Description
John Van Maanen introduces qualitative research through examples of its application in organizational research. Each article serves as an exemplar of well-written, substantively focused and theoretically relevant qualitative research. The articles represent a broad range of research styles, methods, topics and level of analysis, and the studies cover four areas of research: organizational process; groups in organizations; organizational identity and change; and the societal and institutional environment. Organizations studied include factories, churches, universities, engineering groups, fisheries, voluntary organizations, basketball teams and pop music recording firms. Foreword – Christine Oliver and Linda Johanson Different Strokes – John Van Maanen Qualitative Research in the Administrative Science Quarterly from 1956 to 1996 PART ONE: STUDIES OF ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES The Role of Expectations in Business Decision Making – R M Cyert,W R Dill and J G March Intense Loyalty in Organizations – Patricia A Adler and Peter Adler A Case Study of College Athletics In Search of Rationality – Ann Langley The Purposes behind the Use of Formal Analysis in Organizations PART TWO: STUDIES OF GROUPS IN ORGANIZATIONS The Macropolitics of Organizational Change – Robert E Cole A Comparative Analysis of the Spread of Small-Group Activities Tightening the Iron Cage – James R Barker Concertive Control in Self-Managing Work Teams Status Degradation and Organizational Succession – Robert P Gephart Jr An Ethnomethodological Approach PART THREE: STUDIES OF ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY AND CHANGE The Organizational Saga in Higher Education – Burton R Clark The Reluctant Organization and the Aggressive Environment – John Maniha and Charles Perrow From Evangelism to General Service – Mayer N Zald and Patricia Denton Wallace The Transformation of the YMCA The Creative-Destructive Process of Organizational Change – Nicole Woolsey Biggart The Case of the Post Office PART FOUR: STUDIES OF THE SOCIETAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT Organizational Effectiveness and the Institutional Environment – Paul M Hirsch Authority,Organization and Societal Context in Multinational Churches – Reed E Nelson The Dynamics of Institutionalization – Petter Holm Transformation Processes in Norwegian Fisheries
