Complex organizations

The analysis of complex organizations was largely descriptive until the 1960s. Conceptual and methodological developments then led to comparative analyses of complex organizations. These were comparisons across organizations at that time and are now comparative on a cross-national basis. Just as the comparative analyses were getting up to full speed, analysts began to realize that they were not including a very important element in their analyses.

This element was the environment in which organizations were operating. Soon thereafter, other analysts began to point out that there were many activities carried out in and around organizations that were not based on strict rational models and that organizations developed their own systems of meanings. The dominant thrust at present is to try to develop theoretical explanations which work in combination with each other. This book traces these developments with the major articles of the times.