organization (social organization)

Definition of Organization

(noun) A formal, goal-orientated group with members and a defined structure, governed by rules and procedures that guide operation.

Types of Organization

• coercive organization
• formal organization
• utilitarian organization
• voluntary organization

Organization Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: or·gan·i·za·tion

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˌɔrɡənəˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/
• British English – /ˌɔːɡənʌɪˈzeɪʃn/

Usage Notes

• Plural: organizations
• The terms “organization” and “social organization” are used interchangeably in a sociological context.
• Variant spelling: organisation

Related Quotations

• “Bureaucracies generally reward compliance, not defiance. In bureaucratic settings, one does not typically advance by being the defiant, rugged, and fiercely independent individualist of American folklore, but by going along to get along, being a team player, following the rules and procedures, and slowly climbing the bureaucratic ladder one step at a time” (McNamee and Miller 2013:171–72).
• “Some bureaucracies perpetuate inequalities of race, class, and gender because this form of organizational structure creates a specific type of work or learning environment. This structure was typically created for middle- and upper-middle-class white men, who for many years were the predominant organizational participants” (Kendall 2011:194).
• “The development of the modern form of organization of corporate groups in all fields is nothing less than identical with the development and continued spread of bureaucratic administration. This is true of church and state, of armies, political parties, economic enterprises, organizations to promote all kinds of causes, private associations, clubs, and many others. Its development is, to take the most striking case, the most crucial phenomenon of the modern Western state” (Weber 1947:337).

Related Video

Additional Information

• Word origin of “organization” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Blau, Peter M., and W. Richard Scott. 1962. Formal Organizations. San Francisco: Chandler.
• Burns, Tom, and G. M. Stalker. 1966. The Management of Innovation. London: Tavistock.
• Clegg, Stewart R., Martin Kornberger, and Tyrone Pitsis. 2016. Managing Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Etzioni, Amitai. 1964. Modern Organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Godwyn, Mary, and Jody Hoffer Gittell. eds. 2012. Sociology of Organizations: Structures and Relationships. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
• Guillaume, Cécile, and Sophie Pochic. 2011. “The Organisational Nature of Union Careers: The Touchstone of Equality Policies? Comparing France and the UK.” European Societies 13(4):607–31. doi:10.1080/14616696.2011.580855.
• Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. 1977. Men and Women of the Corporation. New York: Basic Books.
• Lune, Howard. 2010. Understanding Organizations. Cambridge: Polity.
• Meyer, John W., and Brian Rowan. 1977. “Institutional Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony.” American Journal of Sociology 83(2):340–63. doi:10.1086/226550.
• Silverman, D. 1994. “On Throwing Away Ladders: Re-writing the Theory of Organizations.” Pp. 1–23 in Towards a New Theory of Organizations, edited by J. Hassard and M. Parker. London: Routledge.
• Sine, Wesley D., Hitoshi Mitsuhashi, and David A. Kirsch. 2006. “Revisiting Burns and Stalker: Formal Structure and New Venture Performance in Emerging Economic Sectors.” Academy of Management Journal 49(1):121–32. doi:10.5465/amj.2006.20785590.
• Watson, Tony J. 2008. Sociology, Work and Industry. 5th ed. London: Routledge.

Related Terms

• authority
• clear division of labor
• explicit rules
• hierarchy of authority
• impersonality
• power
• total institution
• Weber, Max

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References

Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

McNamee, Stephen J., and Robert K. Miller, Jr. 2013. The Meritocracy Myth. 3rd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Weber, Max. [1922] 1947. The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. Translated by A. M. Henderson and T. Parsons. New York: Oxford University Press.

Works Consulted

Abercrombie, Nicholas, Stephen Hill, and Bryan Turner. 2006. The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology. 5th ed. London: Penguin.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. 2011. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Bruce, Steve, and Steven Yearley. 2006. The SAGE Dictionary of Sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged. 6th ed. 2003. Glasgow, Scotland: Collins.

Giddens, Anthony, and Philip W. Sutton. 2014. Essential Concepts in Sociology. Cambridge: Polity.

Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Kornblum, William. 2008. Sociology in a Changing World. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Shepard, Jon M. 2010. Sociology. 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. 2003. Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe.

Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman, eds. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.

Stolley, Kathy S. 2005. The Basics of Sociology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Organization

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “organization.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved January 16, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/organization/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

organization. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/organization/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “organization.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/organization/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“organization.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/organization/>.