Organizational Theory, Structure, Change, and Culture in Health Care

Theories

Definition

Pros

Cons

1

Structural Contingency

There is no universal structure that will be equally beneficial for each organization because the optimal structure is determined by the unique environment of an organization (Mick and Shay, 2014)

1. It encourages managers to be flexible
2. It emphasizes the role of management in finding and keeping the most suitable organizational form (Mick and Shay, 2014)

1. Excessively complex
2. Lacks precise recommendations on how to structure an organization in various situations

2

Resource Dependence

An organization acquires resources from the environment where it operates. These recourses, in turn, shape the structure of an organization (Mick and Shay, 2014)

1. It encourages managers to develop alternative business plans to avoid losses
2. It emphasizes the significance of employee retention

It ignores “power structures which are not only related to objective resources” (Nienhuser, 2008, p. 27)

3

Institutional

An organizational structure is strongly affected by “beliefs, norms, and manners of thinking” (Mick and Shay, 2014, p. 32)

It explains how the organizational practices appeared from and influenced by the institutional pressures (Mick and Shay, 2014)

It constrains managerial strategies with the adherence to rules and norms

4

Population Ecology

According to this theory, “birth, rise, and failure of populations of similar organizations” is determined by natural selection (Mick and Shay, 2014, p. 37)