Diagnosing Organizations: Methods, Models, and Processes (Applied Social Research Methods)

Click ′Additional Materials′ for downloadable sample chapterMany managers and organizational leaders face shrinking budgets, growing competition, and changing organizational alliances and missions A bewildering array of new technologies and management techniques offer help in handling these challenges. To respond effectively and avoid wasting resources, decision makers need to diagnose organizational conditions, plan changes carefully, and apply appropriate technologies and management techniques. The Third Edition of the bestselling Diagnosing Organizations shows how consultants and applied researchers can help decision makers quickly and flexibly diagnose problems and challenges and decide how to deal with them. Key FeaturesModels for framing diagnostic problems, identifying underlying conditions, and providing feedback Methods for gathering and analyzing diagnostic data Processes for working on a diagnosis with clients and other members of an organizationThis thoroughly revised edition can help practitioners of diagnosis directly address concerns that are critical to clients, rather than just provide feedback on current conditions and operations. In an authoritative, yet readable fashion author Michael I. Harrison presents updated treatments of the uses of diagnosis, evaluating organizational effectiveness, improving team performance, planning organization redesign projects, and assessing organization-environment relations and competitive strategy. Also treated are the politics of change management, professional dilemmas, and ethical issues confronting practitioners. Professors of research methods across the social sciences will find Diagnosing Organizations, Third Edition an invaluable text for their courses. The second edition was widely adopted in departments of Management, Public Health, Nursing, Education, Public Administration, Psychology, Criminal Justice, and many others.

An internationally known scholar of organizations and health systems, Harrison (sociology, Bar-Ilan U., Ramat-Gan, Israel) presents a text showing how consultants and applied researchers can quickly and flexibly help decision makers diagnose and handle problems and challenges. The thoroughly updated third edition reflects developments, diagnostic practices, and trends in change management that have occurred in the decade since publication of the second edition. In addition to revamping of some of the key terminology, the third edition includes expanded treatment of effectiveness criteria, revised discussion of the model for diagnosing individual and group behavior, new discussion of Hackman's Action Model for Group Task Performance, and new material on combining opposing principles of organizational design. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Harrison shows how organisations can & do handle opportunities & threats posed by rapidly changing markets & external factors. He covers models & methods for diagnosing organisational designs, everyday practices, fits among organisational components, organisational politics & power relations "Professors of research methods across the social sciences will find Diagnosing Organizations, Third Edition an invaluable text for their courses."--Jacket This chapter examines the main features of diagnosis and its uses in consultations for organizational improvement and change.