Suchergebnisse

A case is made for the stance that sociologists who study organizations have been and are rendering more valuable services to organizational theory and practice by maintain ing the sociology of organization as a more or less distinct speciality than by simply joining hands with others in an interdisciplinary approach to the field. Some typical features of the sociological 'touch' in organizational analysis are singled out, namely (1) the view that organizations are recalcitrant tools, (2) the view that organizations form part and parcel of society, (3) the interest in cultural aspects and cultural determinants of organizational forms and processes, and (4) a specific ethos: problem orientation. Finally, the contributions of organizational sociology to practical and societal concerns are discussed. It is concluded that these contributions are of an indirect rather than of a direct kind.

'Sociology of organizations' is often considered to be just a name for the general social-scientific approach to the study of organizations. However, a case can be made for a one-sided, purely sociological analysis of organizations and interorganizational trans actions on the grounds that such a sociological speciality forms an essential part of sociology at large and, in addition, contributes to various other sociological specialities. As a distinct subdiscipline organizational sociology developed in the 1960s as a 'horizon tal' approach, claimed to be more theoretical, more fruitful, and more economical than the 'vertical' study of organizations. With the aid of a fourfold classification of its 'outputs' it is argued that organizational sociology has produced a wide variety of fruitful theories and findings which justify the claim that there remains a definite need for such a speciality closely tied to its 'mother discipline'. In a sequel — to appear in OS 2/4 — the contributions of organizational sociology to practical and societal concerns will be dealt with.

Does shopfloor participation reinforce or thwart the functioning of a Works Council? This question is examined with the aid of data collected in a study about Industrial Democracy in Dutch firms and hospitals. The analysis brings to light a few significant correlations only between indices of direct and of indirect participation. These few correlations suggest that, particularly in hospitals, employees tend to ascribe more influence to a Works Council, the less autonomy and upward influence they have with respect to core activities in their own work situation. In general, in hospitals 'key-persons' and 'rank-and-file' see more eye to eye on these matters than in firms.

The exploratory role three-mode principal component analysis can play in analyzing multivariate longitudinal organizational data is outlined by an exposition of the technique itself, and by its application to organizational data from Dutch hospitals. Relationships with some other techniques for such data are indicated.