Elgar Introductions to Management and Organization Theory series – Serie

How and why does job stress manifest as negative emotions, disordered thoughts, deleterious behaviors, and physical illness? How can positive outcomes like growth and mastery be encouraged instead? Job stress theories provide insights that guide practical decision making on how to mitigate the negative effects, and promote the positive outcomes, of job demands for the organization and its constituents. This book provides a review of the empirical support for nearly 100 job stress frameworks, and presents guidance for theoretical applications, testing, refinement, and integrations.In addition to providing an overview of the theories, models, and hypotheses related to job stress, the authors present organizational and individual implications for both management and personal improvement. For scholars, gaps in the literature are identified to facilitate future research. Instructors and students will find this knowledge valuable for organizational psychology/behavior, occupational health psychology, or job stress classes, among others.Altogether, students, researchers, and practitioners will find this Introduction integral to their learning, and benefit from the actionable research ideas and suggestions for stress reduction.

This unique book provides a novel and challenging framework for understanding and influencing organizational change. It reimagines managing and leading change as the mindful mobilization of maps, masks and mirrors.The book challenges overly rational views of change management and leadership. Addressing the gaps, paradoxes and ironies of organizational change, it exposes how deep the faults of traditional change management lie. The authors successfully bridge the divide between scholarly treatises and textbooks on leading change. Summarizing and integrating the diverse literatures on change, this dynamic book is an invaluable resource for change researchers and specialists. Abundant with popular imagery, stories, case studies and reflective activities, Ironies of Organizational Change is the perfect companion and guide for lecturers and advanced students of business and organization studies. It also serves as a research based pragmatic handbook for practitioners looking to manage change more effectively.

Our knowledge and understanding of organizations is both enabled and constrained by an invisible relationship of power that is embedded in the ways in which we act and speak. This book offers a succinct but comprehensive introduction to the vast field of organizational discourse analysis, the approach that studies organization as a linguistic phenomenon, and offers an original approach to investigate the relationship between materiality and discourse. Three original images of discourse are employed: discourse as a map, discourse as organizing and discourse as a mask. These metaphors are used as cognitive tools to highlight different implications and perspectives on discourse. The book critically compares and contrasts various linguistic-focused approaches to the study of organizations, and proposes the use of linguistic phenomena in connection with other methodologies. One section even offers an exemplification of the proposed approach to discourse analysis, presenting a map of discursive terrain, which plays a central role in the reproduction of local organizational and management discourses. This rich and approachable introduction is targeted at graduate and doctoral students, as well as non-specialist academics who want to familiarize themselves with the organizational discourse debate.

Our knowledge and understanding of organizations is both enabled and constrained by an invisible relationship of power that is embedded in the ways in which we act and speak. This book offers a succinct but comprehensive introduction to the vast field of organizational discourse analysis, the approach that studies organization as a linguistic phenomenon, and offers an original approach to investigate the relationship between materiality and discourse. Three original images of discourse are employed: discourse as a map, discourse as organizing and discourse as a mask. These metaphors are used as cognitive tools to highlight different implications and perspectives on discourse. The book critically compares and contrasts various linguistic-focused approaches to the study of organizations, and proposes the use of linguistic phenomena in connection with other methodologies. One section even offers an exemplification of the proposed approach to discourse analysis, presenting a map of discursive terrain, which plays a central role in the reproduction of local organizational and management discourses. This rich and approachable introduction is targeted at graduate and doctoral students, as well as non-specialist academics who want to familiarize themselves with the organizational discourse debate.

As we grapple with how to respond to some of the world's most pressing problems, there is growing global interest in 'social innovation' as a potential solution. But what exactly is 'social innovation'? And how can it help us to think about problems such as inequality, poverty and climate change?Danielle Logue theorizes social innovation as a contemporary manifestation of the historical tensions between 'economy' and 'society' and the simultaneous pursuit of economic and social progress. Going back to the historical work of Adam Smith and his discussion of markets and morality, the author draws on organizational and management theory to present three theoretical lenses for understanding social innovation. These lenses include theorizing social innovation as social value creation, capture and distribution; social innovation as polysemous; and social innovation as institutional change. She then considers some of the current issues confronting social innovation in practice and the challenges for organizations in 'doing good' and 'being good'.This generative introduction is targeted at graduate and doctoral students, as well as non-specialist academics. It aims to stimulate further discussion and analysis by providing a comprehensive understanding of social innovation and a choice of frameworks when examining complex and wicked problems and the organization and management of efforts to solve them.

With organizational environments becoming increasingly unstable, uncertain and equivocal, the concept of resilience has become increasingly significant for management studies and practice. Resilience connotes organizational, team and individual capacities to absorb external shocks and to learn from them, while simultaneously preparing for and responding to external jolts. This book pinpoints the essential aspects of managerial and organizational resilience and offers insights that stimulate critical thinking. As the concept of resilience is essentially made up of contrasting forces, the volume presents some innovative synthetic interpretation that allows a deeper comprehension of the phenomenon and provides managers and policy makers with a solid basis for taking their decisions.This book provides an accessible yet rigorous systematization of individual resilience, team resilience and organizational resilience. Rich with real-life concept illustrations and containing practice-oriented tools, reflection questions and exercises, it shows how resilience can be cultivated across levels of organizational aggregation: individuals, teams, organizations and communities. The authors distinguish individual and collective resilience from related constructs and shed light on the boundaries of resilience and its potential implications for management practice. Elgar Introduction to Theories of Organizational Resilience will serve as a key resource for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students as well as academics and practitioners who are interested in deepening their understanding of resilience.

This unique book provides a novel and challenging framework for understanding and influencing organizational change. It reimagines managing and leading change as the mindful mobilization of maps, masks and mirrors.The book challenges overly rational views of change management and leadership. Addressing the gaps, paradoxes and ironies of organizational change, it exposes how deep the faults of traditional change management lie. The authors successfully bridge the divide between scholarly treatises and textbooks on leading change. Summarizing and integrating the diverse literatures on change, this dynamic book is an invaluable resource for change researchers and specialists. Abundant with popular imagery, stories, case studies and reflective activities, Ironies of Organizational Change is the perfect companion and guide for lecturers and advanced students of business and organization studies. It also serves as a research based pragmatic handbook for practitioners looking to manage change more effectively.

This Elgar Introduction provides an overview of some of the key theories that inform human resource management and employment relations as a field of study. Leading scholars in the field explore theories in the context of contemporary debates concerning policies that affect and regulate work and the management of employment, as well as the activities and experiences of actors within the employment relationship. The book is divided into three sections to capture different theoretical lenses used to reflect on HRM and ER concerns about work: systems and historical development; institutions; and people and processes. Expert contributors have drawn on extensive research experience to present a contemporary understanding of a range of theories, how they evolved, and how they might be used in the future. Essential reading for HRM, ER and management scholars and research students, this book challenges readers to reassess their thinking about the significance of theory in research and practice.

This concise text introduces an integrated view of all project management-related activities in an organization, called Organizational Project Management (OPM). Practical cases from several organizations, as well as popular theories such as the Resource-Based Theory and Institutional Theory provide for an insightful yet realistic understanding of OPM as an integrative tool for organizations to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.The reader will learn how separate organizational functions, such as project, program and portfolio management and governance integrate in a cohesive manner. The authors describe how different approaches to competing in the marketplace link to strategies, and the ways of selecting the 'best' business opportunities for organizations and integrating them into existing workflows and structures. They develop and describe a model that shows how OPM works within organizations.The book is a valuable resource for top managers, reflective practitioners, academics, and postgraduate students in organization theory.

How and why does job stress manifest as negative emotions, disordered thoughts, deleterious behaviors, and physical illness? How can positive outcomes like growth and mastery be encouraged instead? Job stress theories provide insights that guide practical decision making on how to mitigate the negative effects, and promote the positive outcomes, of job demands for the organization and its constituents. This book provides a review of the empirical support for nearly 100 job stress frameworks, and presents guidance for theoretical applications, testing, refinement, and integrations.In addition to providing an overview of the theories, models, and hypotheses related to job stress, the authors present organizational and individual implications for both management and personal improvement. For scholars, gaps in the literature are identified to facilitate future research. Instructors and students will find this knowledge valuable for organizational psychology/behavior, occupational health psychology, or job stress classes, among others.Altogether, students, researchers, and practitioners will find this Introduction integral to their learning, and benefit from the actionable research ideas and suggestions for stress reduction.

Many organizations operate in an environment that is increasingly dynamic, turbulent, and unpredictable. This volume makes the case that they need to embrace improvisation as a core organizational capability, not to replace but to complement planning and forecasting. Research on organizational improvisation has evolved from a jazz and theater metaphor to a distinct body of empirical and conceptual work that tackles how improvisation unfolds in the full range of organizational contexts. These contexts often have very different goals, constraints and possibilities than improvisation in the arts. This makes it crucial to develop understanding of improvisation at all levels and in all types of organizations including but not limited to day-to-day operations of large firms and government agencies, strategic change, emergency management, product development, and start-ups. This book pulls together in one place major advances in understanding organizational improvisation. It describes major theoretical- and evidence-based advances in models of organizational improvisation, which the authors define as the deliberate and substantive convergence of the design and execution of a novel activity, that can be created at the individual, team, or organizational level. The authors provide, integrate and consolidate the existing literature on organizational improvisation and offer a comprehensive analysis of key processes. They go beyond a mechanical literature review to include illustrative mini-cases, novel concepts in contemporary work and short personal comments from researchers in the field.Grounded in rigorous academic work to date, this book speaks both to scholars interested in developing research on organizational improvisation and to managers. It discusses both promising paths for academic research and practical recommendations, especially those who deal with unpredictable environments that force them to either improvise or to face harmful or even fatal outcomes for organizational members and/or the entire organization.

This Elgar Introduction provides an overview of some of the key theories that inform human resource management and employment relations as a field of study. Leading scholars in the field explore theories in the context of contemporary debates concerning policies that affect and regulate work and the management of employment, as well as the activities and experiences of actors within the employment relationship. The book is divided into three sections to capture different theoretical lenses used to reflect on HRM and ER concerns about work: systems and historical development; institutions; and people and processes. Expert contributors have drawn on extensive research experience to present a contemporary understanding of a range of theories, how they evolved, and how they might be used in the future. Essential reading for HRM, ER and management scholars and research students, this book challenges readers to reassess their thinking about the significance of theory in research and practice.

This concise text introduces an integrated view of all project management-related activities in an organization, called Organizational Project Management (OPM). Practical cases from several organizations, as well as popular theories such as the Resource-Based Theory and Institutional Theory provide for an insightful yet realistic understanding of OPM as an integrative tool for organizations to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.The reader will learn how separate organizational functions, such as project, program and portfolio management and governance integrate in a cohesive manner. The authors describe how different approaches to competing in the marketplace link to strategies, and the ways of selecting the 'best' business opportunities for organizations and integrating them into existing workflows and structures. They develop and describe a model that shows how OPM works within organizations.The book is a valuable resource for top managers, reflective practitioners, academics, and postgraduate students in organization theory.

Presenting the emergence of new organizational designs in a novel way, this insightful book blends theory and practice to examine major trends and directions, the key ideas that underpin organizational design and how these ideas might be applied. The authors explore how, in a world characterized by relentless change and volatility, traditional bureaucracies of the past are increasingly regarded as being too slow and centralized. Instead, emerging ideas, such as platforms, ecosystems, holacracies, agility and improvisation are gaining purchase. Focusing on key trends and forms of design, the book offers an approach to organizing that accommodates paradoxes and offers a fresh view on managing organizational design. Rich in anecdotes and examples, the Elgar Introduction to Designing Organizations will be a useful guide for business and management scholars and advanced students with a focus on organizational studies and innovation. It will be beneficial for business managers thinking about how to design their organization so that it is fit for contemporary purposes.

This insightful Elgar Introduction comprises the first effort to provide a succinct overview of the field of organizational paradox theory, exploring contradictions and tensions in organizational settings. By conceptually mapping the field, it offers guidance through the literature on paradox, making space for new interpretations and applications of the concept.Opening with a critical analysis of research to date, the authors explore ideas related to dialectics and ambidexterity in organizations, as well as pragmatic approaches to organizational paradox. Chapters propose new ways to analyse responses to paradox, bringing together influential contributions that consider the nestedness of paradox, the relation between power and paradox, and paradoxes of positive organizational scholarships.Providing novel approaches to the discipline, this cutting-edge book is crucial for graduate students and management scholars interested in employing organizational paradox theory as a conceptual framework for their research.

As we grapple with how to respond to some of the world's most pressing problems, there is growing global interest in 'social innovation' as a potential solution. But what exactly is 'social innovation'? And how can it help us to think about problems such as inequality, poverty and climate change?Danielle Logue theorizes social innovation as a contemporary manifestation of the historical tensions between 'economy' and 'society' and the simultaneous pursuit of economic and social progress. Going back to the historical work of Adam Smith and his discussion of markets and morality, the author draws on organizational and management theory to present three theoretical lenses for understanding social innovation. These lenses include theorizing social innovation as social value creation, capture and distribution; social innovation as polysemous; and social innovation as institutional change. She then considers some of the current issues confronting social innovation in practice and the challenges for organizations in 'doing good' and 'being good'.This generative introduction is targeted at graduate and doctoral students, as well as non-specialist academics. It aims to stimulate further discussion and analysis by providing a comprehensive understanding of social innovation and a choice of frameworks when examining complex and wicked problems and the organization and management of efforts to solve them.