The Changing Organization
Agency Theory in a Cross-Cultural Context

This book provides a multidisciplinary approach for studying the management of change under conditions of complexity.

Kaijun Guo (Author), Maurice Yolles (Author), Gerhard Fink (Author), Paul Iles (Author)

9781316600917, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 24 March 2022

465 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.679 kg

The Changing Organization provides a multidisciplinary approach for studying the management of change under conditions of complexity. Single-discipline approaches frequently miss essential elements that reduce the possibility of coherence within a multi-agency organizational setting. Combining a systems and cybernetic 'living system' perspective, Guo, Yolles, Fink, and Iles offer a new agency paradigm designed to model, diagnose and analyse complex, real-world situations. Its capacity to anticipate patterns of behaviour provides useful means by which the origin of crises can be understood, and resolutions reflected upon. Scholars and graduate students in fields as diverse as management, politics, anthropology and psychology will find numerous applications for this book when considering socio-political and organizational change, and it offers an invaluable guide for consultants who may wish to apply advanced techniques of contextual analysis to real-world situations.

Part I. The Agency: 1. The cultural agency
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The configuration approach
1.3 Viable living systems and cultural agency
2. The instrumental and strategic agencies
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The strategic agency
2.3 Two views on strategic management
2.4 The knowledge management paradigm
2.5 Complexity and viable systems
2.6 Knowledge cybernetics
2.7 Agency pathology
3. Agency personality
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Modelling the collective agency
3.3 Agency trait theory and Maruyama types
3.4 Intelligences and efficacy in agency traits
3.5 Conclusion
4. The intelligent agency
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Theories of intelligence
4.3 Organisational intelligences
4.4 Agency process intelligences and efficacy
4.5 Knowledge strategy agency case
5. Agency types and traits
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Traits, enantiomers and agency type
5.3 Individualism and collectivism
5.4 Some thoughts
6. Agency consciousness
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Undecidability and generic system hierarchies
6.3 Substructure modelling
6.4 Illustration of superstructure modelling
6.5 The case of negotiation and agency internalisation
Part II. Agency Change: 7. Joint alliances
7.1 Introduction
7.2 International alliances in Central Europe
7.3 Knowledge management and knowledge transfer in a cross-cultural context
7.4 Viable knowledge creation and learning in international alliances
7.5 Modelling alliances
7.6 Application of the model to a case study of the Czech Academic Link Project (CZALP)
7.7 Application of the model to a case study of the Czech Academic Link project (CZALP)
The CZALP Project Phase 1
The CZALP Project Phase 2 and 3
7.7 Outcome
8. Agency dynamics
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Kuhn, Piaget: from paradigm crisis to transformation
8.3 Understanding paradigms
8.4 Paradigms under change
8.5 Transformation and paradigms
8.6 Trait system dynamics
8.7 Baoshang Bank case study
8.8 Some thoughts
Part III. Agency as Society: 9. The sociological and political agencies
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Parsons
9.3 Luhmann
9.4 Habermas
9.5 Agency and socio-cultural processes
9.6 The political dimension of agency
9.7 Luhmann, Habermas, agency and practice
10. The economic agency
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Economics and policy
10.3 Macroeconomic modelling
10.4 Economic agency
10.5 Traits, policy and macroeconomics
10.6 Case situation: the 2008 European Recession and mindscapes
10.7 Observations
11. The financial agency
11.1 Introduction
11.2 The Chinese context
11.3 The impact of shadow banking
11.4 Viewing banking through agency
11.5 Agency pathologies and corruption
11.6 Conclusions
Notes
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Business studies: general [KJB], Social theory [JHBA], Sociology [JHB], Sociology & anthropology [JH], Society & culture: general [JF], Cybernetics & systems theory [GPFC], Information theory [GPF], Research & information: general [GP]