How smart companies turn knowledge into action and hidden value. Aetna is going to stop offering individual health insurance policies on the health exchanges in 11 of the 15 states. His recent publications include the knowingdoing gap. University of illinois at urbanachampaigns academy for entrepreneurial leadership historical research reference in entrepreneurship. Resource dependence theory rdt is concerned with how organisational behaviour is affected by external resources the organisation utilises, such as raw materials. Pfeffer and salancik 1978 and pfeffer 1981, for example, summarize a great deal of the empirical and theoretical work on resource dependence. These choices involve evaluating communication options and selecting an appropriate medium to match the communication requirements of the task. Among the most widely cited books in the social sciences, the external control of organizations has long been required reading for any student of organization studies. The one important thing missing from the health care debate you may have seen the big news on health care. The book, reissued on its 25th anniversary as part of the stanford business classics series, includes a new preface written by jeffrey pfeffer, which examines the legacy of this influential work in current research and its.
A resource dependence perspective pfeffer and salancik 1978. Pdf thirty years have passed since pfeffer and salanciks seminal work on resource dependence theory rdt. The key argument in the work is implied in the title. The context has a stronger effect than preferences or the will of individuals.
The book, reissued on its 25 th anniversary as part of the stanford business classics series, includes a new preface written by jeffrey pfeffer, which examines the legacy of this influential work in current research and its. Even though organization researchers have developed. The organization is the total set of interstructured activities in which it is engaged at any one time and over which it has discretion to initiate, maintain, or end behaviors concentration munificence interconnectedness the external control of organizations pfeffer and salancik, 1978 monday, october, 2014 2. Of all published articles, the following were the most read within the past 12 months. Consequently, there have been relatively few attempts to explore situational constraints as alternative explanations for work attitudes and behaviors. During this time rdt has been applied broadly across the research domain to explain how organizations reduce environmental interdependence and uncertainty. Thirty years have passed since pfeffer and salanciks seminal work on resource dependence theory rdt. Salancik jeffrey pfeff er d fewer is held by many people to be a dirty word or, as warren bennis has said, it is the organizations last dirty secret. Organization comply with the demands of others, or they act to manage the dependencies that create constraints on organizational actions.
A resource dependence perspective, authorjuergen beyer, year2000. Dee ii professor of organizational behavior at the stanford graduate school of business. Based on the theorys propositions, the main argument of this paper is that ios can be viewed as strategies which can alter the relationships between trading partners by reducing environmental uncertainty and. The procurement of external resources is an important tenet of both the strategic and tactical management of any company. Groups that control the most vital resources or can reduce the uncertainty of other organizations have the most power. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. He is best known for his work with jeffrey pfeffer on organizational decision making and the external control of organizations. Salancik stanford business classics stanford business books an im. The external control of organizations pfeffer and salancik, 1978 with that of power dependence relations, emersons 1962 classic. Rdt is being used in order to explain behaviour of organizations. Professor pfeffer has consulted in the areas of decision making and organizational and management development, and has published extensively in the areas of. Dee ii professor of organizational behavior at the graduate school of business, stanford university where he has taught since 1979.
The resource dependence perspective hereafter rd refers to a research tradition that emerged from the basic framework of jeffrey pfeffer and gerald r. Many of the problems enumerated in a critique of needsatisfaction models salancik and pfeffer, 1977 are at least. It first outlines rdts origins and evolution, introduces its core assumptions, and discusses the theorys shortcomings. Pfeffer and salancik have produced a good, persuasive statement of the resource dependence view. Like other products of the mid1970s, such as disco and polyester clothing, each of these approaches continues to exercise influence today, even as some of the core questions asked by. This chapter aims to make resource dependence theory rdt more accessible for scholars of international organizations. Arguing that organisation theorists, despite references to open systems.
Chatman northwestern university in order for researchers to understand and predict behavior, they must consider both person and situation factors and how these fac tors interact. Their book is a welcome effort to formulate the perspective more completely, weigh the relevant empirical evidence, and develop implications for organizational design. A resource dependence perspective, 2003, 300 pages, jeffrey pfeffer, gerald r. Although pfeffer and salancik did not sustain their focus on environ. How great companies achieve extraordinary results with ordinary people gerald r. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Pfeffer and salanciks major work is the seminal contribution to the organization theory on resource dependence theory rdt. Groups that control the most vital resources or can reduce the uncertainty of. Acknowledgments and dedication of the classic edition introduction to the classic edition preface 1. This article will argue that tradi tional political power, far from being a dirty business, is, in its most naked form.
The external control of organizations pfeffer and salancik, 1978 conference paper pdf available october 2014 with 3,736 reads how we measure reads. The point is that behaviors are frequendy constrained by situational contingencies and the individuals effect is relatively small pfeffersalancik 2003. The theory is important because an organisations ability to gather, alter and exploit raw materials faster than competitors can be fundamental to success. The extemal control t i 1 e of organizations a resource dependence perspective 1 jeffrey pfeffer and gerald r. According to the resource dependence literature, attempts by the firm to adapt to and negotiate with the environmsmt are often guided by three overarching principles. Pdf the external control of organizations pfeffer and salancik. A social information processing model of media use in. The resource dependence theory university of twente student. Nevertheless, a theory of the consequences of this importance was not formalized until the 1970s, with the publication of the external control of organizations. Pfeffer and salancik state that it is the fact of the organizations dependence on the environment that makes the external constraint and control of organizational behavior both possible and almost inevitable.
Jeffrey pfeffer isnt a goodreads author, but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed. Pdf the external control of organizations pfeffer and. His current research focuses on the effects of work environments on human health and wellbeing, power and leadership in organizations, evidencebased management, the knowingdoing gap, and how thinking of time like money affects peoples choices about spending time in ways that. Pdf thirty years have passed since pfeffer and salancik s seminal work on resource dependence theory rdt. Resource dependency theory and strategic contingency model of power. Thirty years have passed since pfeffer and salancik s seminal work on resource dependence theory rdt. Rdt is currently experiencing a phase of theory revival, refinement, and empirical application. A social information processing approach to job attitudes. Organizational context and the characteristics and tenure of hospital administrators, academy of management journal, vol. Stanford, caiifomia 2003 38 the external contml of organizations marchj. A resource dependence perspective pfeffer and salancik 1978, cited under classic treatments.
We do so structured around pfeffer and salancik s 1978 five actions that firms can take to minimize environmental dependences. Resource dependence theory how well does it explain. Resource dependence theory michigan ross university of. One body of work posits that media use patterns are the outcome of objectively rational choices. The theoretical arguments that serve as rds foundation can be. Jeffrey pfeffer has published extensively in the fields of organization theory and human resource management. Salanciks classic 1978 work, the external control of organizations.
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