1st Edition

The Meta-Analytic Organization Introducing Statistico-Organizational Theory

By Lex Donaldson Copyright 2010
    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    The Meta-Analytic Organization: Introducing Statistico-Organizational Theory develops new organizational theory based upon ideas from statistics and methodology.

    There have been previous organizational theories based on academic disciplines such as biology, economics, and sociology. Statistico-organizational theory uniquely constructs a new organizational theory derived from ideas in statistics and psychometrics. The core idea is that errors known to occur in social science research must also occur when managers look at their data and seek to make inferences about cause and effect. Statistico-organizational theory uses methodological principles to predict when errors will occur and how great they will be.

    The book offers new theoretical propositions about organizational strategy and structure, human resource management, international business and franchising.

    Part I: The Vision for a New Organizational Theory  1. Creating Organizational Theory From Methodological Principles  2. The Deep Structure of Data  Part II: The Sources of Error  3. Managerial Errors From Small Numbers  4. Data Disaggregation and Managerial Errors  5. Measurement Error of Profit  6. Quantifying the Measurement Error of Profit  7. Measurement and Sampling Errors in the M-Form and Strategic Niches  8. Errors From Range Restriction and Extension  9. Confounding by the Performance Variable  10. Controlling for Confounding by Using Organizational Experiments  11. Controlling for Confounding by Data Aggregation  Part III: Integration  12. Errors Not Self-Correcting  13. Equations of Statistico-Organizational Theory  14. How Managers Can Reduce Errors15. Conclusions

    Biography

    Lex Donaldson is a professor of management in organizational design at the Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales, Sydney. His work includes a significant contribution to the development of contingency theory as well as founding stewardship theory—which has become a major influence in the area of corporate governance. He is the author of six books about organizations and management, among them: The Contingency Theory of Organizations, Performance-Driven Organizational Change, and For Positivist Organization Theory. In 2003 he received one of the highest possible accolades: a worldwide survey of ninety-five academics from the Academy of Management Learning and Education nominated his work on the Contingency Theory of Organizational Structures as one of the world’s top seventy-three management theories, ranked on criteria of importance, usefulness to management practice, and scientific validity.