Nothing

2

APPROACHES TO ORGANISATION AND
MANAGEMENT

Organisational behaviour is a discursive subject and much
has been written about it. The study of organisations and
management has therefore to proceed on a broad front. It is
the comparative study of the different approaches that will yield
benefits to the manager. The study of organisations, their structure
and management is important for the manager. Identification of
major trends in management and organisational behaviour, and
the work of leading writers, provide a perspective on concepts
and ideas discussed in more detail in other chapters.
Learning outcomes
After completing this chapter you should be able to:
■

identify major trends in the development of organisational behaviour and
management thinking;

■

contrast main features of different approaches to organisation and
management;

■

evaluate the relevance of these different approaches to the present-day
management of organisations;

■

explain the relationships between management theory and practice;

■

assess the value of the study of different approaches to organisation and
management;

■

recognise the relationship between the development of theory, behaviour
in organisations and management practice;

■

establish a basis for consideration of aspects of organisational behaviour
discussed in subsequent chapters.

Critical reflection
‘It is often claimed that what leading writers say is an important part of the
study of management and organisational behaviour. Others say that all these
different ideas are little more than short-term fads and have little practical
value.’
What do you think? What role does management theory have in helping us
solve problems we face in our organisational lives today?

PART 1

THE ORGANISATIONAL SETTING

THE THEORY OF MANAGEMENT
A central part of the study of organisation and management is the development of management thinking and what might be termed management...