I. The organizational theory that I find myself most attracted to as a basis for analysis is...the organizational culture theory.
a. The essence of this theory as I understand it is...that people within organizations act and make decisions not just on the facts of a case but also in response to the organization's culture. Essentially, they see everything through the lens of the corporate culture and its values.
b. The events in my background that I feel lead me to be predisposed toward this theory...include several experiences at jobs where I or one or more coworkers experienced disenfranchisement or termination simply because our personalities or approach to work did not fit in with the prevailing culture of the organization. In one job, a coworker was fired because he had vastly different interests and values from most of his colleagues. In one of my jobs, I was fired because I did not make a significant effort to try to fit in with my coworkers. Not being interested in their favorite off-hours pastime-"partying" together-I soon found myself being spoken to politely instead of engagingly, and eventually I realized that I should have made more of an effort to socialize with them. Despite my efforts to be friendly with everyone, my coworkers never felt entirely comfortable with me, and eventually I paid the price. Organizational culture theory reflects the real-life issue of cultural dominance and the alienation that can result from not becoming an accepted part of that culture.
II. The organization theory that I find myself least attracted to is...Weber's bureaucracy theory.
a. The essence of this theory as I understand it is...that organizations are governed based on power and control. Someone is in charge, and that person has all of the authority in the organization as a whole or in a workgroup. That individual must be obeyed unequivocally, as must all of the organizati
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