Course Understanding organization: theory and practice

Each question will ask you to focus on a different theory or organizational issue, also requiring you to present concrete applications/examples. For instance, they might ask you to use a particular theoretical lens to concisely discuss one organization that you certainly know well, or to come up with a good example of a particular organizational issue. The following theories can be the object of the exam:

scientific management

bureaucracy theory;

contingency theory;

design thinking / open collaboration;

power/organization politics;

organizational culture;

institutional theory;

critical management/stakeholder/ethic theories

sensemaking;

paradox theory

; practice theory / actor-network theory

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Answers length must be no less than 500 word and no more than 1000 words per answer

Question: Organization is typically considered synonymous with order and logic, but often people receive contradictory instructions. For instance: Take the initiative / Don't break the rules; Give immediate notice when mistakes occur / You will be punished if you make a mistake; Think long term / Your present behavior will be punished or rewarded; Think of the organization as an entity of responsibility / Don't trespass on others' area; Co-operate / Compete (Hennestad 1990, p. 272). What is the origin of these contradictions? Are they a problem or an opportunity? What can be done about them?