Rack BM – Modern Management Theories

TAOP Resource Library -- Aisle B (Theories)

Resources: Main Page | Research Methods (A) | Major Theories (B) | Issues and Contemporary Topics (C) | Professional Education (D)

Rack BM (Modern Management Theories): Carnegie-Mellon School | Aston School | Chicago School | Stanford School | Systems School

Jump To: Schools of Thought | Other Schools | Related TAOP Episodes | References

Whereas many of the organization theories presented in the pages are grouped based on closely related topics and frameworks, this Aisle presents “schools” of modern management thought whereby a group of scholars has been collaborating together in close proximity to generate blocks of related reseach. While the answer as to what constitutes such a “school” is probably subjective, there is little doubt that the label Carnegie-Mellon School immediately conjures some leading scholars (e.g., Herb Simon, James March) and important works (too many to be mentioned here). Perhaps a more general description of an “important school of thought” might include the following factors: (a) multiple leading scholars associated with a single university or geographic locations, who (b) pursued a multitude of research efforts in disparate (yet typically related) topics, and (c) whose scholarship has had long-lasting impact on the field. Each of these factors is subjective, of course, so feedback is certainly welcome on other factors you may consider to be important in identifying a “school” and its body of work.

“Schools of Thought” Based on Physical Schools

Two schools covered in the Talking About Organizations Podcast are the Carnegie-Mellon School and the Aston School. The Carnegie-Mellon School of thought is important for organization studies because it introduced a more nuanced, behavioral, and decision-oriented approach to understanding organizations. This school of thought, which emerged primarily in the 1950s and 1960s at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), was a critical departure from earlier, mechanistic views of organizations. Its most influential contributions came from scholars like Herbert Simon, James March, and Richard Cyert.

Meanwhile, the Aston School of thought (see Episode 65) is an important and influential approach in organization studies, particularly for its pioneering focus on comparative research and the systematic study of organizational structure and design. Based at the Aston University in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, the Aston School developed a distinctive perspective on how organizations are structured, how they function, and how their design impacts performance. It remains significant in the field for its contributions to understanding the relationship between organizational structure and organizational performance, as well as its emphasis on empirical research and the development of a more scientific, evidence-based approach to studying organizations.

The Chicago School is known for its emphasis on the social context of organizations and the role of human behavior in organizational settings. Scholars from the Chicago School include Robert E. Park whose career included many studies on city life and Erving Goffman who focused on how social interactions and cultural norms influence organizational life. Their work laid the groundwork for understanding organizations as social constructs shaped by their environments (Mahoney & Miller, 2017). We covered Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life in Episode 108.

The Stanford School emphasizes organizational behaviors, decision-making, and performance. James March emphasized decision-making processes within organizations. Their work on bounded rationality and the behavioral theory of the firm highlights how organizational decisions are influenced by cognitive limitations and social dynamics. It also includes the works of Woody Powell and Bob Gibbons who study organizational effectiveness and have hosted an annual professional development opportunity (“Summer Institute”, see Episode 106). This perspective has been foundational in understanding organizational behavior and the complexities of managerial decision-making (Argote & Greve, 2007; Cohen, 2007).

Other Schools of Thought

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list and many of these are subsumed under broader theoretical domains in other racks (links below).

The Systems School. This perspective views organizations as open systems that interact with their environments. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the interdependencies between various organizational components and their external contexts. Scholars like Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1950) and Daniel Katz & Robert Kahn (1978) contributed to this school by applying systems thinking to organizational analysis, highlighting the dynamic nature of organizations.

The Human Relations School. See Rack BH. Emerging in response to the limitations of classical management theories, the Human Relations School emphasizes the importance of social factors and employee well-being in organizational effectiveness. Pioneered by scholars like Elton Mayo (see Episode 9), Fritz Roethlisberger (see Episodes 33 and 119) and Mary Parker Follett (Episodes 5 and 91), this school focuses on the impact of group dynamics, motivation, and leadership on organizational performance (Shafi et al., 2021).

Critical Management Studies (CMS). See Rack BQ. This school challenges traditional management theories by questioning power dynamics, inequalities, and the socio-political context of organizations. CMS scholars aim to uncover hidden power structures and advocate for social justice within organizational settings. CMS resources are included in Rack BQ (Postmodernism and Critical Studies).

Institutional Theory. See Rack BI. This school examines how institutions—defined as regulative, normative, and culture cognitive practices that become rule-like in practice—shape organizational behavior. Works like Meyer & Rowan (see Episode 107) and DiMaggio and Powell (see Episode 120) have contributed to this field by exploring how organizations adapt to institutional pressures and the processes of institutionalization and deinstitutionalization.

There are certainly others worth considering for the honor of being a “prominent school.” Is your pick included on this page? Please let us know of your pick and why, and perhaps we can add it to the Resources pages!

Related TAOP Episodes, Events, and Notes

65: Organizational Structure — The Aston School

The Aston Group was based in the United Kingdom and played a major role in the early development of organization theory and management science. Starting in the 1960s, they carried out a program of research that departed from the comparative study of work organizations in the Birmingham area in the UK and contributed landmark works on organizational structure and the development of contingency approach.

39: Carnegie Mellon Series #4 – Organizational Choice

The podcasters discuss a fascinating article, “A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice,” published in Administrative Science Quarterly back in 1972 by Michael Cohen, James March, and Johan Olsen. This is another episode from the Carnegie-Mellon University tradition, alongside Episode 4 on Organizational Routines and Episode 19 on Organizational Learning. This installment addresses organizational decision making and choice and, like the others in this series, it changed the way people think about organizations and organizational behavior.

23: Influence of Institutions and Factor Markets — Mike Wright

This is an episode in our special series of Classics in the Journal of Management Studies. Mike Wright co-authored “Emerging multinationals from mid-range economies: the influence of institutions and factor markets” in 2013 that looked at the variety in the development of emerging economies and, through institution theory, increased understanding of competition between multinational economies and the respective national ones.

8: The Ends of Men – Chester Barnard

Continuing with our discussion of Chester Barnard’s master work – The Functions of The Executive (1938) – we look at parts III & IV of the book. Here he is going into more depth on a number of organizational aspects and on the process of management. Specifically, Barnard talks about the parts that make up an organization in Part III and, finally, the functions of the executive in Part IV.

7: Phases of Cooperation – Chester Barnard

This is the first of two episodes devoted to The Functions of the Executive. For this episode we are reading Parts I and II of the book, where Barnard outlines his understanding of the individual, of why individuals would form organizations, and of the basic principles of the formal organization.

4: Carnegie Mellon Series #1 – Organizational Routines

In our first episode on the Carnegie-Mellon School, we examine selected passages from March & Simon’s book Organizations and Cyert & March’s book A Behavioral Theory of the Firm to address the rise of scholarly thought on matters of organizational routines

Aisle B – Major Theoretical Perspectives and Schools

Curated list of resources regarding major theories and schools of thought in organization studies. Groups a wide range of theoretical perspectives in line with common categorizations; other perspectives are welcome.

Rack BA — Classic Organization and Management Theory

Curated list of resources regarding the major “classical” theories that initiated the field of organization studies, beginning with Taylorism and scientific management and continuing with the theories Fayol, Weber, and others.

Rack BB1 – Organizational Behavior (Micro-Individual)

Curated list of resources regarding the major theories of organization behavior such as emotions, sensemaking, socialization and organizational climate, and many others.

Rack BB2 — Organizational Behavior (Meso-Groups and Teams)

Curated list of resources regarding theories on groups, teams, and other small collections of individuals within an organizational context, from the worker level to top management teams.

Rack BB3 — Organizational Behavior (Macro-Org/System)

Curated list of resources on open systems theory and its many descendents such as general systems theory, cybernetics, and organizational ecology

Rack BC — Contingency Theory

Curated list of resources regarding the major theories regarding the organizational context and how particular situations influence organizational structures, behaviors, and so on. Includes classic contingency theories and pragmatism.

Rack BD — Organizational Design

Curated list of resources on theories related to organizational structures and design, including control structures, power, and job design

Rack BG — Organizational Development and Change

Curated list of resources regarding various theories regarding the external environment in organizations, such as labor relations, resource dependence theory, and others.

Rack BH – Human Dimension – Culture, Climate, Identity

Curated list of resources regarding sustainability and corporate social responsibility such as sustainable business practices, responses to climate change, sociomateriality, and ethical considerations

Rack BI — Institution Theory

Curated list of resources on theories related to strategic management, including competitive forces models, resource-based perspectives, and organizational strategies and strategic change

Rack BL — Leadership Theories

Curated list of resources on theories related to leadership in organizations including classic trait theory, behavioral theories of leadership, and transactional / transformational leadership

Rack BM – Modern Management Theories

Curated list of resources regarding the major schools of thought and the theoretical perspectives they established. Includes the Carnegie-Mellon School, Aston School, and others.

Rack BQ — Postmodern and Critical Theories

Curated list of resources on postmodernist views of organizations and organizing and contrasting them with the modernist view. Includes critical management studies and complexity theory

References

Argote, L. and Greve, H. (2007). a behavioral theory of the firm—40 years and counting: introduction and impact. Organization Science, 18(3), 337-349. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1070.0280

Cohen, M. (2007). Perspective—administrative behavior: laying the foundations for Cyert and March. Organization Science, 18(3), 503-506. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1070.0275

Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Doubleday.

Katz, D., & Kahn, R. L. (1978). The social psychology of organizations, 2nd ed. New York: Wiley.

Mahoney, K. and Miller, T. (2017). Bringing new ideas to light: personnel research at general electric in the 1960s and 1970s.. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 20(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1037/mgr0000048

Mayo, E. (1945). The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization. Andover Press.

OpenAI. (2024). Apart from Carnegie-Mellon and the Aston School, what are the other major schools of thought that contributed significantly to organization studies. ChatGPT (November 2022 version) [Large Language Model].

Park, R. E. (1952). Human communities: The city and human ecology. Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press.

Scite. (2024). Apart from Carnegie-Mellon and the Aston School, what are the other major schools of thought that contributed significantly to organization studies. Scite (April 2024 version) [Large Language Model].

Shafi, M., Iqbal, R., Shahzad, K., & Unterhitzenberger, C. (2021). The mediating role of project citizenship behavior in the relationship between organizational justice dimensions and project success. Project Management Journal, 52(6), 547-562. https://doi.org/10.1177/87569728211026423

Von Bertalanffy, L. (1950). An outline of general system theory. The British Journal for the Philosophy of science, 1(2), 134-165.

Jump To: Schools of Thought | Other Schools | Related TAOP Episodes | References

Rack BM (Modern Management Theories): Carnegie-Mellon School | Aston School | Chicago School | Stanford School | Systems School

Resources: Main Page | Research Methods (A) | Major Theories (B) | Issues and Contemporary Topics (C) | Professional Education (D)

Rack BM – Modern Management Theories

TAOP Resource Library -- Aisle B (Theories)

Jump To: Schools of Thought | Other Schools | Related TAOP Episodes | References

“Schools of Thought” Based on Physical Schools

Other Schools of Thought

Related TAOP Episodes, Events, and Notes

Available Resource Pages

References

Jump To: Schools of Thought | Other Schools | Related TAOP Episodes | References