these slides define postmodern organizational theory in comparison with modern and bureaucratic organizations.

1. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION AND
NEW FORMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL
Ehsan Zeraatparvar
April 2015

2. Outline
Modern
Organization
Postmodern
Organization
Organizational
Control
Conclusion

3. MODERN ORGANIZATION
Weber’s ideal type of organization:
 division of labour and authority
 hierarchy of offices
 careful specification of office functions
 recruitment and promotion on the basis of the merits
 coherent hierarchical system of discipline and control

4. MODERN ORGANIZATION, CONT.
rationalbureaucratic
organization:
Formalization
Instrumentalism
rational-legal
authority

5. MODERN ORGANIZATION, CONT.
formalization
• rules, procedures, policies, reports given in a standardized written form
instrumentalism
• organization is an instrument or machine which transforms tasks into
achieved goals in a routinized, algorithmic and predictable way
rational-legal authority
• authority is based on formal position, which is derived from objective
personal qualifications and merits

7. MODERN ORGANIZATION, CONT.
the segmentation of responsibility is crucial to the effectiveness of
the system as a whole
The logic of the system:
cut work process into smaller parts
make employees responsible for their
accomplishment

8. MODERN ORGANIZATION, CONT.
‘one best way’ of doing things based on own positive working
experience or/and benchmarking
The main focus is on:
Stringent control
Efficient fulfilment of pre-defined and
coordinated tasks

9. MODERN ORGANIZATION, CONT.
The main
drawback of
the concept:
strict separation
between decision-
making (intellectual)
and production
(physical) activities

10. MODERN ORGANIZATION, CONT.
immense wastage of employees’ intelligence capacities and
organizational creativity
Communication in modern organizations:
entirely vertical
mostly top-down through the rigid
hierarchical channel

11. MODERN ORGANIZATION, CONT.
Segmented
design
only top layer
has a ‘bird-eye
view’
inflexibility
The most vivid
shortcoming of
bureaucracy

12. MODERN ORGANIZATION, CONT.
The related problem to this structure:
dehumanization alienation
demotivation of
employees

13. MODERN ORGANIZATION, CONT.
Why?! The main motto is: ‘That is your job, that is all you have to
take care of’
the organization insists on members’ undisputable loyalty
Motivation programs are exclusively based on monetary
incentives, neglecting the importance of socially-colored
sweeteners

14. What sort of organization can successfully replace the
traditional bureaucratic structure?
Postmodern Organization?!

15. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION
Postmodern world:
 increased rate of change
 global competitiveness
 information and electronic revolution
 turbulent and unpredictable environment

16. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION

17. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, VIRTUES
more adaptable arrangements
homework teamwork cross-training job switching
multiskilling multitasking subcontracting outsourcing
contingent employment
contracts
Flatter structures decentralized structures
higher employee
empowerment

18. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, VIRTUES, CONT.
the number of temporarily hired workers has experienced steep
rise
fuzzy, shifting boundaries
growth of alliances, networks, joint
ventures
increasing fluctuation in work-force
contingent

19. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, VIRTUES, CONT.
Responsibility
Modern:
parochial responsibility
Postmodern:
responsibility for the
success of the
organization as a whole

20. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, VIRTUES, CONT.
Information flows
widespread sharing
and dissemination of
information
top down but also
from the bottom up

21. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, VIRTUES, CONT.
Atmosphere of trust
Modern:
vertical command and
communication channels
with lateral relationships
Postmodern:
organizational networks and
alliances

22. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, VIRTUES, CONT.
Responsibility
Modern: parochial
responsibility
Postmodern:
responsibility for the
success of the
organization as a whole

23. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, VIRTUES, CONT.
Focus on Mission
course for action based
on principles rather than
rules
established principles
are not fixed
People are asked to
think about the reasons
for doing something
rather than blindly
follow rigid procedures.

24. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, VIRTUES, CONT.
The best example is Japanese kaizen strategy
Collective intelligence
continuous re-definition of tasks
Learning
Learning organization share their ideas and express ‘tacit knowledge’

25. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, DOWNSIDES
watered
organizational
culture
loosely defined goals
low-level of self-
discipline
insufficiently
capable leadership
anarchy and chaos

26. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, DOWNSIDES, CONT.
JIT
TQM
speed up production
processes and
eliminate any idle
time
pump work out of
workers
greater load of
responsibility and
stress

27. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, DOWNSIDES, CONT.
Insecurity of job place
layoff schemes are
very often
new form of inequality
inside the company

28. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, DOWNSIDES, CONT.
I am a family man rather than a career person
The frequent defense mechanism of dissatisfied workers is indifference to their working situation
Erich Fromm: “many, if not most people thrive on predictability and routine”
Resistancy to new practices
Flexible organization needs “a flexible self with little or no attachment to secure and stable identities”

29. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL
The compulsive desire to control has
not disappeared in postmodern era
The means and methods are
changing …

30. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL, CONT.
Managing the “insides”
The hopes, fears and
aspirations of workers,
rather than their
behaviours directly
The target is to win over
workers’ ‘hearts and
minds’

31. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL, CONT.
Organizational culture
The aim of the strong
corporate culture:
form strong identification
and loyalty with the main
organization’s objectives
and values
use of culture as a
management strategy
The main task of
corporate culture:
join together employees’
sense of identity with the
economic priorities
(productivity and quality)
of the organization

32. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL, CONT.
the contemporary ‘weapon’ against employee resistance
the de-differentiation of economy and culture
this process is promoted “by institutionalising a sense of fun and playfulness”

33. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL, CONT.
Intensify the Pace
gain greater control over all aspects of work process
Undermine Organized Labour
squeeze out more effort from workers
Technocratic Informalism
an intentional, postmodern strategy of increasing the flexibility of social structures and making them amenable to new
forms of indirect and internalised control

34. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL, CONT.
Spanking new vocabulary and discourses
“We” is preferred
to “The
Company”
‘de-
masculinization’
of management
full-time
9 to 5
one career for life

35. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL, CONT.
Leading-edge information
technology
‘Monitoring at a
distance’

36. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL, CONT.
Peer Evaluation Inside Teams
everyone controls
everyone
control is moved
from the hands of
managers and
supervisors into the
hands of teammates
each member of
team gets a relatively
detailed view of
others’ strengths and
weaknesses

37. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL, CONT.
Example: Japanese Companies
strong employees’ attachment to organization
lifetime employment
predictable career path
numerous informal social events (such as picnics or recreation days)
all sorts of business-related interactions, debates and discussions are stimulated

38. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL, CONT.
several competitive
powerful cultures
organization without apparent
core norms and values
bluring the real mission
of the organization
too much space
for subjective
interpretations
chaos and anarchy

39. POSTMODERN ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL, CONT.
Employee Selection
ability to work
with others
share
information
exchange ideas
freely
work under
pressure and
stress

40. CONCLUSION
There is a huge gap between the rhetorical and real structural changes
Traditional control is coupled with a heightened job requirements, involvement and responsibility, often
without added compensations
Workers may begin to romanticize formal, hierarchical production arrangements
Bureaucratic ‘model’ of organization is far from dead
Each study of this type should be embedded in particular political, cultural and historical milieu
Organizational theory should integrate them in order to provide more objective understanding of real
organizational processes

41. REFERENCES
1. Loncar, D. (2005), Postmodern Organization and New Forms of Organizational Control, Economic Annals,
No.165, PP 105-120
2. Daft, R.L. (1998), Essentials of Organization Theory and Design, South Western Educational Publishing
3. Boje, D. & Dennehy, R. (2000), The Story of Postmodern Management, Sage Publication