Organization Design, Levels of Work and Human Capability: Executive Guide

by James G. Hunt and Ken Shepard

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 097838590X
• ISBN13: 9780978385903
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Global Organization Design Society
• Length: 520 Pages
• Weight: 2.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Understanding Elliott Jaques

At last, a superb book that not only explains the comprehensive view of organizations that was the lifetime work of Elliott Jaques, but also provides the larger context of his work alongside practical examples of how it can be applied to improve organizational life. Ken Shepard has done a magnificent job of bringing together managers, academics, practitioners and consultants who have hands-on experience of Jaques's work. The chapters provide a feast for the reader interested in improving the performance of organizations by allowing members to realize their individual capabilities while working creatively and harmoniously with each other. As an academic/consultant myself, my early career seemed filled with mysteries as I tried to understand organizational life. After reading much of the literature, and finding nuggets of truth here and there, I felt that the pieces didn't fit together. By good fortune, I was a member of the School of Social Sciences at Brunel University when Jaques was Head of the School, but I initially dismissed his theories as just too implausible. However, on closer examination, followed by teaching a course, Behaviour in Organisations, with him, it dawned on me that here was a comprehensive theory that brought together and made sense of my experiences in organizations outside the university. I now teach Jaques's ideas about organizational structure and functioning to my students at the London School of Economics, and use them in my consultancy work. Several years ago I loaned my copy of Requisite Organization to a retired chairman of one of the UK's largest companies, who on returning it to me commented "If I had had this book earlier, the last 25 years of my company life would have been completely different." This new book should light fires in organizations all around the world, exposing serious dysfunction, but also showing how it can be cured. A landmark achievement in the social sciences: a theory that not only explains and predicts, but also shows how improvements can be made.

An integrative book on the essence of organising.

Every three to five years a groundbreaking book is published. This inspiring book is one of them. I have been working with teams and organisations during the last 25 years, enabling them to realize there purpose. During this period I experimented with different models and approaches, each having an added value. Nevertheless I still had the feeling that something was missing. This book builds on the work of Elliot Jaques and is for me one of the missing pieces in how to (re)build trust. It recognises that people and organisations are complex. Understanding how people at different levels deal with this complexity is one of the keys to create effective organisations. This book presents a set of concepts and a model that predict what will and what will not be effective in organisations regarding leadership, systems, staffing and structures. Rather than a set of prefabricated solutions it is a tool that helps understand how you can increase the performance and well-being in an organisation. I found the book an extremely valuable add for excecutives and everyone who is responsible for organising work. It gave me new insights on how to structure an organisation, how to match and challenge the capabilities of employees, how to provide the appropriate recognition and above all how to develop a value system to make contributions in broader society. The approach takes you beyond the current dominant 'competency' approach and the numerous examples helped me understand how to design, implement and sustain positive changes in an organisation. Jan De Visch - Managing Partner Bridges for Choice (Belgium)

On the true road to success and resilience

The sheer magnitude of this book is immense. A sizeable volume with many authors, carefully crafted together through skilful editing and design. The book undertakes a large task in bringing the frameworks originally developed by Elliott Jaques and Wilfred Brown into the present. Over the decades since their original publications the body of knowledge has widened and many of the ways that we look at companies and organizations has changed. Unfortunately the speed of change and the needs of academics and consultants to position themselves has led to a "flavour of the month" in publishing. Not unlike the tabloids, where the most important thing is to sell todays issue. This book brings forward what has very much been a silent and unglamorous movement. Not a word about glitzy strategies or dramatic success stories. It is all about building sound organizational structures and manning them with the right people. The authors of this anthology are academics, consultants and people from the real world of companies and organizations. The book contains a substantial body of knowledge and experience. No single author could bring together all this. The book reminds me of the Edison quote "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work". A lot of the organizational stuff that we read in papers, magazines and books is "flash in the pan" and contains the lure of the quick fix. This book is about the resilient way to long term organizational success, and that is a big job. If you want to live on the hope for a quick fix, then read all the other books. If you truly want to embark on the journey of building a viable and successful organization, then read this book and set it as your starting point.