Editing Organization (section)

==Theories==
{{see also|Organizational theory}}

In the social sciences, organizations are the object of analysis for a number of disciplines, such as [[sociology]], [[economics]],<ref name="Sytse Douma 2013">{{cite book|last1=Douma|first1=Sytse|author-link1=Sytse Douma|last2=Schreuder|first2=Hein|author-link2=Hein Schreuder|title=Economic Approaches to Organizations|edition=5th|year=2013|orig-year=1991|publisher=Pearson Education Limited|location=Harlow|isbn=978-0-273-73529-8}}</ref> [[political science]], [[psychology]], [[management]], and [[organizational communication]]. The broader analysis of organizations is commonly referred to as [[organizational structure]], [[organizational studies]], [[organizational behavior]], or organization analysis. A number of different perspectives exist, some of which are compatible:
* From a functional perspective, the focus is on how entities like businesses or state authorities are used.
* From an institutional perspective, an organization is viewed as a purposeful structure within a social context.
* From a process-related perspective, an organization is viewed as an entity being (re-)organized, and the focus is on the organization as a set of tasks or actions.

Sociology can be defined as the science of the [[institutions]] of [[modernity]]; specific institutions [[structural functionalism|serve a function]], akin to the individual organs of a coherent body. In the social and political sciences in general, an "organization" may be more loosely understood as the planned, coordinated, and purposeful action of human beings working through collective action to reach a common goal or construct a tangible [[Product (business)|product]]. This action is usually framed by formal membership and form (institutional rules). Sociology distinguishes the term organization into planned formal and unplanned informal (i.e. spontaneously formed) organizations. Sociology analyses organizations in the first line from an institutional perspective. In this sense, the organization is an enduring arrangement of elements. These elements and their actions are determined by rules so that a certain task can be fulfilled through a system of coordinated [[labor division|division of labor]].

Economic approaches to organizations also take the [[division of labor]] as a starting point. The division of labor allows for (economies of) [[Post-Fordism#Flexible specialization|specialization]]. Increasing specialization necessitates coordination. From an economic point of view, markets and organizations are alternative coordination mechanisms for the execution of [[Financial transaction|transaction]]s.<ref name="Sytse Douma 2013"/>

An organization is defined by the elements that are part of it (who belongs to the organization and who does not?), its [[communication]] (which elements communicate and how do they communicate?), its autonomy (which changes are executed autonomously by the organization or its elements?), and its rules of action compared to outside events (what causes an organization to act as a collective actor?).

By coordinated and planned cooperation of the elements, the organization is able to solve tasks that lie beyond the abilities of the single element. The price paid by the elements is the limitation of the [[Degrees of freedom (physics and chemistry)|degrees of freedom]] of the elements. Advantages of organizations are enhancement (more of the same), addition (combination of different features), and extension. Disadvantages can be inertness (through coordination) and loss of [[Social interaction|interaction]].

Among the theories that are or have been influential are:

*[[Activity theory]] is the major theoretical influence, acknowledged by de [[Clodomir Santos de Morais]] in the development of [[Organization Workshop]] method. 
*[[Actor–network theory]], an approach to social theory and research, originating in the field of science studies, which treats objects as part of social networks.
*[[Complexity theory and organizations]], the use of [[Complex systems|complexity theory]] in the field of [[strategic management]] and organizational studies.
*[[Contingency theory]], a class of behavioral theories that claim that there is no best way to organize a corporation, to lead a company, or to make decisions.
*[[Critical management studies]], a loose but extensive grouping of theoretically informed critiques of management, business, and organization, grounded originally in a [[critical theory]] perspective
*[[Economic sociology]], studies both the social effects and the social causes of various economic phenomena.
*[[Enterprise architecture]], the conceptual model that defines the coalescence of organizational structure and organizational behavior.
*[[Garbage Can Model]], describes a model which disconnects problems, solutions, and decision-makers from each other.
*[[Principal–agent problem]], concerns the difficulties in motivating one party (the "agent"), to act in the best interests of another (the "principal") rather than in his or her own interests
*[[Scientific management]] (mainly following [[Frederick Winslow Taylor|Frederick W. Taylor]]), a theory of [[management]] that analyses and synthesizes [[workflow]]s.
*[[Social entrepreneurship]], the process of pursuing innovative solutions to social problems.
*[[Theory of the firm#Transaction cost theory|Transaction cost theory]], the idea that people begin to organize their production in firms when the transaction cost of coordinating production through the market exchange, given imperfect information, is greater than within the firm.
*[[Organizational theory#Competing theories of organization|Weber's Ideal of Bureaucracy]] (refer to [[Max Weber]]'s chapter on "Bureaucracy" in his book ''[[Economy and Society]]'')