Situational approach

The situational approaches of organizational theory developed British and American social scientists from the 1960s. The alternative term contingency theory , which is occasionally used in German, is derived from the English term contigency theory . The term situational approach was coined by the fourth generation Astonians , Alfred Kieser and Herbert Kubicek .

Their studies focused on the relationships between specific variables (e.g. technology, market) of the respective situational environment and the organizational structure and its efficiency . The situational approach is largely seen as outdated by organizational theory .

Basic theses

Two basic theses characterize the contributions of the situational approach:

1. Different organizational structures and different behaviors of the organization members are due to differences in the situation in which the companies find themselves.
2. Organizational structures and behavior are efficient depending on the situation. "

These hypotheses therefore do not permit any generalizable optimal form of organization. The rigid typology of organizational structures is instead abandoned in favor of describing organizations using characteristic variables with different characteristics.

Kieser and Kubicek divide the contributions of the situational approach into analytical and pragmatic variants.

Analytical variants

This is about the pursuit of a theoretical scientific goal. For this, the structure variables of the organization are understood as dependent variables. The situation variables, on the other hand, are interpreted as independent variables to explain differences in the organizational structures examined.

The research program of the analytical situational approach is characterized by three questions:

1. How can organizational structures be described (put in terms) and operationalized (made measurable) in order to be able to show differences between organizational structures in empirical studies?
2. Which situational factors or influencing variables explain any differences found between organizational structures?
3. What effects do different situation-structure constellations have on the behavior of the organization members and the achievement of goals (efficiency) of the organization ? Can an organizational structure be found for each situation that controls the behavior of the members of the organization in such a way that the efficiency of the organization can be ensured? "

“Why questions” are often used to gain knowledge. The insights gained from these questions are then new theories.

requirements

To answer these questions, the following parameters must be defined beforehand:

• Definition of the relevant variables of the organizational structure . These are, for example, the degree of division of labor , technical rules or standards .
• Determination of the situational factors that are necessary for the measurement. These factors must be operationalized so that they can be included in empirical studies. Examples of this are strengths and frequencies of fluctuations in demand or the appearance of new competitors on the market. Members of the organization can also be asked about their views on the matter.
• It is also necessary to clarify which dimensions of behavior and efficiency are to be measured depending on the formal organizational structure and the situation of the organization itself.

Once these parameters have been defined, the relationship between the situational and structural variables can be determined on the basis of empirical data. It is necessary to form hypotheses for this.

Pragmatic or action-related variants

The aim is the formulation of design options and recommendations, as well as their justification. The selection of the structural variant that best suits the company's situation plays a decisive role here.

The task of organizational research is then to determine the situation variables that are to be considered relevant and subsequently to draw the correct conclusions for the organizational design.

In the organizational design, the structural variables are to be selected so that there is consistency with the situational conditions of the company. An organizer is required to determine this optimal structural alternative.

In order to achieve this, “how” questions are used, the answers of which should be of use to those who have to solve problems of organizational design in practice.

Dimensions of the situation

The characteristics of the situation are broken down using dimensions.

Dimensions of the internal situation	Dimensions of the external situation
Present-related factors: Service program size Manufacturing technology Information technology Legal form and ownership	Task-specific environment: Competitive conditions Customer structure Technological dynamism
Past-related factors: Age of the organization Type of establishment Stage of development of the organization	Global environment: social conditions cultural conditions

The most important situational factors that were analyzed in empirical studies are the environment, technology and size of the organization and, to a lesser extent, legal form and service policy.

The situational approach (according to Kieser) provides for three types of production technology: workshop production (low specialization, high need for coordination, coordination by: personal instruction and self-determination), flow production (high specialization, low need for coordination within production, high need for coordination between departments, coordination by : Programming, planning) and automation production (low specialization, high need for coordination in production, coordination through: self-coordination, instructions, planning).

The production technology determines the structure in the organization, but the combinations (especially with coordination) can be different.

Exemplary studies

A classic study of the impact of the market environment on organizational structure is The Management of Innovation (1961) by Tom Burns and George M. Stalker. Put simply, the authors pair static markets with mechanical and dynamic markets with organic organizational systems.

The study of Joan Woodwards Industrial Organizations: Theory and Practice (1965) has a pioneering character . In it, she examined the relationship between production technology (independent variable) and production organization, i.e. H. managerial management and control system (dependent variable).

criticism

Criticism of this theory can be fundamentally divided into two categories: critique of the methodological tools and critique of the theoretical foundations.

The analysis results of the contingency theory do not depict empirically observable organizational structures realistically due to non-representative samples and inadequate statistical methods. Furthermore, the assumption that there is a "perfect" structure for a given situation is highly questionable. In addition, situations in the contingency approach are understood as given; According to this understanding, organizations have no influence on their situation. It can be determined empirically that organization members do have an influence on their environment. Furthermore, the assumption that organizations act strictly rationally is sub-complex; more real is an idea that decisions can only be made on the basis of limited rationality.

Other points that organizational theorists often object to:

• Situation and structural features: The lack of consideration of the coordination through self-coordination and participation in decisions is often criticized.
• Appropriateness of statistical procedures: The statistical analysis of the relationships between structural and situation variables and the aggregation of the variables compared with real conditions is not appropriate.
• Invalidity of the empirical measures used: When using different methods, there are often completely different findings about the structural relationships.

Extensions and successor theories

• Strategic Choice Theory by John Child (1972) Strategic Choice , was one of the first advanced concepts of the situational approach
• Configuration approach by Henry Mintzberg (1979), was the first to develop the so-called structure types or configurations
• Structural theory by Anthony Giddens (1984), duality of structure and action
• 3D model by William James Reddin (1967), three-dimensional leadership model
• the effects of the corporate environment on the organization of the subunits of companies in the studies by Jay Lorsch and Paul R. Lawrence , 1967.
• Contingency theory (leadership theory) by Fred Edward Fiedler (1967), measuring the efficiency of leadership styles using the LPC value

literature

• Wilhelm Hill: organizational theory . Theoretical approaches and practical methods of organizing social systems . 4th edition. Bern 1992, ISBN 3-258-04389-2 .
• Martin Heinl: Ultramodern organizational theories . Lang, Frankfurt / Main, Vienna (among others) 1996, ISBN 3-631-50059-9 .
• Matthias Wunderlich: Quality-oriented organizational structures . Shaker, Aachen 1998, ISBN 3-8265-3791-2 .
• Lex Donaldson , The contingency Theory of Organizations , Sage, 2001.

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Konstanze Senge: The new thing about neo-institutionalism . Neo-institutionalism in the context of organizational science. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-531-16605-6 , The dominance of an economist perspective since the 1960s, p. 33-80 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-531-93008-4 .
2. ^ Derek Pugh: The Aston Research Program ; Pp. 124 ff. In Alan Bryman: Doing Research in Organizations , 1988, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-41500-258-5
3. ^ Georg Schreyögg : Organization . 2nd ed., 1998, pp. 54 ff., 63 ff. Or Frese: Organization . 7th edition, 1998, p. 460 f.
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Manfred Schulte-Zurhausen : Organization . 4th edition. Vahlen, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-8006-3205-5
5. ^ ^{A b} Alfred Kieser (ed.): Organization theories . 5th edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-17-017917-9 .
6. ^ Alfred Kieser: "Organizationstheorien" . In: Organizationstheorien . 2nd edition. Kohlhammer, Cologne 1995, ISBN 3-17-013777-8 , pp. 166-168 .
7. ↑ cf. Kieser 1995, p. 171 ff.
8. ^ Alfred Kieser: Organizational Theories . 2nd Edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-17-013777-8 .
9. ^ Alfred Kieser and Herbert Kubicek: Organization . 3. Edition. Berlin / New York 1992, ISBN 3-11-013499-3 .
10. ^ Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch: Differentiation and Integration in Complex Systems . In: Administrative Science Quarterly . No. 12 (1) , 1967, p. 1-47 , doi : 10.2307 / 2391211 .
11. ^ Stefan cooling: key works of organizational research . Springer-Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-658-09068-5 , pp. 396-399 .