Dr. Sandra Parkes Pershing is the Assistant Vice President of Engagement, and a professor in the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Utah. Her work focuses on organizational behavior, leadership, and change. Dr. Pershing also works as an organizational consultant and trainer to public and non-profit organizations, and has co-edited Classic Readings in Organizational Behavior (2008) with J. Steven Ott and Richard Simpson, and Classics in Public Administration (2003) with Jay Shafritz and Albert Hyde.
Exposing students to post-traditional theory as well as to “operationalize” theory, this book clearly shows how they’ve been applied and with what impact. The book first covers the classical foundations of organization theory, beginning with rationalist approaches and the behavioural revolution, and then delving into the diversity of network theory, chaos and complexity, structural-functionalism, and transaction cost economics. The authors then demonstrate how these theories are operationalized; i.e. how they can be applied to various management and administrative functions, including managing individual behaviour, affecting organizational change, understanding and shaping group dynamics, and managing organization/environment relations. The final section introduces students to post-traditional theory, links back to classical foundations, and demonstrates how these theories are being applied in organizations involved in governance. Austin and Parkes also discuss the implications and provide critiques of these theories. Valuable case studies bring the material to life; the authors identify both historical contexts and “current expressions,” or contemporary examples of these theories at work. Reflection questions throughout each chapter, end-of-chapter discussion questions, and bolded key concepts facilitate a deeper understanding of the material and prompt students to extrapolate what they’ve learned and engage in further analysis.
