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Chapter 1: Organizations and Organization Theory

This first chapter of the book “ORGANIZATIONS AND ORGANIZATION THEORY” is covering several topics illustrated in the Xerox case. Xerox is a company founded in 1906 as the Haloid Company; it was an icon of innovation and corporate success in the business of copying and digital imaging. They developed the word’s first xerographic copier which was the best-selling product of all time. But like many known companies, Xerox became a victim of its own success, even if the managers knew that their company needed help to survive, but unfortunately this mission isn’t as easy as it looks. Many essays were made over the years in order to save the has-been company, but all were in vain. In August 2001,a strong decision maker ”Mulcahy” succeeded to take the company out of its problems, by launching a multi-billion dollar turnaround plan that included cost-cutting and closing of several money-losing operations.
Organization Theory in Action:
Organization theory is inspired from organizations such as the Rolling Stones, IBM, and Xerox. This last case is important because it shows us that even large and successful organizations are vulnerable, because they are not static; they continuously adapt to changes in the external environment.
Today the organization is facing many challenges which are different from the past ones. Some specific challenges are dealing with: * Globalization: In the actual ere, companies can locate different parts of the organization wherever it makes the most business sense. They also, either large or small, are searching for the right structures and processes that can help them reap the advantages of global interdependence and minimize the disadvantages. * Ethics and social responsibility: Leaders face lot of pressure from the government and the public to hold their organizations and employees to high ethical and professional standards. * Speed of responsiveness: It’s a