Sunday, April 25, 2010

Common Organizational Themes

What I found particularly interesting in Chapter 17 is the discussion of common themes among all organizations. Despite the diverse forms and variations that may exist within and among organizations, four common characteristics include: coordination of effort, a common goal, division of labor, and a hierarchy of authority. In order to function effectively, there must be some form of these characteristics implemented in the organization.

In the article, "Initial Attraction to Organizations: The influence of trait inferences," Slaughter et. al. study how organization personality perceptions are associated with an organization's characteristics. Research shows that the organization personality perceptions: Boy Scout, Innovativeness, Dominance, Thrift, and Style may determine an individual's attraction to firms that display the traits they are looking for. Furthermore, organizations can highlight these traits for future recruitment in the workplace.

Establishing an organizational mission statement or purpose separates the organization from others. Though all share a general structure, it is up to the organization to build upon that foundation to create something great.

Source: Slaughter, Jerel E., and Gary J. Greguras. "Initial Attraction to Organizations: The influence of trait inferences." International Journal of Selection & Assessment 17.1 (2009): 1-18. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Apr. 2010.

1 comment:

  1. that's all certainly true. Every organization can be shown to have a number of things in common, simply because they are an organized group of people with a purpose. While there is a seemingly infinite number of organizations out there, they all share a lot in common when you break down their overall anatomy.

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