Sociology of Organizations

Netzwerk, Organisation, Panne. Moralökonomische Analysen zur Krise der Gepäckabfertigung an zwei europäischen Flughäfen <2007>

by Joerg Potthast

book chapter

ed. Stefan Kaufmann, Vernetzte Steuerung. Zürich: Chronos, 109-129

The formal organization is often referred to as "the skeleton of a company" set up to handle easily... more The formal organization is often referred to as "the skeleton of a company" set up to handle easily anticipated problems but failing to cope with unexpected problems. According to a common understanding, informal networks compensate for this organizational failure. Surprisingly, the way formal organizational procedures and informal networks are linked to each other has rarely been theorized. Moreover, reticular practices and the way they cope with situations of uncertainty are often accounted for in negative terms only (i.e. the absence of formal organization). Therefore, the question of how organizations respond to critical situations needs to be rethought. Replacing a simple mechanistic model of how formal and informal responses to critical situations are linked, a hypothesis of interference is spelt out. As situations of uncertainty are not governed exclusively in a network mode, the emphasis is put on coexisting and conflicting patterns of responses to breakdowns. To detect these conflicts, two sets of practices may be distinguished: While a first process of inquiry is directed towards what caused the breakdown, simultaneously a second process of inquiry reframes the situation in terms of responsibility. What caused the failure – and who is to blame for it? To test and exemplify the interference or twin process hypothesis the paper will draw on two case studies on the serious baggage crisis airport operators faced when they adopted a hub and spoke operational scheme.

The mask of the symptoms

by Marcelo Manucci

The gap between environmental demands and the ability to adapt and respond generates symptoms in a human system. In a... more The gap between environmental demands and the ability to adapt and respond generates symptoms in a human system. In a system that has lost its ability to make decisions, the symptom decides for the system. In general terms, the masks have the function to hide some features while others becoming visible. Thus, masks are functional elements for interaction. The game of hide and show is only feasible in a wider context of significance. Without context, masks are worthless.

L'approccio organizzativo

by Pietro Saitta

Domenico Consoli, Paolo Postorino, Guido Signorino, Domenica Farinella and Pietro Saitta (2012) L’approccio organizzativo, “Salute e Territorio”, 190: 35-38.

L'approccio organizzativo al problema ictus sul territorio italiano presenta una straordinaria varietà di esperienze... more L'approccio organizzativo al problema ictus sul territorio italiano presenta una straordinaria varietà di esperienze ad un livello sia inter- che intra-regionale.Di seguito si riportano brevi note di sintesi relative alla valutazione dell'esperienza di sei Regioni italiane

Gendered organizations: Progress and prospects

by Laura Logan

Prepare for transformation

by Marcelo Manucci

The concern to keep levels of economic performance maintaining personal well-being conditions is a topic of major... more The concern to keep levels of economic performance maintaining personal well-being conditions is a topic of major interest in most organizations under the current conditions of life context and the demands of production. On the one hand, it is clear the limit of growth rates in many manufacturing sectors in all regions of the world. Furthermore, due to global interdependence the instability is present in all levels of decision.

Grow without ill

by Marcelo Manucci

The concern to keep levels of economic performance maintaining personal well-being conditions is a topic of major... more The concern to keep levels of economic performance maintaining personal well-being conditions is a topic of major interest in most organizations under the current conditions of life context and the demands of production. On the one hand, it is clear the limit of growth rates in many manufacturing sectors in all regions of the world. Furthermore, due to global interdependence the instability is present in all levels of decision.

The Public Institution

by Matt Patterson

Presented at the American Sociological Association Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, August 2011.

Public institutions have played a central role in the development of many cultural fields within Western society and... more Public institutions have played a central role in the development of many cultural fields within Western society and have been frequently studied by sociologists of culture. Yet we lack an explicit model that defines exactly what public institutions are, how they work, and what makes them distinct from other organizational forms. This paper attempts to lay the groundwork for such a model by arguing that it is their access to donated resources rather than dedication toward communitarian interests that make public institutions sociologically distinct. Access to these resources depends on the ability of public institutions to build “public legitimacy”, which is defined as the belief among outsiders that the institution serves the public good. This paper argues that the strategies involved with building and maintaining public legitimacy shape the organizational logic of public institutions. Understanding these strategies helps us to better explain why certain cultural forms tend to be produced within the public sector, and how this culture differs from that created by market-based producers. In outlining this argument, the paper draws on a case study of two public museums in Toronto and existing studies of public cultural institutions.

Requisites, Benefits, and Challenges of Sustainable HIV/AIDS System-Building

by David Rier

D. Indyk and D. Rier, 2006. Social Work in Health Care 42 (3/4): 93-110.

Co-published in, The Geometry of Care: Linking Resources, Research, and Community to Reduce Degrees of Separation Between HIV Treatment and Prevention; Debbie Indyk (ed.). NY: Haworth Press; 2006

This paper is the third and final of a series that has previously presented the rationale (Rier and Indyk, 2006) and... more This paper is the third and final of a series that has previously presented the rationale (Rier and Indyk, 2006) and major program elements (Indyk and Rier, 2006) of an approach to link community and tertiary sociomedical providers, clients/patients, sites, and systems into an integrated response to HIV/AIDS. The primary goal has been to improve sociomedical HIV/AIDS services for a hard-to-reach inner city population. The current paper first summarizes the main advantages (e.g., greater efficiency; more realistic, effective programs with greater credibility among the community; stimulation of knowledge production and dissemination amongst players rarely formally engaged in such activities; creation of a platform useful for other applications) of this work. It then examines some of the main organizational challenges in conducting the work (involving issues such as personnel, coordination, funding, turf conflicts, sustainability). From this discussion emerge organizational requisites to conducting this work (e.g., development of key boundary-spanning figures; attention to the specific interests of potential linkage partners; translation efforts to demonstrate the value of participation; a continuous quality improvement approach featuring wide distribution of feedback in user-friendly form; flexibility, tact and patience), so that others can adapt and apply the linkage approach to manage HIV/AIDS or other problems. Finally, we explain how theory and practice have driven one another in this work.

Keywords: AIDS services; inter-organizational linkages; sustainability; knowledge production and dissemination.

Wiring the HIV/AIDS System: Building Interorganizational Infrastructure to Link People, Sites, and Networks

by David Rier

D. Indyk and D. Rier, 2006. Social Work in Health Care 42 (3/4):29-45.

Co-published in The Geometry of Care: Linking Resources, Research, and Community to Reduce Degrees of Separation Between HIV Treatment and Prevention; Debbie Indyk (ed.). NY: Haworth Press; 2006.

This paper presents a case example of the new “geometry of care” (Rier & Indyk, 2006), by examining selected... more This paper presents a case example of the new “geometry of care” (Rier & Indyk, 2006), by examining selected examples from several facets of a program developed by the lead author and in operation since 1989. This program is designed to understand, build, revise, and maintain the organizational infrastructure with which to link diverse players and sites, and combine these into a web for producing, assessing, and exchanging the information needed to combat HIV/AIDS. Each example demonstrates how opportunities were exploited for developing and linking resources within and between systems of care and prevention. The program began as an iterative and systems approach to improve access of high-risk, hard-to-reach inner city New York populations to HIV/AIDS services, treatment, and research. The approach is also currently being further elaborated and applied in Argentina and India, and is adaptable to other local and global public health challenges.
KEYWORDS: AIDS; organizations; service delivery; networks; inner city.

Work Setting, Publication, and Scientific Responsibility

by David Rier

Science Communication 24:420-57; 2003

Semi-structured interviews (n=61) with toxic-exposure epidemiologists indicate that those in government settings (CDC,... more Semi-structured interviews (n=61) with toxic-exposure epidemiologists indicate that those in government settings (CDC, state health departments, and NIH) were more aware of and responsive to societal consequences of their publications than were those in universities. The NIH data were surprising, given NIH’s ivory tower image, but in part appear to stem from a broad trend towards greater accountability in science. Other worksite influences included: "institutional voice": epidemiologists from NIH or CDC were aware of speaking in the "voice of the government". There was also limited evidence suggesting the importance of local unit environment: investigators in the same research unit often reported being influenced by the tone set by the unit chief and colleagues. This preliminary study suggests that work-setting influences how epidemiologists define and execute their ethical responsibilities towards social consequences of their work, and generates questions and five testable hypotheses for future empirical research.
KEYWORDS: Toxic-exposure epidemiology; Work-setting; Scientific responsibility; Scientific publication; Media.

Tacit Knowledge and Personal Competitive Advantage: An Autopoietic Framework for Knowledge Management in Human Resources

by Matthew Jelavic

Jelavic, M. (2011). Tacit knowledge and personal competitive advantage: An autopoietic framework for knowledge management in human resources. Canadian Manager, 36(3), 22 – 23.

Poetry Lessons: On Organizing Creativity

by Janet L. Borgerson

published in Aesthesis

The article invokes poetry as organization of creativity through an engagement with poetry lessons, paraphrases of... more The article invokes poetry as organization of creativity through an engagement with poetry lessons, paraphrases of writing advice given in one-on-one seminars of which the author was a part. Advice comes from Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, and Joanne Kyger among others who were teaching at Naropa Institute, Summer 1986. Also discusses Ted Berrigan, Yves Bonnefoy, Pierre Bourdieu, and The Alternative Press of Ken and Ann Mikolowski. Includes an original poem, Poetry Lessons, by the article's author; a reproduction of a postcard of one of Ginsberg's last poems (of 3/23/97, 4:51 AM) printed by The Alternative Press; and two poems written by the article's author in 1986, with hand-written comments by Ginsberg.

Les enjeux organisationnels de la participation communautaire dans un contexte de modernisation réflexive : le cas des conseils locaux de santé au Brésil

by José Carlos Suárez-Herrera

Suárez-Herrera, J. C., Champagne, F., & Contandriopoulos, A-P. (2010). Les enjeux organisationnels de la participation communautaire dans un contexte de modernisation réflexive. Le cas des conseils locaux de santé au Brésil. Nouvelles Pratiques Sociales, 23(1), 206-221.

Reflexive Modernization Theories (Beck, 2001 ; Giddens, 1994) guide us to explore both the expansionist... more Reflexive Modernization Theories (Beck, 2001 ; Giddens, 1994) guide us to explore both the expansionist transformations relating to the institutional globalization of modern societies and their influence on organisational integration of local communities’ participation in collective decision-making processes concerning population health.

The complexity and cultural diversity of Local Health Councils (LHC) implemented during the decentralisation strategies of the « Sistema Único de Saúde » (SUS) in Brazil will help to illustrate the challenges associated with the confluence of paradoxical tensions inherent in the organisational integration of community participation. These forces, divergent although potentially complementary, constitute one of the key elements for the democratic renewal of participatory practices in the complex field of Public Health.

Contributions des approches anthroposociales au champ transdisciplinaire et intersectoriel de la recherche en santé mondiale

by José Carlos Suárez-Herrera

Suárez-Herrera, J. C. et Blain M.-J. (dir.). (2011). Compte-rendu du colloque « Contributions des approches anthroposociales au champ transdisciplinaire et intersectoriel de la recherche en santé mondiale ». Montréal (Québec) : Programme interuniversitaire de formation en recherche en santé mondiale (Santé-Cap), 46 p.

La nature transdisciplinaire et intersectorielle de la recherche en santé mondiale fait appel à des théories, des... more La nature transdisciplinaire et intersectorielle de la recherche en santé mondiale fait appel à des théories, des méthodes et des pratiques procédant de plusieurs courants de pensée contemporains fort éloignés du point vue épistémologique, mais potentiellement complémentaires. Cette confluence d’approches favorise l’émergence d’interactions dynamiques entre de nombreux acteurs concernés par la recherche tout en permettant de mettre en oeuvre une démarche dialectique entre, d’une part, des perspectives plus universalistes, qui prônent l’unicité des critères et l’équivalence du sens, et d’autre part, des approches nettement culturalistes, qui préconisent la cohérence interne et la différenciation identitaire.

Afin de rendre compte de cette complexité et des enjeux qui lui sont attribués, nous avons organisé, dans le cadre du 79e congrès de l’Acfas, un colloque visant l’alignement d’un ensemble de considérations conceptuelles, de choix méthodologiques et de stratégies opérationnelles essentiels au développement de compétences clés pour les chercheurs, praticiens, étudiants et gestionnaires en santé mondiale. Pour ce faire, nous avons compté sur la participation de chercheurs et d’étudiants post-gradués reconnus dans le domaine de la santé par la qualité et les retombées de leur production scientifique. La diversité transdisciplinaire de ces participants, provenant de plusieurs milieux académiques du Québec, offre un regard original sur la recherche en santé mondiale, se caractérisant surtout par l’étendue globale de sa perspective épistémologique ainsi que par sa sensibilité aux particularités locales de la santé des populations.

Tout en suivant la structure proposée au sein du colloque, les sections de ce compte-rendu illustrent les contenus qu’on a touchés au sein des trois sessions et de la table ronde de cet événement. Les deux premières sections sont consacrées respectivement aux considérations conceptuelles et aux choix méthodologiques associés à la recherche en santé mondiale. La troisième section est dédiée aux stratégies opérationnelles relatives à la pratique du chercheur en santé mondiale. Le compte-rendu se clôture par une dernière section axée sur les enjeux, les défis et les pistes de recherche et d’action pour la santé mondiale contemporaine.

Un rendez-vous parmi d’autres. Ce que le jeu sur internet nous apprend du travail contemporain

by Manuel Boutet

Manuel Boutet, 2011. « Un rendez-vous parmi d’autres. Ce que le jeu sur internet nous apprend du travail contemporain ». ethnographiques.org, Numéro 23 - décembre 2011 "Analyser les présences au travail : visibilités et invisibilités" [en ligne].
(http://www.ethnographiques.org/2011/ Boutet - consulté le 27.12.2011)

Abstract

What can we learn about contemporary work and its collective forms of sociability from the rise of... more Abstract

What can we learn about contemporary work and its collective forms of sociability from the rise of ‘rendez-vous' games on Internet ? Games can be useful tools for analyzing work on the condition that our understanding of the encounters between of these two types of activity is not limited to a common-sense interpretation in which games represent at worst a simple form of entertainment, at best, training for something more serious. On the basis of interviews with players of an online game, we show that forms of play vary with the work activity with which they are associated, and especially, on the presence or absencce of multi-activity, where interactions at a distance and heterogeneous solicitations occupy an important place. Examing gaming pratice during breaks enables us to see how employees manage to maintain the consistency of their activities in such professional contexts, and to understand the developing of new forms of sociability based mainly on shared life/work rhythms.

Résumé

Que peut nous apprendre l'essor des « jeux de rendez-vous » sur le travail contemporain et les collectifs qui s'y inventent ? Si le jeu peut constituer un bon analyseur du travail, c'est que l'intrication de ces deux activités ne se résume pas aux deux interprétations courantes, qui voient dans le jeu un divertissement ou un entraînement. En partant d'entretiens menés avec des joueurs d'un jeu en ligne sur internet, on montre que la forme prise par la pratique de jeu varie selon l'activité de travail où elle s'insère, en particulier selon la présence ou non d'une situation de multi-activité, où se multiplient les communications à distance et les sollicitations hétérogènes dans le cours de l'activité. Le jeu donne ainsi à voir le travail déployé pour maintenir une cohérence de l'activité dans les contextes professionnels, plus nombreux aujourd'hui, où les temps sont individualisés, les arrangements techniques, laissés à la responsabilité du travailleur, et les sollicitations hétérogènes. On comprend aussi que s'y développent des nouvelles formes de sociabilités essentiellement basées sur le partage de rythmes.

L'organisation en mouvement: action, temporalité et processus

by Benoit Cordelier

Co-auteurs: Benoit Cordelier, Consuelo Vásquez, Isabelle Mahy
Article d'introduction au dossier "L'organisation en mouvement" de la Revue internationale de communication sociale et publique
http://www.revuecsp.uqam.ca/numero/RICSP_5_2011.php

Cordelier B., «L'urgence : un outil de médiation locale dans les projets de changement organisationnel» in Carayol V. (coord.)., Vivre l'urgence dans les organisations, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2005, pp. 97-106.

by Benoit Cordelier

Cordelier B., Gramaccia G., «Antinomies, régulations et médiations dans les projets d'innovation organisationnelle» in Germain O. (coord.), De nouvelles figures du projet en management, Paris, EMS, 2006, pp. 99-123.

by Benoit Cordelier

Des militants à la synagogue

by beatrice de gasquet

de Gasquet, Beatrice. "Des militants à la synagogue." L’organisation du travail militant. Ed. Sandrine Nicourd. Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2009. 89-93.

La barrière et le plafond de vitrail. Analyser les carrières féminines dans les organisations religieuses

by beatrice de gasquet