Introduction - A Comparative Analysis of Organizational Paradigms
Understanding the business environment is one of the complex tasks. With time the business world is changing a lot due to the factors such as globalisation, international expansion, new policies and multiple factors (Rowlinson, 2020). In context to this it become challenging for the businesses to operate and manage the organisations in an effective manner. For this there are different organisational theories which are being developed. But the different organisational theories are being developed on the basis of different approaches or perspectives. These paradigms are having different approaches when it comes to the management of the organisations in an systematic manner (Kelly and Cordeiro, 2020). The three paradigms of the organisational theory are modernist, symbolic interpretive and postmodern. This essay focuses on discussing two of the three paradigms related to the organisational theory in an effective way.
The main objective of this essay is to understand that how the researchers from different perspectives understand the organisation. Also the essay will focus on competing and complementing the two chosen paradigms of the organisational theory for this essay. For understanding the organisational theory the two chosen perspectives are modernist perspective and the post-modern perspective. Both the perspective will be explored and compared in this essay.
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The different paradigms are based on the different ideology of the researchers related to the business environment and the organisations as well. The modernists are the one who believes that there is a relationship between the performance of the company and the organisational structure of the firm (Durepos et. al. 2021). The basic idea of every modernist is to understand the world which we can see or feel. In the context of the business world the modernist believe that the modernist focus on understanding the objective knowledge which can help in understanding that how the businesses can be managed. According to this paradigm the performance of the organisation is affected by the way the company is managing its employees and having the organisational culture. The corporate culture is having an direct impact on the performance of employees and the entire organisation as well.
The modern theory of organisational based on the modernist approach explains that the interactions between the employees of the organisation and the surrounding environment of the organisation are having an major role to play in the organisational management. While managing the organisation the leaders and the managers need to make sure that they have to understand the behaviour of the employees which can help them in developing better strategies for managing them (Fligstein, 2021). Also if the work environment in which the company is operating in stable then also it is having a positive impact on the performance of the company. The different organisational theories based on the modernist approach such as resource dependency theory and the environmental contingency theory clearly highlight that the management if affected by the external environment of the company.
The postmodern perspective of the organisational theory is completely different from the other two perspective related to the organisation management. The post-modernist does not focuses on making a commitment or just seeking the truth related to the organisations and the business management (McAuley et. al. 2014). The post-modernist believes that there is no objective reality or the historical truth which can help in managing the businesses. In general terms it can be said that the positivist believes that there is no historical or a standard process of doing something. According to the post-modernist the members of the organisations are having their own ways of doing the work and they does not need to follow the standard formats. Also the post-modernist explains that every member of the organisation is having an equal right in the firm and should focus on paying attention towards addressing the problems rather than finding out the reasons.
The organisational culture is one of the major think which is being discussed while explaining the organisational theory. Along with this whenever the discussion is being done on management of the businesses then it is all about the organisational culture (Allan, 2020). But the idea of post-modernist suggested that there is no organisational culture as the employees are having their own ideological opinion about the firm and they work according to that only. Power is also an important topic which is being highlighted by the post-modernist as they believe that the employees working in the firm focus on maintaining the power as compared to the others and this motivated them to work better. In the post-modern era the post-modernist believe that the businesses should emphasis on working over the employees by offering them better training, benefits and encouraging them. All this can help the businesses in improving their performance, effectiveness and efficiency which is important for success of the organisation (Lock, 2003). Communication is also an important aspect of management on which the post-modernist has shed light. The post-modernist believe that communication is the most important thing which needs to be developed in the firm for ensuring that there is an open communication which add value to the overall management of the firm.
Comparing the two paradigms of organisational theory
Through the First and Second World Wars, the industrial revolution gave rise to modern management philosophies. Because it was thought that businesses were too heterogeneous and the practise would only be effective for a short period of time. But the acceptance of modern management theories was gradual. In the view of the modernist the employees were typically viewed as cogs in the machine as per the philosophies of modernist that prioritised maximising efficiency (Indradevi, 2020). The use of scientific methods helped to standardise procedures, choose qualified employees, and limit employee migration. In support to this the modern theory has helped the businesses in having a clear chain of command, clear norms and regulations, and a more institutionalised connection between employees and management. The modern approach of management is widely based on the historical concepts for understanding the businesses (Kanter, 2019). Along with this the modern theory just understands the business world as a system which is having different parameters or the participants which are interconnected to one another.
The idea of post-modernist is completely diverse from that of the modernist as they don’t believe on understanding the business as a system. The post-modernist has motivated the management to focus on the employees' demands, creating incentive systems, providing training, and having career paths, for boosting worker productivity (Calás and Smircich, 2019). In addition, management began to emphasise communication and motivation, the division of labour shifted to a team-based approach, and the hierarchy and rule structure shrank in scope. In the post-modern era now the post-modernist has provided a new way of understanding the businesses which is not based on the set of rules and regulations.
Modernists contend that corporate culture can affect how well an organisation performs. Modern organisations create cultures where everyone works toward the same objectives. Post-modernists emphasise that organisational culture is not real, in contrast to modernism interpretation. The post-modernists believe that employees truly hold ideological views regarding culture and use it to create a false impression (Daft, 2020). They support and uphold authority in order to elevate themselves above other members of the organisation. Power is not a factor in either modern interpretation or symbolic interpretation but the Post-modernists has discussed about power. The Postmodernists will compete with one another for dominance as per the power factor.
Conclusion
Through the comparison it can be understood that all the three different paradigms are all about the way the management understands the firm. But the idea of modernist and the post-modernist is completely different from each other. The modernist focuses on understanding the organisation as a system whereas the post-modernist approach focuses on individualism, communication and motivation. So it can be said that both the approaches are different but are having same objective to help the managers in managing the firm in an effective manner. In the current business world the managers are making use of combination of organisational theories based on different paradigms such as modernist and the post-modernist.
Postmodern management theories are increasingly prevalent as tasks become more complicated and individuals become more skilled. By initially scoping through the modernist notions, basic job functions are benefited. Employees, on the other hand, are the most important component of most businesses and prosper in postmodern ideologies. In the modern era now the managers are better equipped to comprehend employee incentives and increase productivity by merging these two sets of thinking. It is important to understand that the post-modernist paradigm has helped the management in understanding that employee’s needs, communication and their own perspective about the company is important for better performance (Karata??Özkan and Murphy, 2010). Employees need to feel needed, want to be valued for their efforts, and want to work on interesting projects. Managers can comprehend these emotions and create assignments that benefit both the company and the people according to postmodern ideas of management.
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