An Interactionist Perspective on Organizational Effectiveness

摘要

This article presents a developmental view of organizations grounded in psychology, especially contemporary views of personality theory (interactional psychology), industrial psychology (personnel selection, employee turnover) and the psychology of careers (career and organizational choice). The developmental framework integrates these views and suggests a number of hypotheses: (a) the typical organization is defined by the nature of the people who are attracted to it, selected by it, and who remain in it; (b) the attraction-selection-attrition cycle can, over time, lead to the occupation of narrow environmental niches and organizational decay; (c) organizations must protect themselves against decay by attracting, selecting and retaining newcomers who do not subscribe to organizational norms, and who push the organization to change; (d) variables typically studied under the effectiveness rubric (e.g., goals, technology, structure) are usefully viewed as outcomes of the people in organizations and their choices. Theoretical, methodological and practical implications of the framework are presented. (Author)