Working in Organisations

Citation

Bullock, J. (2005), "Working in Organisations", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 417-419. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730510607925

Kudos to Kakabadse, Bank, and Vinnicombe for making the second edition of Working in Organisations a stupendous resource for today's manager! Pivotal questions arising as a result of dramatic changes in the business environment during the past two decades have been captured and answered. Equally valuable for professionals engaged in organisational research and academic endeavors, the text is thorough yet succinct. With contents ranging from classic organisational theories to contemporary business cases, poignant examples are used to illustrate critical concepts: British Aerospace; the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident; the Columbia and Challenger space shuttle accidents; politics at Shell Group; and Texaco's troubling diversity incident. In addition to organisational situations, selected individuals are highlighted in a series of “reality checks”: Barbara Cassani, chairperson for London's 2012 bid for the Olympics; Jean‐Dominique Bauby, former editor‐in‐chief of Elle; Sir Chris Bonington; Mayor Rudi Giuliani; Steve Jobs; Christopher Reeve; Ernest Shackleton; four American presidents; and others.

The authors skillfully weave theory and management science with highly relevant discussions describing application of the concepts in real‐world business settings in a manner that makes Working in Organisations interesting to read and a user‐friendly tool that can be readily employed. The book is structured in two parts. Part 1 focuses on people, jobs, and relationships, commencing with a discussion of the myriad challenges facing managers. The manager's job is examined from the perspective of an organisational role, as well as, within the context of one's career. Essential elements of contributing to organisational success through others are explored such as motivation, teamwork, diversity and individual differences, and leadership. Part 2 speaks to working the organisation and addresses communication and conflict, politics, power, organisational design and governance.

Change is constantly reshaping the business landscape and the role of management. Social and environmental responsibility, ethics and governance, diversity and teamwork figure prominently in the responsibility shouldered by today's manager. Organisations have become more dynamic and complex, populated by a modern workforce comprised knowledge workers, and encountering critical challenges that could not have been anticipated by classical theorists. Situations involving business ethics, globalisation, downsizing, diversity and rapidly changing technology are explored in a manner relevant to both private and public sector organisations. The manager's job and protean career are examined against the backdrop of continuous pressure on profitability and sustaining competitive advantage, forging changes in the psychological contract and employment relationship, as well as affecting work/life balance. Individuals and jobs are the primary focus of the discussion on motivation, setting the stage for expanded discussions of teamwork, diversity and individuality and their role in organisational strategy. The triumvirate leadership‐politics‐power is examined as new as these facets, too, are shaped by continuous change in the competitive landscape. In particular, transactional, transformational, and discretionary styles enable effective performance for leadership occurring at all levels in an organisation. This is important because “Many business failures can be traced back to weak leadership”. Given the centrality of influence in the role of leadership and politics when working in organisations, the latter is examined from four angles: global vs local, boss vs subordinate, professional vs manager, centre vs subsidiary, and colleague vs colleague. The end result of this examination is seven tactics to achieve increased interpersonal influence:

1. 1.

   identify the stakeholders;

2. 2.

   work within the comfort zones;

3. 3.

   fit the image;

4. 4.

   use networks;

5. 5.

   make deals;

6. 6.

   be “economical with the truth”; and

7. 7.

   confront or withdraw.

The discussion of organisational design reflects contemporary structures and the impact of flexible approaches to resource management, such as outsourcing. Product, divisional, and matrix structures are explored in addition to centralisation, decentralisation, and resource‐flexible approaches; examples include alliances, virtual organisations and shared services. The impact of organisational redesign is assessed with a view toward accountability, customer satisfaction, and employee morale. Equally important, the role of governance is explored amidst contrasting perspectives and meanings emerging as a result of recent corporate scandals. Two distinctly different governance models are outlined – Anglo‐American and Continental European. Familiarity with these models and the role of boundary spanning is important to managerial success when working in global organisations.

Working in Organisations provides a solid knowledge base punctuated by practical examples and reality checks. Concise and relevant, a striking feature of the book is that it serves as a compendium of knowledge in areas such as leadership, management and organisational behaviour, as well as change management and effective communications. But if one book could be selected as a reference for managers working in today's organisations, this would be the one!