Introduction Organizational theory FOR MORE CLASSES VISIT tutorialoutlet
Introduction Organizational theory , which draws on many disciplines , is a tough subject and it is reasonable to ask why it is important enough to take the time to become familiar with it . Knowledge of organizational theory is important because it : ( 1 ) makes organizations more understandable ; ( 2 ) reveals how authority and decision making are organized and distributed ; ( 3 ) explains why some police departments are less or more open to change and innovation ; ( 4 ) makes assumptions , one way or another , about followers ; ( 5 ) incorporates notions about the environments that the police department faces ( e . g ., political and legal ) and how these can impinge on the department ; and ( 6 ) provides an essential tool for leaders in deciding how the work will be processed and the structure and relationship of the work units needed to accomplish it . Formal Organizations Formal organizations are not a recent innovation . 1 Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar used them to conquer , the pharaohs employed them to build pyramids , the emperors of China constructed great irrigation systems with them , and the first popes created an organization to deliver religion on a worldwide basis . 2 The extent to which contemporary America is an organizational society is such that we are born in organizations , educated by organizations , and spend most of our lives working for organizations . We spend much of our time … playing and praying in organizations . Most of us will die in an organization and when the time comes for burial , the largest organization of all — the state — must grant official permission . 3 The basic rationale for the existence of organizations is that they do those things that people are unwilling or unable to do alone . Parsons notes that organizations are distinguished from other human groupings or social units in that , to a much greater degree , they are constructed and reconstructed to achieve specific goals ; corporations ,