Organization and Decision

NIklas Luhmann; Rhodes Barrett

doi:10.1017/9781108560672

Translated into English for the first time, Luhmann's modern classic, Organization and Decision, explores how organizations work; how they should be designed, steered, and controlled; and how they order and structure society. Luhmann argues that organization is order, yet indeterminate. In this book, he shows how this paradox enables organizations to embed themselves within society without losing autonomy. In developing his autopoietic perspective on organizations, Luhmann applies his general theory of social systems by conceptualizing organizations as selfreproducing systems of decision communications. His innovative and interdisciplinary approach to the material (spanning organization studies, management and sociology) is integral to any study of organizations. This new translation, edited by one of the world's leading experts on Luhmann, enables researchers and graduate students across the English-speaking world to access Luhmann's ideas more readily.

‘Niklas Luhmann is one of the most innovative thinkers of the twentieth century. His approach to the social world had a major impact on social theorizing. His key work on organizations, Organization and Decision, is finally out in English translation. It is a must-read for all scholars and students of organization.'

David Seidl - University of Zurich, Switzerland

‘A long-awaited translation of Niklas Luhmann's landmark contribution to organization studies. We discover an author extremely well versed in the management literature, who is in constant dialogue with key authors such as Karl E. Weick, Herbert A. Simon and Michel Crozier. A must read for anyone interested in the communicative constitutive approaches to organization and organizing.'

François Cooren - Université de Montréal, Canada

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Contents

Organization and Decision
pp i-ii
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Organization and Decision - Title page
pp iii-iii
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Copyright page
pp iv-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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Preface
pp vii-x
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1 - Organization Theory: The Classical Constructions
pp 1-25
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2 - Organization as an Autopoietic System
pp 26-61
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3 - Membership and Motives
pp 62-97
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4 - The Paradox of Decision-Making
pp 98-121
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5 - Time Relations
pp 122-146
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6 - Uncertainty Absorption
pp 147-180
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7 - Decision Premises
pp 181-209
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8 - Decision Programs
pp 210-229
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9 - Personnel
pp 230-249
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10 - The Organization of Organization
pp 250-272
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11 - Structural Change: The Poetry of Reform and the Reality of Evolution
pp 273-298
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12 - Technology
pp 299-315
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13 - Organization and Society
pp 316-346
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14 - Self-Description
pp 347-368
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15 - Rationality
pp 369-392
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Conclusion: Theory and Practice
pp 393-394
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Index
pp 395-410
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Organization and Decision

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Contents

Organization and Decision
pp i-ii

Organization and Decision - Title page
pp iii-iii

Copyright page
pp iv-iv

Contents
pp v-vi

Preface
pp vii-x

1 - Organization Theory: The Classical Constructions
pp 1-25

2 - Organization as an Autopoietic System
pp 26-61

3 - Membership and Motives
pp 62-97

4 - The Paradox of Decision-Making
pp 98-121

5 - Time Relations
pp 122-146

6 - Uncertainty Absorption
pp 147-180

7 - Decision Premises
pp 181-209

8 - Decision Programs
pp 210-229

9 - Personnel
pp 230-249

10 - The Organization of Organization
pp 250-272

11 - Structural Change: The Poetry of Reform and the Reality of Evolution
pp 273-298

12 - Technology
pp 299-315

13 - Organization and Society
pp 316-346

14 - Self-Description
pp 347-368

15 - Rationality
pp 369-392

Conclusion: Theory and Practice
pp 393-394

Index
pp 395-410

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Organization and Decision

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