Organizational Theory

In the years following her role as the lead author of the international best seller, Limits to Growth - the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet - Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001. Thinking in Systems is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem-solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute's Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world....

When we avoid taking a decision, what happens to it? In The Unaccountability Machine, Dan Davies examines why markets, institutions and even governments systematically generate outcomes that everyone involved claims not to want. He casts new light on the writing of Stafford Beer, a legendary economist who argued in the 1950s that we should regard organisations as artificial intelligences, capable of taking decisions that are distinct from the intentions of their members.

In today’s corporate environment it's essential that the people that you employ get along as a team. Professionalism in the workplace is one of the key factors for any business’s success. Throughout this book, the author gives you in-depth guidance, advice, and suggestions on how to turn your employees into a well-oiled team. One that is able to withstand the toughest of problems. Your employees are the backbone of your business. It’s critical that you invest in learning how to change organizational behavior to foster a positive environment.

Your organization's culture can feel like something that has a life of its own; it's long-standing, inherited, and seemingly impermeable - in fact, a strong culture is often an obstacle to doing new things or going in new directions. But leaders are the stewards of a company's culture and have the power to shape it. The best leaders know that organizational culture is a fundamental and powerful management tool that can drive positive outcomes.

In the military, a field manual provides instructions in simple, clear, step-by-step language to help soldiers complete their mission. In the civilian sector, books offer information on everything from fixing a leaky faucet to developing an effective workout program to cooking a good steak. Leadership Strategy and Tactics explains how to take leadership theory, quickly translate that theory into applicable strategy, and then put leadership into action at a tactical level. This audiobook is the solution that leaders at every level need.

This book offers a concise, accessible guide to the key concepts and applications in Otto Scharmer's classic Theory U. Scharmer argues that our capacity to pay attention coshapes the world. What prevents us from attending to situations more effectively is that we aren't fully aware of that interior condition from which our attention and actions originate. Scharmer calls this lack of awareness our blind spot. He illuminates the blind spot in leadership today and offers hands-on methods to help change makers overcome it through the process, principles, and practices of Theory U.

If you cut off a spider's leg, it's crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: "spiders", which have a rigid hierarchy, and "starfish", which rely on the power of peer relationships.

This book brings together leading organization scholars and business historians to examine the opportunities and challenges of incorporating historical research into the study of firms and markets. It examines the reasons for the growing interest in historically grounded research in management departments and business schools, and considers both the intellectual and practical questions the endeavor faces.

Tremendous forces for change are radically reshaping the world of work. Disruptive innovations, radical thinking, new business models and resource scarcity are impacting every sector. Although the scale of expected change is not unprecedented, what is unique is the pervasive nature of the change and its accelerating pace which people in organizations have to cope with. Structures, systems, processes and strategies are relatively simple to understand and even fix.

In the new edition of this fascinating book, a book that has appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, Slashdot.org, Lifehacker.com and in the New York Times, best-selling author Scott Berkun pulls the best lessons from the history of innovation, including the recent software and web age, to reveal powerful and surprising truths about how ideas become successful innovations - truths people can easily apply to the challenges of today.

Theories to leading an organization efficiently are very important. Most people who are thrown into management positions will eventually be put on the spot when it comes to deciding which form of management to use for their employers' organization.

Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs”. It went viral. After a million online views in 17 different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer.

"The Spirit of Evolutionary Leadership" by Ammanuel Santa Anna is a transformative guide that blends ancient wisdom with modern leadership strategies. This insightful book explores how field theory and resonance can elevate your leadership style, creating a more empathetic, effective, and fulfilling approach to guiding teams and organizations. Santa Anna draws on his extensive experience in mysticism, energy healing, and executive coaching to offer practical techniques for developing emotional intelligence, achieving work-life balance, and cultivating a unique leadership presence. Through ...

Read People like a Book isn’t a normal book on body language or facial expressions. Yes, it includes all of those things, as well as new techniques on how to truly detect lies in your everyday life, but this book is more about understanding human psychology and nature. We are who we are because of our experiences and pasts, and this guides our habits and behaviors more than anything else. Parts of this book are like the most interesting and applicable psychology textbook you’ve ever used. Take a look inside yourself and others!

ATTENTION STUDENTS: If you need to write a paper on organizational development or organizational design and structure, then this is the perfect reference. It's simple, easy to understand, and right to the point. Organizational Development This book explains organizational development in a way that is easily understood by anyone. It introduces the concept, discusses its stages, describes it in action, highlights its benefits and drawbacks, and suggests methods for its improvement. The text is educational and informational, and it is applicable to real-world organizational change. ...

Organizational behavior is an important and growing field in leadership and management studies, yet it has been largely overlooked by leaders of churches and other Christian ministries. This introduction to the topic accounts for the unique dynamics of Christian organizations, gives theological foundations, and provides key insights and guidance to those studying or practicing leadership in churches and ministries.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber, read by Christopher Ragland. Back in 1930, the economist John Maynard Keynes prophesied that by the century's end, technology would see us all working 15-hour weeks. But instead, something curious happened. Today, average working hours have not decreased but increased. And now, across the developed world, three-quarters of all jobs are in services or admin, jobs that don't seem to add anything to society: bullshit jobs.

Academia has produced many motivational theories. Most are well thought, and subsequent research has supported their usefulness and validity. One concern with theses theories, however, is the fact that they were mostly developed in academia using interviews, surveys, or controlled subject groups made up of students or paid participants. Often times, real world application is not part of this process. This eBook examines the gap between academia and the real world. It describes major seven motivational theories and applies them to situations in organizations. Using the examples provided, ...

The author of the widely praised Age of Greed now gives us a bold indictment of some of our most accepted economic theories - why they’re wrong, the harm they’ve done, and the theories that would vastly improve them.

We have entered an age of disruption. Financial collapse, climate change, resource depletion, and a growing gap between rich and poor are but a few of the signs. Otto Scharmer and Katrin Kaufer ask, why do we collectively create results nobody wants? Meeting the challenges of this century requires updating our economic logic and operating system from an obsolete “ego-system” focused entirely on the well-being of oneself to an eco-system awareness that emphasizes the well-being of the whole.