently, books like The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell or the Influentials by Jon Berry and Ed Keller, have captured the imagination of marketers and the public alike. It's easy to see why. They propose a tidy and believable model of influence.
1.) There are some people who are more influential.
2.) If we can just reach them, we can influence large numbers of people.
Accepted as gospel, these two ideas have spawned entirely new industries and companies devoted towards creating "viral marketing."
Happily for all of us, things just don't work that way. Brand spanking new research from P&G and Duncan Watts is serving as confirmation of Mark's thesis: it is our innate nature as "herd" animals that causes mass movements, not the influence of a handful of individuals.
This simple little insight overturns much of what we currently think about and how we approach marketing. If you're serious about creating real movements in the new marketing landscape you simply have to read this book.
Book Description
This volume brings together the best-known and most influential articles on sensemaking by one of its most distinguished exponents, Karl Weick.Weick explores the process of how organizations discover that they face important decisions. Often organizations have discussions in order to see what they think, or act in order to see what they want - before they are even aware that a decision has to be made. The effective organization is one that understands this process of sensemaking and learns to manage it with wisdom. The ways in which people do that are demonstrated in chapters of this book.This important collection provides a valuable addition to the international literature on organization theory and will be welcomed by students and researchers alike.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Collection of Weick's Work.......2001-01-10
Weick's insights into how people make sense of what is happening in situations is unique and profound. It is also difficult and Weick's work is not always easy to make sense of itself.
Anyone with a deep interest in how cognition relates to organizational activity will love Weick's work.
Customer Reviews:
A tough read that is well worth the effort.......2005-11-10
If you wonder why smart people with education and experience keep making the same old mistakes you will want to read this book. Let me hasten to add, however, that reading Argyris is often arduous. He is a scholar and writes like one. Having said that, he does have the answers and it is worth the effort to slog through his prose and get them.
Argryis takes the position that organizations actively defend themselves against change, and since the people who mount the defense are intelligent and experienced, the defenses work remarkably well. This book and his Knowledge for Action, are the executive's field manuals for battling this resistance.
Argyris fans know that he presents several recurring themes. One is skilled incompetence. Skilled incompetence is the result of being so good at practiced behaviors that we don't notice ourselves doing them. The practiced behaviors result in outcomes that we deem "safe" even if they make us miserable. We defend ourselves against demands to behave differently out of fear that we will surrender our safety.
Another Argyris staple is the "theory in use." Most of us have a theory of how we should act and a second theory about how we really do act. The real one is the "theory in use." The split between the two creates a dual identity that we are obliged to defend through the use of "fancy footwork" and elaborate "cover ups."
He theorizes that we conceal our dual identities by making their existence "undiscussable." And because we pride ourselves on being open and candid, we make the undiscussability undiscussable.
By now your head may be reeling, and that is just where Argyris always takes his readers. But there are rewards for the persistent reader. Argyris takes us to the heart of our own defenses, to our own denial of our skilled incompetence.
Another Argyris term that is of great significance is the French word malaise. He uses it to describe the pervasive sickish feeling that comes over an organization that is permeated with fancy footwork, double identities, and elaborate defensive routines that cannot be discussed. Once an organization descends into malaise, the road to recovery is highly problematic.
To summarize, this is one of the most insightful and valuable business books ever written, but it's a fairly tough read.
*ESSENTIAL* for Managers & those considering 360 feedback.......2003-04-12
Chris Argyris' work is essential reading for the executive who truly wants to leverage his/her organization's culture and workforce capability into the ultimate long-term competitive advantage.
Like it or not, unsticking "stuck" cultures is what stands between executives who ultimately deliver versus those who merely ride the gravy-train for the first 2 years of a 5 year contract before getting fired. So listen up: with Knowledge Workers the "soft stuff" IS the meat & potatoes!
Also, Argyris is also essential reading for anyone who is considering the use of the 360-Feedback tool. In my book, 360 is a powerful tool that is *dangerous* in the wrong hands; particularly if it's used in an unhealthy culture. The effective manager for the Information Age has to have atleast "some" competence in organizational psychology --in addition to having an external O.D. (Org Development) professional on retainer to get the org initially "unstuck" and keep it that way until things are back on track.
Argyris is an Industrial / Organizational Psychologist (I/O P) and OD guru with heavily sociological and cognitive psychology leanings. Argyris is the "OD person's OD person"; his career goes back to the 1950's. Argyris has devoted his life to these 2 key goals: (1)understanding what is required to integrate the individual into the collective (highly relevant in the era of the Knowledge Worker) and (2)how to monitor & measure progress in this regard in a way that produces "ACTIONABLE knowledge" for continuously improving this integration process. With Argyris -- the rubber meets the road and traction is imminent.
Argyris' later work can be grouped into a "quartet" of books. However the reader should be cautioned because Argyris writes under 2 potentially frustrating assumptions: (1)that the reader is atleast a Master's Degree level person in I/O P; (2)that the reader has read his previous books and is thus ready to tackle the new material at hand. However, I'm delighted to point out that -- with the proper reading approach -- a non-OD everyday-manager-type can read and understand The Argyris Way without too much difficulty. The secret is to read atleast 2 of Argyris' books in the proper order. I prescribe 2 approaches to tackling Argyris: 1 for non-OD people (managers & executives) and 1 for OD people (the propeller-heads who actually know this stuff). Here they are:
(BOOK 1) Argyris "Overcoming Organizational Defenses" c1990. This is a McDonald's drive thru version of the much more involved 1985 release cited as book # 4 below. This is the starting point for everyday managers & executives who are thinking about engaging an OD person for their organizations but do not plan on being I/O P people themselves. The price to understand the Argyris way will be paid here -- and it is a price very much worth paying. If you're new to I/O P, plan on 5 full evenings of reading to get thru this 1st book -- and in the process you will have read the book thru twice. Don't have that kind of time you say? Either MAKE the time or The Law of Darwin will soon be awarding your job to someone else!
(BOOK 2) Martin Seligman's "Learned Optimism 2ed" c1998. Get a high-level understanding of the difference between cognitive versus behavioral psychology. Otherwise, to not read this book in tandem with the Argyris work will leave the reader open to error by assuming outdated behaviorist psychology norms (which is the error that presently pervades Human Resources' thinking in the areas of performance management and compensation). This book can be read in 2 nights.
(BOOK 3) Argyris "Knowledge for Action" c1993. This takes the reader through a complete, comprehensive real-life diagnosis and intervention process using the tenets presented in book #1 above. This book can be read in a couple of afternoons assuming that the price has already been paid by reading book #1. Non-OD people can stop their reading here.
(BOOK 4) Argyris "Action Science" c1985. This is the full scholar's version of his I/O P approach and will take 2 weeks of evenings to get through. For an OD, I recommend reading this 1st before Argyris "Overcoming".
(BOOK 5) Argyris "On Organizational Learning, 2ed" c1998. Note that this is a different book from "On Org Learning 2: Theory, Method & Practice" c1995. Strictly for OD people, this is a comprehensive survey & critique of present literature and approaches in the OD field. Of particular value is his treatise of Edgar Schein's work and re-emphasizing the value of sociology in the science of psychology.
I'll close by paraphrasing the Argyris model here as a teaser. There are 2 states of Human reasoning:
Model 1 = intra-personal BEFORE inter-personal (defensive / independent)
Model 2 = intra-personal .AND. inter-personal (productive / synergistic)
I'll also add in a 3rd state as my own corollary:
Model 3 = intra-personal AFTER inter-personal ( "Divine" )
Model 3 is beyond man's capability, Model 2 would be Stephen Covey's 7 Habits in action at rung 6 on the effectiveness ladder, and Model 1 is the actual/default "selfish" pattern of most people today -- thanks to the psychological conditioning of countless centuries prior to the Information Age.
Borrowing from Seligman, the younger Baby-Boomers and later generations are the 1st in the history of the world to "have the choice" to be knowledge workers. This throws people together into complex social systems that require a new level of communication ability that's new to man as a species and is currently not taught in schools. As a survival mechanism, mankind's default behavior is Model 1 -- even though he will verbally claim Model 2 or even Model 3. Overcoming defensive Model 1 behavior is an effort that requires years of committed work -- BUT IS THE VERY GATEWAY to functioning in the more mature organizational structures that lay beyond command-and-control (such as empowered workgroups); and that offer so much promise to knowledge-intense organizations.
A final caution: moving the organization from Model 1 to Model 2 is a project that should be treated with the seriousness of any other project -- as a set of value-based deliverables that are defined ahead of time and whose ultimate realization is preceeded by the conscientious commitment of resources. And because of the emotional aspects of the project early-on -- for the 1st 1 to 2 years the OD interventionist should be a person completely external to the organization -- or else the project is guaranteed to fail. Executive sponsorship alone will not be enough.
A classic in the field of organizational learning.......2002-02-10
Chris Argyris presents a classic in organizational learning. Some of the concepts explored and researched here form the basis for some of the priciples of the Learning Organization. Argyris discussion of theories-in-use, social virtues and skilled incompetence is a fascinating and eye-opening exercise.
However, the book is written by an academician largely for academicians. If you want 'easy' reading this is not the book for you. If you are, on the other hand, serious about organizational learning, change and human performance, then this book should definitely be on your book-shelf.
The Book is organized into 9 chapters:
1. Puzzles.
2. Human Theories of Control: Skilled Incompetence.
3. Organizational Defensive Routines.
4. Fancy Footwork and Malaise.
5. Sound Advice: It Compounds the Problem.
6. reducing the Organizational Defense Pattern.
7. Making the New Theory of Managing Human Performance Come True.
8. Getting from Here to There.
9. Upping the Ante.
Book Description
The role we each play in our own downfalls create the profound--and profoundly entertaining--basis for this series of linked "meditations" as the author of The Abilene Paradox takes another irreverent look at the nature of life on the job. In this work, Harvey explores the ethical, moral, and spiritual dilemmas we all face in the modern world of work. But he does it in a most unconventional way. His is an approach that mixes equal parts humor, philosophy, and insight to make us laugh, think, and examine organizational behavior in a brand new light. The twelve essays themselves carry such spirited titles as "What If I Really Believe this Stuff," "On Tooting Your Own Horn," and "Ode to Waco." Altogether, it's an enthralling collection of wise and witty parables that illustrate the redemptive value of the truth in a voice that is ultimately understanding of human shortcomings.
Customer Reviews:
Harvey Tells It Like It Is.......2007-04-01
A must read! Harvey begins the book by relating and analyzing an event that happened when he was six years old. At once, the windows of my mind opened, and I began to be able to understand a lot of what has happened in my own life. I laughed out loud after reading on page 36 about the organizational back stabbing victim: "Blood flowing, he [ the Potential Victim] continues his journey into Real Victim status by retreating to the security of the organization's infirmary, which usually is located in the Human Resource Department, for an extended period of recovery." Been there, done that!
The views of a sage.......2006-09-01
I don't know what posessed me to pick up this book at the library. I'm not an avid reader and I was doing research on an unrelated topic. I suppose the title just grabbed me and I needed a break from my regular study. When I started reading this book, however, I didn't want to put it down. At age 39, I'm only just beginning to appreciate the wisdom 50+ years develops in some people. So when I started reading this very easy-to-read book, filled with "smart" humor and just the right amount of antedotal support, I was just soaking in everything I could. Maybe you have to be older to appreciate this book...but wouldn't it be great if you were smart enough to learn from it much younger....
Interesting ruminations on ramanagement.......2004-12-30
The book centers on a key concept - we victimize ourselves. Work is a political place, but most of the time, we see problems coming. If someone stabs us in the back, usually we get a warning, but are complicit by not assertively contacting the person doing us in. This idea of defeating poor office behavior through open and honest discussion is developed in depth throughout the book.
There are two downsides. First, this book perhaps has too much text for such a simple concept. Although this is good reading for a fan of Jerry Harvey (I am one!) the Abilene Paradox is a much more efficient (more ideas, less words) introduction to his material. Second, Jerry is perhaps oversimplifying the world. Office politics is best beaten by open book confrontation of problems, but life sometimes is more complex than that.
That said, this is still a worthwhile read.
Only for those who think..........2004-08-02
Jerry Harvey is great. The Abiline Paradox was wonderfully insightful and helpful and this one is also wonderful. His insights into spirituality, morality and human psychology are profound and helpful. This book is easy to read, it is fun and funny, but it is not a cookbook that tells you to do A, B, and C. It just helps you think deeply. If you want a cookbook there are a thousand books out there, I'm tired of them. Even the title of this book is thought provoking as is the rest of the book. Think for a change!
Open ended musings with no conclusions.......2004-05-24
As you've probably noticed from the other reviews, J. Harvey does a good job raising questions about morality related management decisions, e.g. backstabbing or betraying a co-worker.
My own enjoyment of the book suffered because there are no answers to the questions posed. Morality is not the sort of topic where one expects to the THE answer. However, I do require a speaker/writer to at least propose their answers, so I may compare and contrast them to my own views.
I recommend this book if you prefer an open-ended discussion with no suggested or implied solutions.
For new managers with their first inkling they might have a few misconceptions about what they've just gotten into, I recommend "Becoming a Manger: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership" by Linda Hill.
Book Description
An essential guide for academics and researchers needing to look at alternative discourse analysis strategies. As a research tool, narrative methods have become increasingly useful in organization studies, where much research involves the interpretation of "stories" in some form. This methodology can be applied where qualitative story analyses can help to assess interview, newspaper or web document stories for research projects. In this book, Boje sets out eight analysis options that can deal with storytelling, recognizing that stories in organizations can be self-destructing, flowing, networking and not at all static. In so doing, he shows ways in which narrative methods can be supplemented by "anti-narrative" methods, where fragmented and collective storytelling can be interpreted. A valuable resource that will be widely used in organizational or communications research, for graduate level qualitative methods seminars and by researchers wanting to do story analysis.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent guide on conducting narrative review.......2007-06-27
Many books explain "what" to do when conducting research but David Boje goes one step further and explains also "how". As a PhD student this book has greatly assisted my research efforts. It provides detailed description of how to apply narrative methods and many helpful comments balancing concerns and some of the dangers to overcome when doing this type of work. Very readable and informative.
A story of narrative research.......2001-08-10
David Boje outlines an excellent model for research in an organizational studies area that is of increasing interest. His model details how researchers can gain insight into a variety of contexts across a variety of narrative types. Students of organizational studies and experienced researchers alike needing to expand their research horizons would do well to join the conversation that Boje began and continues.
Great book on Narrative.......2001-08-03
Boje, D. M. (2001). Narrative Methods for Organizational and Communication Research. London: Sage. New Book that contains several analyses on Nike and Athletic Apparel narratives, and the concept of "antenarrative."
Comments by Dr Adrian Carr on a new book by Professor David Boje
David Boje is a pioneering theorist in organization studies and management, being one of those who introduced these fields to postmodernism and story-telling. He is also a Socratic gadfly in these fields, reminding us of precision and clarity in the terms and concepts we employ. "Narrative and Antenarrative MethodsÉ" is yet another example of BojeÕs pioneering spirit and concern for exactitude. We humans are story-telling creatures, of this there is no doubt. BojeÕs scholarly account of narrative and antenarrative methods is both corrective and exploratory of how stories must be understood in terms of their own internal dynamics, and not viewed as static entities. Apart from correcting misconceptions and sloppy scholarship about narrative, Boje outlines eight antenarrative forms of analysis. By "antenarrative" (not antinarrative), Boje has his sights set on the fragmented and polyphonic character of stories. Narrative analysis has repeatedly failed to capture the ÔlivingÕ stories. Indeed, narrative analysis has almost set itself apart from the story itself, as though it were somehow superior to the story it is supposed to reflect and providing a coherence and gloss that is not in character with the story. How does one acknowledge and reflect the fragmented, polyphonic and collectively produced nature of stories? BojeÕs book is a magnificent start to dealing with such crucial questions. A book that breaks new ground in organizational analysis, this is a must-read for researchers and practitioners in the fields of organization and management studies.
Dr Adrian Carr Principal Research Fellow School of Social, Community and Organization Studies University of Western Sydney Australia
Book Description
Finalist for the George Terry Award sponsored by the Academy of Management "This lovely and important book is the clearest, most complete, and interesting statement of sensemaking in organizations available. . . . It will have an impact on both new and experienced scholars." --Bob Sutton, Stanford University "Weick is artful. He masterfully constructs the sensemaking theoretical framework so that it can be better understood by the general scholar and in the process provides the reader with the sensemaking experience." --Kathleen Sutcliffe, University of Minnesota The teaching of organization theory and the conduct of organizational research have been dominated by a focus on decision making and the conception of strategic rationality. The rational model, however, ignores the inherent complexity and ambiguity of real-world organizations and their environments. Karl E. Weick's new landmark volume, Sensemaking in Organizations, highlights how the "sensemaking" process--the creation of reality as an ongoing accomplishment that takes form when people make retrospective sense of the situations in which they find themselves--shapes organizational structure and behavior. Some of the topics Weick thoroughly covers are the concept, uniqueness, historical roots, varieties and occasions, general properties, and the future of sensemaking research and practice. Expertly written, Sensemaking in Organizations is the volume that students, scholars, and professors of organization and management studies must have.
Customer Reviews:
Sensemaking fails to translate theory into practice.......2001-06-25
Weick's book is thoroughly researched, drawing its insights from psychological and organisational studies.
It offers new views on how organisations operate, and how they generate meaning. It points out that reality is not something outside the organisation, but something that is constructed by people within the organisation - an empowering insight. Weick also extensively discusses where and how this 'making of sense' happens.
But the book fails largely in linking this theory to practice. After making sense of 'Sensemaking', (which requires some mental acrobatics!), I still don't know how a leader can influence the sensemaking process to the benefit of the organisation. I'm still left with the basic question: So what?
Powerful insight into how people work together.......1997-08-20
This book has a very academic tone but it has some powerful implications for anyone in business. The book makes a number of points that are not intuitive but that are very powerful. For example, he talks about the advantages of speed, confidence, and plausibility in problem solving and why they may be more important than accuracy
Book Description
Organizational communication as a discipline has grown tremendously over the latter part of the century, but accompanying that growth has been a struggle to establish a clear identity for the field. The ongoing evolution of complex organizations in an equally complex global environment has scholars continuing to define and redefine the focus, the boundaries, and the future of the field.
The New Handbook of Organizational Communication is a landmark volume that weaves together the various threads of this interdisciplinary area of scholarship.
Customer Reviews:
Thumbs Up!.......2002-09-16
This book provides a solid overview of Organizational Communication from a scholarly perspective. The authors do an excellenct job of identifying and elaborating on key issues, elaborating on related inquiry and elaborating on future considerations for the field.
Mediocrity at its best.......2002-09-12
This book characterizes much of what is wrong with the current way in which text-books are pumped out by authors/academics/publishers to serve as a new yet ultimately qualitatively useless addition to the heap of knowledge in any given field. It is not that the topics presented here are useless, meaningless or anything of the sort, it is simply that the mediocrity with which they are written about and presented to the reader- supposedly a student attempting to learn about these subjects- is apparant on nearly every page.
If the mark of someone who truly understands their field of study is their ability to clearly and easily convey and teach it to others, than many of the contributors to this book do not truly understand their field, certainly not to the extent that they should when being held up as the fore front of their academic field. Read or Buy if you must, but turn to others sources for a better reading and learning experience.
Book Description
This experiential, workbook-style text focuses on key skill sets necessary for personal and managerial success in organizations today. These skill sets are: · Intrapersonal skills – those skills essential for understanding oneself and one’s personality: perception, awareness, disclosure and trust, value clarification, goal setting, identifying barriers to personal change and time-and stress-management. · Interpersonal skills – those skills necessary for working with others: conveying verbal messages, listening and non-verbal communication, giving and receiving feedback, communicating with diverse others and overcoming barriers to communication. · Team skills – those skills required for understanding and working in teams: forming, leading and facilitating teams, decision-making [including ethical decision frameworks], problem-solving, running meetings and project management. · Advanced interpersonal skills – those skills needed for leading and developing others: coaching and mentoring, empowerment and delegation, persuasion, networking, politicking, negotiation and conflict management.
Customer Reviews:
Very useful, highly recommended!.......2006-05-03
This book covers the important topics in organizational behavior, and the writing style is concise and readable. What distinguishes this text from many other OB offerings is the excellent exercises at the end of each chapter. I've used this book in leadership training sessions with working managers, and the class participants have been very happy with it, as have I.
Interpersonal Skills.......2005-10-10
I unfortunately wasn't able to use this book as much as possible because it was the wrong edition. The material inside the book was okay, but some chapters ended abruptly and left you wondering if you missed information.
Books:
- Super Service: Seven Keys to Delivering Great Customer Service...Even When You Don't Feel Like It!...Even When They Don't Deserve It!
- Suze Orman Will & Trust Kit
- Tax Savvy for Small Business: Year-round Tax Strategies to Save You Money
- Taxes and Business Strategy: A Planning Approach (3rd Edition)
- The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
- The Art of Project Management (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly))
- The Bible of Options Strategies: The Definitive Guide for Practical Trading Strategies
- The Bond Book: Everything Investors Need to Know About Treasuries, Municipals, GNMAs, Corporates, Zeros, Bond Funds, Money Market Funds, and More
- The Change Handbook: Group Methods for Shaping the Future
- The Change Monster: The Human Forces that Fuel or Foil Corporate Transformation and Change
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Financial Modeling with Crystal Ball and Excel
- The Complete Guide to Creative Landscapes : Designing, Building, and Decorating Your Outdoor Home
- Hollywood Censored: Morality Codes, Catholics, and the Movies
- Matthew Barney: Drawing Restraint Vol.2
- Phil Gordon's Poker Box Set: Phil Gordon's Little Black Book, Phil Gordon's Little Green Book, Phil
- The Game Programmer's Guide to Torque: Under the Hood of the Torque Game Engine
- The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History
- EDGAR: The Investor's Guide to Better Investments
- Microeconomics and MyEcon Lab Access Card Package
- Savage Run: A Joe Pickett Novel
Communications
| Skills
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Intrinsic Motivation at Work: Building Energy and Commitment
Respect in a World of Inequality
Women and Men at Work
Leading High-Performance Projects
Insights on Leadership: Service, Stewardship, Spirit, and Servant-Leadership
