Overview

Written rules in formal organizations are distinctive elements of organizational history; they shape organizational change and are in turn shaped by it. These rules are created, revised, and eliminated in ways that leave historical traces, and they have a visibility and durability that elude non-written rules. They thus provide rich data for an empirical probe into the dynamics of organizational history. This study uses qualitative and quantitative data from the history of a specific organization, Stanford University, to develop speculations about the ways in which written rules change. It contributes both to a theory of rules and to theories of organizational decision-making, change, and learning. Organizations respond to problems and react to internal or external pressures by focusing attention on existing and potential rules. The creation, modification, or elimination of a rule, then, is a response to events in the outside environment (such as new government regulations) or to events within the organization (such as alterations in internal government structures).

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9780804739962

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Reviews

In developing an elegant and sophisticated theory of how and why organizational rules change, the authors have created an entirely new field of organizational research. I know of no other general theory on the rise, evolution, and demise of rules, and I have never seen such a rich longitudinal dataset on rules. -Frank Dobbin, Princeton University This is an important book... It outlines an emerging theory of the dynamics of organizational rules that enriches many other perspectives on the functioning of organizations... Future discussions of institutionalization, organization-environment adaptation, organizational learning, organizational change, and the effect of contextual influences on individual behavior will benefit from consideraiton and inclusion of the themes presented here. -Personnel Psychology

In developing an elegant and sophisticated theory of how and why organizational rules change, the authors have created an entirely new field of organizational research. I know of no other general theory on the rise, evolution, and demise of rules, and I have never seen such a rich longitudinal dataset on rules. - Frank Dobbin, Princeton University This is an important book... It outlines an emerging theory of the dynamics of organizational rules that enriches many other perspectives on the functioning of organizations... Future discussions of institutionalization, organization-environment adaptation, organizational learning, organizational change, and the effect of contextual influences on individual behavior will benefit from consideraiton and inclusion of the themes presented here. - Personnel Psychology

'In developing an elegant and sophisticated theory of how and why organizational rules change, the authors have created an entirely new field of organizational research. I know of no other general theory on the rise, evolution, and demise of rules, and I have never seen such a rich longitudinal dataset on rules - surely the result of years of painstaking collection and coding.' Frank Dobbin, Princeton University

Author Information

James G. March is Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Sociology, Education, and International Management at Stanford University. Martin Schulz is Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of Washington. Xueguang Zhou is Associate Professor of Sociology at Duke University.

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