Nils Brunsson - Böcker

Beslut är en central aktivitet i organisationer. Inte minst i politiska sammanhang tillmäts beslut stor betydelse. Men att fatta beslut är också en vardaglig aktivitet, som alla människor är engagerade i. I den här boken reder Karin Brunsson och Nils Brunsson ut begreppet beslut. De beskriver hur det går till när individer och organisationer fattar beslut, vad beslut får för konsekvenser och hur komplicerat beslutsfattande kan bli.

Om författarnaKarin Brunsson är docent i företagsekonomi och arbetar vid Uppsala universitet och Internationella Handelshögskolan i Jönköping. Hennes senaste bok är "Läran om management – föreställningar i ett organisationssamhälle." Nils Brunsson är professor i företagsekonomi vid Uppsala universitet. Han har publicerat ett tjugotal böcker och ett stort antal artiklar om organisationer.

A growing number of organizations are meta-organizations; rather than individuals they have other organizations as their members. This comprehensive book explains, in-depth, the unique way in which meta-organizations function, how they differ from organizations with individual membership, and how they are crucial agents in the process of globalization. The book opens a whole new area for organizational research. It will be essential reading for researchers and postgraduate students interested in organization theory, globalization, politics and organizations, or international organizations.

One of the predominant trends of modern society is the pervasive presence of competition. No longer just a function of economic markets or democratic systems, competition has become a favoured tool for governing people and organizations, from the provision of schooling and elder care to the way we consume popular culture. Yet social scientists have played a surprisingly modest role in analysing its implications, as the discussion of competition has largely been confined to its narrow economic meaning. This book opens up competition for the study of social scientists. Its central message is that while competition seems ubiquitous, it should not be taken for granted or be naturalized as an inevitable aspect of human existence. Its emergence, maintenance, and change are based on institutions and organizational efforts, and a central challenge for social science is to learn more about these processes and their outcomes.With the use of a novel definition of competition, more fundamental questions can be addressed than merely whether or not competition works. How is competition constructed - and by whom? Which behaviours result from competition? What are its consequences? Can competition be removed? And, how do these factors vary with the object of competition - be it money, attention, status, or other scarce and desired objects? This book investigates these and more questions in studies of competition among and within schools, universities, multinational corporations, auditors, waste-disposal firms, fashion designers, and more.

Large contemporary organizations seem to be in an almost continual state of change. Whether in public or private organizations, managers are trying to implement new organizational forms, introduce new procedures or systems, or change the attitudes of employees. Such reforms often yield disappointing results, and so new reforms are deemed necessary.In this book, Nils Brunsson considers why reform takes place. He looks at why reforms occur when they do, why they propagate certain ideas to the exclusion of others, and what their consequences are. He emphasizes the role of social institutions, fashions, and hope. He argues that reform represents not only change but also stability, and that a failure to implement reforms is sometimes a solution rather than a problem for organizations.Nils Brunsson has long been one of the most probing analysts of organizational life, often taking unorthodox approaches. He draws on both European and American traditions to develop a distinctive voice and stance of his own. Based on extensive empirical studies in private and public organizations, Brunsson's new book will be of interest to academics and advanced students of organizational change, organizational theory, and public management.

In the modern world there is no shortage of people who know what is best for others. Self-appointed experts, consultants, and organizations try to convince states, corporations, and individuals that they would be better off if they only followed some specific rules about what to do. There are 'experts' in almost every field of human activity, from the management of companies to the management of our own health. Even organizations as powerful as states and large corporations follow rules provided by others on how to organize, which policies to pursue, what kinds of services to provide, or how their products should be designed. These rules are presented as being voluntary and advisory. They are standards, not mandatory directives, and in modern life standards abound. They may concern what characteristics a telephone should have, how a company should report its financial transactions, how contracts should be worded, what structure an organization should have, how children should be brought up and educated, how to play tennis, and so forth. This book discusses standards and standardization as a form of regulation. The authors argue that standards enable a higher degree of global order in the modern world than would exist without them. They facilitate coordination and cooperation on a global scale, creating similarities and homogeneity even among peoples and organizations that are quite different. The author believe that standardization is a much neglected area of social science - an area that has by no means received the attention it deserves in view of its importance to society. This book seeks to redress the balance by providing an in-depth examination of a number of aspects of standardization, how it is formed, and what effects it has on the world in which we live.

Organizing and Reorganizing Markets brings organization theory to the study of markets. The difference between markets and organizations is often exaggerated. Organizing exists in addition to other processes and phenomena that form markets: the mutual adaption among sellers and buyers as described in mainstream economics, and the institutions described in institutional economics and economic sociology. Market organization can be analysed with the same type of theories used for analysing organization within formal organizations. Through the use of many empirical examples, the book demonstrates how this can be done.The authors argue that the way a certain market is organized can be understood as the (intermediate) result of previous organizing processes. Questions discussed include: 'What drives market organizing and reorganizing processes? What makes various organizations intervene as market organizers? And, how are the specific contents of market organization determined?' The answers to these questions help to analyse similarities and differences among organizing processes in formal organizations and those in markets.Arguments are illustrated by in-depth studies of many types of markets. The book will open up markets as a field of study for scholars of organization.

Nils Brunsson is one of the leading European organization theorists who has written and researched decision-making in organizations. He has often questioned the rationality of decision-making, and argued that it is as important to understand other consequences of decision-making apart from choice - such things as mobilizing action, allocating responsibility, and legitimizing organizations. These consequences of decisions can influence decision-making and the assumptions about feasible norms that provide their context. Decisions often run counter to actions and are part of what Brunsson calls organizational hypocrisy. Decisions can substitute for action, or decrease the probability of the action they call for. The norm of rationality is far from obvious: sometimes decision-makers can recommend systematic irrationality.This book collects together a wide-range of Nils Brunsson's most important writing on decision-making, brought together in one volume for the first time, with an introduction from the author.

In the modern world there is no shortage of people who know what is best for others. Self-appointed experts, consultants, and organizations try to convince states, corporations, and individuals that they would be better off if they only followed some specific rules about what to do. These rules are presented as being voluntary and advisory. They are standards, not mandatory directives, and in modern life standards abound.Standards may concern what characteristics a telephone should have, how a company should report its financial transactions, how organizations should be managed, how states should treat their citizens, how children should be raised, and so forth. Even organizations as powerful as states and large corporations follow standards on how to organize, which policies to pursue, what kinds of services to provide, or how their products should be designed. Standards enable a higher degree of global order in the modern world than would exist without them. They facilitate coordination and cooperation even among people and organizations that are far apart. The authors believe that standardization is a much neglected area of social science -- an area that has by no means received the attention it deserves in view of its importance to society. This book seeks to redress the balance by providing an in-depth examination of a number of aspects of standardization, how it is formed, and what effects it has on the world in which we live.

Originally published in 1993. Organizations have become larger, more professionalized, more differentiated, and wealthier. At the same time, they are often subject to large-scale changes: either as a result of mergers and acquisitions, or simply in response to changed market conditions or new technologies. In this climate the people who run organizations frequently find themselves acting as "reformers". The central concern of this study is to analyze the reforming process within organizations and assess its impact. The authors define reform as the process by which individuals seek to achieve desired goals by changing the structure of their organization: the administrative procedures, chains of command and lines of communication. Drawing on empirical case studies from a range of different sectors, The Reforming Organization questions the relationship between the changes that can be seen occurring in organizations all the time and these conscious internal attempts at reform. This is a different approach to some of the central concerns in organizational theory. The relationship between individuals and structures and the "learning" capacity of organizations. This title will be of interest to students of Business Studies and Management.

Originally published in 1993. Organizations have become larger, more professionalized, more differentiated, and wealthier. At the same time, they are often subject to large-scale changes: either as a result of mergers and acquisitions, or simply in response to changed market conditions or new technologies. In this climate the people who run organizations frequently find themselves acting as "reformers". The central concern of this study is to analyze the reforming process within organizations and assess its impact. The authors define reform as the process by which individuals seek to achieve desired goals by changing the structure of their organization: the administrative procedures, chains of command and lines of communication. Drawing on empirical case studies from a range of different sectors, The Reforming Organization questions the relationship between the changes that can be seen occurring in organizations all the time and these conscious internal attempts at reform. This is a different approach to some of the central concerns in organizational theory. The relationship between individuals and structures and the "learning" capacity of organizations. This title will be of interest to students of Business Studies and Management.

The book explores how various social settings are partially organized even when they do not form part of a formal organization. It also shows how even formal organizations may be only partially organized. Professors Göran Ahrne and Nils Brunsson first established the concept of partial organization in 2011 and in doing so opened up a ground-breaking new field of organizational analysis. An academic community has since developed around the concept, and Ahrne and Brunsson have edited this collection to reflect the current state of inquiry in this burgeoning subject and to set an agenda for future research. Its chapters explain how organization is a salient feature in many social settings, including markets, interfirm networks, social movements, criminal gangs, internet communication and family life. Organization theory is much more relevant for the understanding of social processes than previously assumed. This book provides a new understanding of many social phenomena and opens up new fields for organizational analysis.

The book explores how various social settings are partially organized even when they do not form part of a formal organization. It also shows how even formal organizations may be only partially organized. Professors Göran Ahrne and Nils Brunsson first established the concept of partial organization in 2011 and in doing so opened up a ground-breaking new field of organizational analysis. An academic community has since developed around the concept, and Ahrne and Brunsson have edited this collection to reflect the current state of inquiry in this burgeoning subject and to set an agenda for future research. Its chapters explain how organization is a salient feature in many social settings, including markets, interfirm networks, social movements, criminal gangs, internet communication and family life. Organization theory is much more relevant for the understanding of social processes than previously assumed. This book provides a new understanding of many social phenomena and opens up new fields for organizational analysis.

Decision-making is an activity in which everyone is engaged on a more or less daily basis. In this book, Karin Brunsson and Nils Brunsson explore the intricacies of decision-making for individuals and organizations. When, how and why do they make decisions? The authors identify four distinct ways of reasoning that decision-makers use. The consequences of decisions vary: some promote action, others impede it, and some produce more responsibility than others. With in-depth discussions of rationality, justifications and hypocrisy, the authors show how organizational and political decision processes become over-complicated and difficult for both decision makers and external observers to understand. Decisions is a concise and easy-to-read introduction to a highly significant and intriguing topic. Based on research from several fields, it provides useful reading and essential knowledge for scholars and students throughout the social sciences and for everyone who wants to understand their own decisions and those of others.

Decision-making is an activity in which everyone is engaged on a more or less daily basis. In this book, Karin Brunsson and Nils Brunsson explore the intricacies of decision-making for individuals and organizations. When, how and why do they make decisions? The authors identify four distinct ways of reasoning that decision-makers use. The consequences of decisions vary: some promote action, others impede it, and some produce more responsibility than others. With in-depth discussions of rationality, justifications and hypocrisy, the authors show how organizational and political decision processes become over-complicated and difficult for both decision makers and external observers to understand. Decisions is a concise and easy-to-read introduction to a highly significant and intriguing topic. Based on research from several fields, it provides useful reading and essential knowledge for scholars and students throughout the social sciences and for everyone who wants to understand their own decisions and those of others.