Talking About Organizations Podcast

We conclude our discussion of Barley & Kunda’s article in Organization Science titled “Bringing Work Back In.” We ask ourselves to what extent are the author’s argument still valid (in short, they certainly are) and how much more urgency there is to understand the work context given the rapid shifts in technology and the reweaving of the social fabric that has changed the meaning of work-life balance. Also, which scholars are trying to lead the way with new studies on work?

In their 2001 Organization Science article “Bringing Work Back In,” Steven Barley and Gideon Kunda lamented how the study of work, its organization, and its performance shifted after the 1950s. Work was the center of attention among the classic era of organization studies beginning with Frederic Taylor, but afterward, the focus shifted to post-bureaucratic concepts such as boundaryless organizations and networks. Barley and Kunda argues that these new ideas are not grounded in rigorous studies of how people perform work in such new organizations.

Coming soon! We will discuss Steven Barley and Gideon Kunda’s critique about how the study of work, its organization, and its performance were no longer the focus of organization studies and call for a renewed focus on work in current research.

We conclude our discussion of Alfred Sloan’s “My Years at General Motors” with a look at the post-war automotive boom to the present day and the introductions of electric cars, foreign manufacturers establishing operations within the US, and the future of transportation. We also discuss how newer emerging technologies and lean manufacturing initiatives have changed the ways that corporations operate nowadays.

Alfred Sloan was President, Chairman, and CEO of General Motors from 1923 to 1956. His memoir “My Years at General Motors” tells his story about how he took a corporation consisting of several disparate and competing companies and shaped them into division that manufactured cars tailored to different segments of society. He constantly pursued and integrated new technologies into the automobiles themselves while also shaping the buying experience through the introductions of different styles, improved relations with dealings, and financial services that rivaled banks.

Coming soon! We will dive into the history of the automotive industry with a look at Alfred Sloan’s famous memoir, “My Years at General Motors.” The book chronicles the growth of General Motors and the industry from the 1920s through the 1950s and how the corporation overcame economic crises, World War II, and the post-war automobile boom. A terrific story about executive leadership in an emerging industry and professionalism in business.

We conclude our discussion of Frederick Herzberg’s book “The Motivation to Work” and the Two-Factor theory of job satisfaction it presents. What are the implications for contemporary managers and workers? To what extent do employers default to dealing with environmental issues to stem complaints rather than takes steps to improve performance and reward achievement?

Frederick Herzberg’s “The Motivation to Work” presents the results of over 200 interviews with engineers and accountants working in the Pittsburgh area regarding what satisfied and dissatisfied them on the job. They would find that factors leading to satisfaction, such as achievement and performance, were very different than those leading to dissatisfaction, such as company policies or relationships with co-workers and managers. The result became known as Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Job Satisfaction, also known as the motivator-hygiene theory.

Coming soon! We will discuss the studies that led to Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory of job satisfaction, published in the book “The Motivation to Work” with colleagues Bernard Mausner and Barbara Snyderman. The studies included interviews with over 200 engineers and accountants regarding what satisfied and dissatisfied them on the job.