Two major areas of organizational theory are considered in this thesis. The first is concerned with the development of a configuration based approach. This develops contingency theory by taking a more holistic view, . looking for patterns amongst many different aspects of organizations, rather than reducing organizations to simple bivariate relationships. Previously, this had only been used at a macro organizational level. This research extended the configurational approach and identified microconfigurations of departments or work units within organizations. The benefit of doing this is that it allows a far more detailed picture of organizations to be obtained. Variables were selected for inclusion in the micro-configurations on the basis of a detailed survey of the contingency field. Thus, the approach was used to synthesise much of the existing contingency research in organizational theory.

This project is a case study on the vertical and horizontal occupational structures of physical therapy and how gender attitudes on opportunities can influence one’s workplace satisfaction. The theoretical perspective is based upon a gendered organizational theory and organizational justice operating in a latent manner through gendered opportunities on workplace satisfaction. Horizontal segregation (location and specialty) has been linked to gender essentialism, while vertical hierarchy (work continuity, earnings, and supervisory duties) has also been linked to male primacy. Workers’ perceived attitudes about opportunities for women (promotions and jobs) can potentially influence the outcome of job satisfaction. The 2004 Physical Therapy Labor Force Survey was examined for potential bias using a sample of physical therapists (PTs) from the 2000 US Census PUMS 5 percent sample. Using the 2004 survey data for salaried PTs, two dependent variables were generated via factor analysis (intrinsic rewards and well-being) from a 10-item workplace attitudes scale. Regression analyses on these models by gender revealed specific associations among the explanatory variables and the workplace attitude factors. Women who selected the response “promotion opportunities worse for women” on average had lower intrinsic reward and well-being factor scores (compared to those selecting no difference). Yet, men who chose “job opportunities better for women” on average had lower well-being scores (compared to men reporting no difference); this was not shown to be the case for intrinsic rewards for men. In general, the results of this research suggest that female respondents with the perception that women have less chance for promotion than en tended to lower their job satisfaction. However, male respondents who perceived that women have a greater chance of jobs than men tended to have reduced job satisfaction scores. The results for women were in both domains of satisfaction (intrinsic rewards and well-being), whereas those for men were only for well-being. Job satisfaction is affected by the social structure (vertical and horizontal), gender, and attitudes about opportunities in physical therapy associations among the explanatory variables and the workplace attitude factors.

The dissertation explores the two primary types of public administration feminist literature, equity feminism and other voice feminism, and determines that they do not reveal a clear typology that practically outlines the characteristics of an alternative organizational viewpoint from that of the dominant viewpoint. Building on Camilla Stivers' metaphor of the home, and drawing on nine other strands of literature, a typology comprised of 4 primary dimensions -- epistemology; ontology; social theory; and ethics -- was constructed that opposed the home metaphorical perspective and the dominant business metaphorical perspective. The home metaphor, based on Stivers' historical analysis of the early founding of the field of public administration, provided a framework for implementing the rediscovered typology. The home metaphor was then practically illustrated and revealed through a content analysis of two cases of community policing. The analysis of these case studies revealed the apparent difficulty of moving from the dominant business metaphorical perspective to the less familiar home metaphorical perspective. Despite this apparent difficulty, the case studies revealed rich examples of how the home metaphor plays out in cities that are striving to utilize community policing practices. Public administrators and researchers may use this typology to identify other alternative perspectives for analysis and praxis, as well as nonconventional courses of action. The case studies demonstrated that a critical aspect of public administration, that of policing, has begun to strongly value this alternative perspective and the positive gains that it brings to strengthening the relationship between public administrators and citizens. / Ph. D.

This thesis primarily deals with the adaptation of a theory from one context and its application in another context. In this case the "building systems integration theory" which has been introduced in the context of buildings, in the book Building Systems Integration Handbook (Rush, 1986), is adapted to the context of architectural organizations. The hypothesis of this research is that "building system integration principles can be applied to architectural business organizations." Building system integration theory defines four fundamental systems within buildings and five levels of integration ranging from unified to remote. It further defines an abstract two dimensional diagrammatic language that is referred to as a "ball diagram" for portraying the system integration within a building. Using the building system as an analogue to organizational structure, I have redefined the five levels of integration in the vocabulary of an organization and formulated seven systems in an organization on the basis of my literature review. I surveyed five prominent architectural firms in Texas (three Matrix organizations, and two Studio organizations) and discussed their project handling methods with their principals in charge, with the intention of investigating the degree of contact between personnel, their meeting patterns, and the reporting structure. This has helped me to identify the levels of integration between systems in each organization and eventually represent the working process of these firms using the diagrammatic language introduced in BSIH. The resulting diagrams, which primarily represent the production/ delivery segment of the organizations, reveal organizational structures during the project cycle as well as certain characteristics of a Matrix or Studio. Due to the limited scope of the survey done initially, some shortcomings were noticed in the diagramming method including the absence of any representation of the client and the user in the diagrams. Despite certain shortcomings owing to the scale of the investigation, it is felt that the diagramming method portrayed here is a novel yet effective idea to represent organizations and the levels of integration between systems in an organization that contributes to the production of a cohesive organizational design theory.

This thesis was undertaken to explore the philosophical principles elaborated by Mary Parker Follett (1868-1933) and to examine their relevance in the contemporary workplace. The contention within this thesis was that concepts Follett expounded bear close resemblance to postmodern notions of organizing; juxtaposition of Follettian and postmodern philosophy and a postmodern take on research methodology add credence to the contention and allowed the researcher to examine the practical relevance of the notions explored. A case study within a manufacturing company provided the venue for the practical exploration of Follett's ideas. The original intent of the researcher to conduct focus groups interviews, which would lead to a contextually relevant survey instrument, was changed by the participants. Observation and interviews, which the employees of SEI preferred, allowed an examination of several of the most important of Follett's ideas: "power-with" rather than "power-over"; the "law of the situation"; democratic "small group government"; integration as a more favourable manner of dealing with conflict over voluntary withdrawal, domination, and compromise; the benefits of coordination; circular response in the creation of people; and individual and society as process. The stories of the participants are told and contemporary insights add to those provided by Follett over seven decades ago. It was found that many of Follett's ideas have applicability in a contemporary company. The interviewees displayed exceptional ability to comment regarding the application of Follettian principles within their workplace setting. My integration as researcher-participant allowed for personal transformation based on the experience of the research with its collaboration with the employees, lending credence to the most profound of Follett's insights--the reciprocal creation of people--the circular manner in which we create as we communicate. The significance of the study lies in the process itself--the opportunities provided for the circular creating and communicating of meaning. The study may encourage readers to reexamine the nature of their relationships, as well. While that examination is not the purpose of this research--no claim of generalizability is offered--it is hoped that others may learn lessons from the documentation of the process of this study.

This thesis primarily deals with the adaptation of a theory from one context and its application in another context. In this case the "building systems integration theory" which has been introduced in the context of buildings, in the book Building Systems Integration Handbook (Rush, 1986), is adapted to the context of architectural organizations. The hypothesis of this research is that "building system integration principles can be applied to architectural business organizations." Building system integration theory defines four fundamental systems within buildings and five levels of integration ranging from unified to remote. It further defines an abstract two dimensional diagrammatic language that is referred to as a "ball diagram" for portraying the system integration within a building. Using the building system as an analogue to organizational structure, I have redefined the five levels of integration in the vocabulary of an organization and formulated seven systems in an organization on the basis of my literature review. I surveyed five prominent architectural firms in Texas (three Matrix organizations, and two Studio organizations) and discussed their project handling methods with their principals in charge, with the intention of investigating the degree of contact between personnel, their meeting patterns, and the reporting structure. This has helped me to identify the levels of integration between systems in each organization and eventually represent the working process of these firms using the diagrammatic language introduced in BSIH. The resulting diagrams, which primarily represent the production/ delivery segment of the organizations, reveal organizational structures during the project cycle as well as certain characteristics of a Matrix or Studio. Due to the limited scope of the survey done initially, some shortcomings were noticed in the diagramming method including the absence of any representation of the client and the user in the diagrams. Despite certain shortcomings owing to the scale of the investigation, it is felt that the diagramming method portrayed here is a novel yet effective idea to represent organizations and the levels of integration between systems in an organization that contributes to the production of a cohesive organizational design theory.

The Commonwealth has a history of crises: 1949, 1965, the 1970s through the 80s, 1991 and 2009. Each of these points will be examined: their historical context, the challenges and changes, and the actions it took to meet these challenges. Analysis of these points indicates that the Commonwealth is a reactive and adaptive organization that is affected by, and strives to affect, world events; that it is shaped and influenced by its members, and that crises have resulted in the Commonwealth re-focusing and revising itself. The primary suggestions are that the Commonwealth generate a culture of constant revision, while simultaneously focusing its principles and values. It may also adopt better forecasting measures as organizational theory suggests, so that it can remain an agile organization. The dissertation will also compare the OIF, the CPLP and the OEI and will draw forth lessons that these organizations can learn from the Commonwealth’s history of crisis.

The present study focuses on the further development of the increasingly popular field of spirituality and religiosity in the workplace (SRW) by providing a parsimonious definition, and a three dimensional model for the construct of spirituality grounded in the historical tradition of the perennial philosophy. The study subsequently adopts a multi-study validation process to develop the 21 item universal spirituality scale (USS). By creating a definition for spirituality that has a firm historical grounding and a universal outlook, the study addresses the dilemma of Religiosity vs. Spirituality faced by researchers in this area. This is further supported by the use of multiple samples and participants from three major world faith traditions (both eastern and western). The three factor model for spirituality derived in Study A (n=159) is corroborated by a separate sample of participants in Study B (n=181). The USS shows high levels of internal consistency reliability (α = 0.90, inter-item correlation = 0.32, and split-half, Guttman's coefficient value of 0.77). In Study C, criterion related validity is established by conducting a comparison of the USS with the DUREL - Duke University Religiosity Index (Koenig & Bussing, 2010). Results show that correlations were moderately high (0.20 to 0.41) at significance levels of 0.05 and 0.01 between expected factors for the DUREL and USS. Notably, there is no significant correlation for the factor of Universality (USS) indicating discriminant validity. Group differences for spirituality are measured in Study D (Known-groups validity). The results of parametric and non-parametric tests in Study D clearly illustrate that the USS is sensitive enough to detect differences in means in expected directions when administered to two different groups. Finally, high levels of test-retest reliability are noted in Study E (R = 0.73). Overall, the universal spirituality scale (USS) exhibits strong levels of validity and reliability. The study addresses the concerns surrounding the literature in the SRW area by offering a definition and universal framework for spirituality as well as a reliable and valid instrument for its measurement.

Thesis advisor: Hiroshi Nakazato / This paper is an attempt to study the United Nations through the lens of organizational theory, and in particular, the theoretical framework as outlined by Allison and Zelikow in Essence of Decision, in order to understand the implementation patterns of the UN in regards to the Brahimi Report as reported and analyzed by the Henry L. Stimson Center. The findings of this report conclude that the UN is capable of change as demonstrated by its ability to comply with certain Brahimi Report recommendations, but is resistant to change, due to the structure of the organization. This does not mean, however, that it is fundamentally unable to do so. Attempts at reform must be able to circumvent these obstacles through targeted, direct action, for the Brahimi Report recommendations which received the highest implementation ratings were those incremental organizational reforms that targeted specific aspects of peacekeeping operations. Resistance to change within the UN, be it on behalf of individuals, departments, or Member States, is a huge obstacle to change, further compounding the obstacles to reform that the UN faces simply as an organization. Future reforms must thus be framed in a way that specifically grasps the attention of the groups/members involved in the reform, making the issue as pertinent and sensitive to them as it is for the success of UN peace operations in general. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2007. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: International Studies. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Drawing upon two forms of qualitative data—interviews with trustees and national trade association publication archival documents—and employing an abductive theory building strategy based on my analysis of higher education governance in the present day and historically, I perform an organizational etiology of U.S. higher education governing boards and governance. Studying governance in higher education lends itself to theory building, as governance lacks a strong basis of comparability, distinguishable from firm-based or other non-profit enterprise governance. Further, while governing boards are principal parties of authority, the shared governance framework almost universally privileges participation by a host of stakeholder parties. Further, the targets of governance, colleges and universities, are comparatively complex and ambiguous in terms of goals, priorities, purposes, products, and strategic interests, as well as in terms of operational, professional, hierarchical, and financial models of sustainability and advancement. I deconstruct governing boards, governance, and governing at several levels of consideration to find that explicit and ubiquitously understood organizational and work objectives and practices of governance conceal a state of organizing that necessitates considerable attention, deliberation, strategic action, and investment of resources by governing boards. It is the state of organizing itself that is a consummate and pervasive focus of attention and consideration. Governance and governing is an ongoing process or state of organizing characterized by a readiness to examine, address, and act upon boundaries of organization, profession, and work practices. As much as governing boards govern institutions, boards govern boundaries, and multiple kinds of boundaries at multiple levels of consideration at that. While boundary work implies work at the periphery, the boundary work of governance and governing boards is itself core to the organization and work performed. I dissect cognitive and practice-based dimensions of governing, ordering perceptions and explanations of the form of work being done by boards as professional organizations, and by tracing the broader culture and history of the field of governance, and show how boundaries and boundary work are a consuming strategic focus. Boards are enduring institutions with paradoxically unenduring boundaries. I find and describe how these boundaries share a set of traits and propensities indicative of a form of organizing without theoretical match or explanation: organizational amorphousness. I build the case for amorphousness throughout and, in the conclusion, explain how governing boards, the field of governance, and the work and practices of governing represent extreme cases of an evolved organizing predicated on dexterity and contingency. This form of organizing seemingly contradicts basic assumptions of organizing and begs the question as to what functions boards actually serve, as well as to what effect.