Effects of External Social Environments on Organizational Behavior

Organizations as Natural Systems - Organizations and External Environments
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Organizations as Natural Systems - Organizations and External Environments
The posting by the student on organizations as rational systems is spot on. Under the Natural Systems perspective, formal rules and roles usually do not shape the actions of the individual or the organization (Scott & Davies, 2007). Some organizations in fact avoid goal setting and actively strive to eliminate formalization. Scott and Davies (2007) noted that organizations, under the perspective of natural system, are collectivities whose members have a shared interest in the survival of the system and the members engage in informally structured collective activities to secure their end. This is actually what the student had stated; hence the student is exactly right regarding organizations as natural systems.
The shift from organization rational system to organization natural system was contributed by critical reactions to the rational system theorists. In essence, the main differences between natural and rational system theories pertained to the importance of informal structures and goal complexity. Usually, there are several goals in business organizations that are in fact conflictory and intricate, and at times the informal social structures are more significant compared to formal social structures in understanding and predicting organization behavior (Merton, 1936).
There are different views of theorists. Natural theorists claim that the most important features of organizations that the rational theorists emphasized, are usually not the defining characteristics of organizational dynamics. They focus primarily on planning as well as organization behavior compared with decision-making (Scott & Davies, 2007). In addition, natural theorists also state that the particular output objectives of business organizations are usually distorted or undermined by energies applied to the pursuit of system objectives, chiefly being the concern to survive (Scott & Davies, 2007).
Cooptation is understood as appointment to membership of an organization or committee through invitation of the existing members (Selznick, 1948). The effect of cooptation on organizational systems is that it allows members of the organization to take part in the process of decision-making. In making the ultimate selections when choosing new members,...