Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership

Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership

by Lee G. Bolman, Terrence E. Deal
Released August 2008
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9780787987992

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Book description

First published in 1984, Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal's best-selling book has become a classic in the field. Its four-frame model examines organizations as factories, families, jungles, and theaters or temples:

  • The Structural Frame: how to organize and structure groups and teams to get results

  • The Human Resource Frame: how to tailor organizations to satisfy human needs, improve human resource management, and build positive interpersonal and group dynamics

  • The Political Frame: how to cope with power and conflict, build coalitions, hone political skills, and deal with internal and external politics

  • The Symbolic Frame: how to shape a culture that gives purpose and meaning to work, stage organizational drama for internal and external audiences, and build team spirit through ritual, ceremony, and story

This new edition is filled with new case examples such as Hurricane Katrina and profiles of great leaders such as Mother Theresa, Thomas Keller, and others. In addition, the book updates the "Organizational Theory's Greatest Hits" text boxes throughout, and increases geographic, cultural and gender diversity in examples and text. It also features an enhanced online teacher's guide with a new test bank, as well as updated PowerPoint slides, teaching ideas and experiential activities, and links to resources.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  3. Preface
    1. OUTLINE OF THE BOOK
    2. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  4. One. Making Sense of Organizations
    1. 1. Introduction: The Power of Reframing
      1. 1.1. VIRTUES AND DRAWBACKS OF ORGANIZED ACTIVITY
      2. 1.2. FRAMING
      3. 1.3. SUMMARY
    2. 2. Simple Ideas, Complex Organizations
      1. 2.1. COMMON FALLACIES IN EXPLAINING ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEMS
      2. 2.2. PECULIARITIES OF ORGANIZATIONS
      3. 2.3. ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
      4. 2.4. COPING WITH AMBIGUITY AND COMPLEXITY
      5. 2.5. SUMMARY
  5. Two. The Structural Frame
    1. 3. Getting Organized
      1. 3.1. STRUCTURAL ASSUMPTIONS
      2. 3.2. ORIGINS OF THE STRUCTURAL PERSPECTIVE
      3. 3.3. STRUCTURAL FORMS AND FUNCTIONS
      4. 3.4. BASIC STRUCTURAL TENSIONS
      5. 3.5. VERTICAL COORDINATION
      6. 3.6. LATERAL COORDINATION
      7. 3.7. DESIGNING A STRUCTURE THAT WORKS
      8. 3.8. SUMMARY
    2. 4. Structure and Restructuring
      1. 4.1. STRUCTURAL DILEMMAS
      2. 4.2. STRUCTURAL CONFIGURATIONS
      3. 4.3. GENERIC ISSUES IN RESTRUCTURING
      4. 4.4. SUMMARY
    3. 5. Organizing Groups and Teams
      1. 5.1. TASKS AND LINKAGES IN SMALL GROUPS
      2. 5.2. TEAMWORK AND INTERDEPENDENCE
      3. 5.3. DETERMINANTS OF SUCCESSFUL TEAMWORK
      4. 5.4. TEAM STRUCTURE AND TOP PERFORMANCE
      5. 5.5. SELF-MANAGING TEAMS: STRUCTURE OF THE FUTURE?
      6. 5.6. SUMMARY
  6. Three. The Human Resource Frame
    1. 6. People and Organizations
      1. 6.1. HUMAN RESOURCE ASSUMPTIONS
      2. 6.2. HUMAN CAPACITY AND THE CHANGING EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT
      3. 6.3. SUMMARY
    2. 7. Improving Human Resource Management
      1. 7.1. GETTING IT RIGHT
      2. 7.2. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: TQM AND NUMMI
      3. 7.3. GETTING THERE: TRAINING AND ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT
      4. 7.4. SUMMARY
    3. 8. Interpersonal and Group Dynamics
      1. 8.1. INTERPERSONAL DYNAMICS
      2. 8.2. MANAGEMENT STYLES
      3. 8.3. GROUPS AND TEAMS IN ORGANIZATIONS
      4. 8.4. SUMMARY
  7. Four. The Political Frame
    1. 9. Power, Conflict, and Coalition
      1. 9.1. POLITICAL ASSUMPTIONS
      2. 9.2. ORGANIZATIONS AS COALITIONS
      3. 9.3. POWER AND DECISION MAKING
      4. 9.4. CONFLICT IN ORGANIZATIONS
      5. 9.5. MORAL MAZES: THE POLITICS OF GETTING AHEAD
      6. 9.6. SUMMARY
    2. 10. The Manager as Politician
      1. 10.1. POLITICAL SKILLS
      2. 10.2. MORALITY AND POLITICS
      3. 10.3. SUMMARY
    3. 11. Organizations as Political Arenas and Political Agents
      1. 11.1. ORGANIZATIONS AS ARENAS
      2. 11.2. ORGANIZATIONS AS POLITICAL AGENTS
      3. 11.3. POLITICAL DYNAMICS OF ECOSYSTEMS
      4. 11.4. SUMMARY
  8. Five. The Symbolic Frame
    1. 12. Organizational Symbols and Culture
      1. 12.1. SYMBOLIC ASSUMPTIONS
      2. 12.2. ORGANIZATIONAL SYMBOLS
      3. 12.3. ORGANIZATIONS AS CULTURES
      4. 12.4. SUMMARY
    2. 13. Culture in Action
      1. 13.1. THE EAGLE GROUP'S SOURCES OF SUCCESS
      2. 13.2. SUMMARY
    3. 14. Organization as Theater
      1. 14.1. DRAMATURGICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL THEORY
      2. 14.2. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AS THEATER
      3. 14.3. ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS AS THEATER
      4. 14.4. SUMMARY
  9. Six. Improving Leadership Practice
    1. 15. Integrating Frames for Effective Practice
      1. 15.1. LIFE AS MANAGERS KNOW IT
      2. 15.2. ACROSS FRAMES: ORGANIZATIONS AS MULTIPLE REALITIES
      3. 15.3. MATCHING FRAMES TO SITUATIONS
      4. 15.4. EFFECTIVE MANAGERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
      5. 15.5. MANAGERS' FRAME PREFERENCES
      6. 15.6. SUMMARY
    2. 16. Reframing in Action Opportunities and Perils
      1. 16.1. BENEFITS AND RISKS OF REFRAMING
      2. 16.2. REFRAMING FOR NEWCOMERS AND OUTSIDERS
      3. 16.3. SUMMARY
    3. 17. Reframing Leadership
      1. 17.1. THE IDEA OF LEADERSHIP
      2. 17.2. THE CONTEXT OF LEADERSHIP
      3. 17.3. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT GOOD LEADERSHIP?
      4. 17.4. GENDER AND LEADERSHIP
      5. 17.5. REFRAMING LEADERSHIP
      6. 17.6. SUMMARY
    4. 18. Reframing Change in Organizations: Training, Realigning, Negotiating, and Grieving
      1. 18.1. THE INNOVATION PROCESS
      2. 18.2. CHANGE, TRAINING, AND PARTICIPATION
      3. 18.3. CHANGE AND STRUCTURAL REALIGNMENT
      4. 18.4. CHANGE AND CONFLICT
      5. 18.5. CHANGE AND LOSS
      6. 18.6. CHANGE STRATEGY
      7. 18.7. SUMMARY
    5. 19. Reframing Ethics and Spirit
      1. 19.1. SOUL AND SPIRIT IN ORGANIZATIONS
      2. 19.2. SUMMARY
    6. 20. Bringing It All Together Change and Leadership in Action
      1. 20.1. STRUCTURAL ISSUES AND OPTIONS
      2. 20.2. HUMAN RESOURCE ISSUES AND OPTIONS
      3. 20.3. POLITICAL ISSUES AND OPTIONS
      4. 20.4. SYMBOLIC ISSUES AND OPTIONS
      5. 20.5. A FOUR-FRAME APPROACH
      6. 20.6. CONCLUSION: THE REFRAMING PROCESS
    7. 21. Epilogue Artistry, Choice, and Leadership
      1. 21.1. COMMITMENT TO CORE BELIEFS
      2. 21.2. MULTIFRAME THINKING
    8. A. The Best of Organizational Studies Scholars' Hits and Popular Best-Sellers
      1. A.1. SCHOLARS'HITS
      2. A.2. POPULAR BEST-SELLERS
    9. REFERENCES
    10. THE AUTHORS

Product information

  • Title: Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership
  • Author(s): Lee G. Bolman, Terrence E. Deal
  • Release date: August 2008
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9780787987992