The relevance of Giddens' structuration theory for organizational research

Anthony Giddens' Structuration Theory is probably one of the sociological theories more directly referenced and more widely used, in a variety of ways, in organizational research. Why is that, and what does it mean for organizational research? In this paper we explore this issue by reviewing some early, influential contributions, within the organizational field, that used Giddens' theory as the main reference. We will show that the actual utilizations of such theory are very heterogeneous in many relevant concepts, although they are all moved by similar theoretical needs. We also propose that in order to properly answer to those needs, organizational research should focus on some key elements that, while being central in Giddens' contribution, are not always interpreted consistently by "Giddensian" organization scholars. Finally, we will argue that it is possible for the organization reflection, even when it is not built upon Structuration Theory, to share and realize Giddens' main "message" to the organizational discipline: the need for an organization theory truly based on an epistemological view that allows to overcome the objectivist / subjectivist dilemma

Business organization and Italian culture: An historical perspective

The relationship between culture and business organization in Italy is complex. The main reason is Italian culture’s diversity in terms of local traditions, resources, languages, attitudes, values. In many ways, Italy looks more like a “community of communities” than a homogeneous culture. In this contribution we try to identify some of those social and cultural elements that, more than others, seem to have significantly influenced the way Italian companies are organized and managed. Specifically, we focus on three important aspects: the role of the central State in the historical development of the Italian economy, the wide diffusion of family-owned and family-managed enterprises, and the economic relevance of the “territory”, that is, the geographical proximity of firms and their reference to local communities

La sfida del job crafting

The concept of job crafting refers to behaviors through which workers, at all levels, proactively change or reshape some significant aspects of their job to make it more coherent to their preferences, attitudes, abilities and needs. In this volume, the authors review two decades of theoretical and empirical research on job crafting. Furthermore, they examine some recent wider organizational and social trends, such as the threat of new advanced technologies for current jobs and the increasingly widespread aspiration for more independent and meaningful work, while reflecting on the potential advantages of facilitating and encouraging job crafting in a world of work characterized by such changes. Finally, the authors identify some key challenges that job crafting studies will have to face in the near future in order to make job crafting more practically relevant for work organization and human resource management

Work as a process of personal development / Il lavoro come processo di sviluppo personale

This volume introduces a conception of work as a process of personal growth and development. Three fundamental moments of passage are discussed, in which the life and work connection becomes evident: the transition from education to work, the daily relationship between work and extra-work life, the evaluations in the workplace upon which the career paths depend. Critical reflections about mainstream theories, methodologies and practices are suggested. Examples and case studies illustrate their limitations and negative consequences. Finally, alternative organizational choices aimed at improving the work situations and facilitating, in the workplace, the development and well-being of people, are proposed

\u201cIdentity and Pluralism: Who Am I? What Are We? How Are We?\u201d \u2013 A Reflection on Seeking, Giving and Making Sense of Organising in a Fluid, Uncertain and Digitised World

Organisation theory and practice are progressively challenged and enriched by conflicting expectations expressed by a plethora of stakeholders hose answers have often to be found by the embracement of academic multi-disciplinarity \u2013 i.e. the borrowing of constructs and models from other fields. In this fluid reality, organisations tend to be more problematic to design, but also to be implemented in organisational practices, according to a constant dialectic between two polarities: Organisational design and Organisation behaviour, in that constant dialectical tension that gives back the measure of the complexity and sense-making of organisational action. These are extremely significant polarities and privileged points of observation and interpretation of organisational phenomena, as well as a starting point for understanding how to put organisational action into practice

Storie di imprese

How do enterprises change? This volume tells the “stories” of the organizational transformations implemented in the first decade of the new millennium by five enterprises: Fiat Auto, Finmeccanica, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Zurich, and Poste Italiane. Stories dealing with transformations of organizational configurations, changes in the policies of personnel management, implementation of mergers and acquisitions, reorganization of internal work processes, etc. These stories were collected during the workshops of the Research Program “L’Officina di Organizzazione”, in which managers and executives, protagonists of the organizational transformations, discuss about them with colleagues from other enterprises and university scholars. Each story is first told from “the inside", from the point of view of one or more of its protagonists, and then interpreted according to different theoretical perspectives

Tempo, lavoro e regolazione: verso il processo d'azione a più livelli

International audienceVorremmo riprendere come filo conduttore il perimetro dell’azione, e scegliere il punto di vista di un suo ampliamento ai fini dell’analisi. Questa prospettiva vorrebbe giovarsi di altri autori, che permettono di pensare l’azione come un processo che si sviluppa attraverso scalarità e livelli, come Jean-Daniel Reynaud (1997; 1999) (teoria della regolazione sociale, TRS) e Gilbert de Terssac (2011) (teoria del lavoro d’organizzazione, TTO). L’obiettivo è continuare la riflessione proposta da Bruno Maggi (2011a) (teoria dell’agire organizzativo, TAO), seguendo Max Weber sull’azione in quanto mette a fuoco il processo d’azione e non il risultato. Uno degli ostacoli di questo passaggio dall’azione all’agire riguarda la chiusura dell’analisi su livelli particolari. Secondo il punto di vista che vorremmo sviluppare, la specializzazione su un livello d’azione – come ad esempio la situazione di lavoro per la negoziazione collettiva d’impresa – non dovrebbe impedire di guardare altri livelli che permettono di comprendere il processo d’azione

Développer le pouvoir d’apprendre : pour une critique de la transmission en éducation et en formation

Researchers of the TAO Research Programs and the Centre de Recherche sur le Travail et le Développement (Research Center on Work and Development) at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris, illustrate critical reflections on education and training. These collected papers, stemming from different disciplinary frameworks and approaches, share the theoretical work and the epistemological orientation. With particular reference to the teachings of Weber, Vygotskij and Bakhtin, they focus on learning, conceived as social action, on the development of learning activity, and on the development of thought in professional dialogues. Along this line, the idea according to which education and training realize the “transmission” of knowledge, capacity, competence, values, practices, gestures, etc., is questioned and discussed

Industria 4.0: Oltre il determinismo tecnologico

In the age of the so-called fourth industrial revolution, the social sciences and organizational studies are called to a very demanding challenge: overcoming technological determinism to understand the dynamics and perspectives of a transformation not at all automatic. The contributions collected in this book address, starting from different disciplinary perspectives, some of the most relevant questions posed by technological transformation: which are the dominant actors of this transformation? What is the relationship between technological transformation and organizational action? What is the role of workers in the technological transition? The element common to all contributions is the reasoned removal of a deterministic interpretation of technological transformation, the methodological rejection of the idea of self-development of technology