This book offers a discussion of a new management concept, “Organisational Anatomy”, which views organisational processes and functions from a biological perspective. This approach naturally explains the ongoing internal and external organisational processes and optimum configuration of different organisations. Organisations are live creatures which are breathing, functioning, moving and developing inside their specific environments. Biological examples offer a useful way of making sense of complex ideas, because they can be related to everyday existence. As such, this allows the reader to intuitively understand the organisations where they work and with which they interact. By classifying different types of organisations and looking at their biological functions, Organisational Anatomy links existing theories and discusses five archetypes of organisations, namely producers, knowledge-dependent, location-dependent, donor-dependent and state-affiliated organisations. By looking into their specific features, the characteristics of organisations of different ages and levels of maturity, the access and utilisation of resources, and the development of productive external relations, this book allows insights into the role of each function in achieving superior business performance. The Organisational Anatomy approach allows the development of a holistic picture, and will allow businesses to achieve higher performance and recognise problems and difficulties by considering organisational pathologies and diseases.

Can we imagine organisations to be like human bodies? Modern medicine has advanced since the study of blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile was assumed to explain how the body functions. Organisational science today is in a similar mediaeval position, with fragmented theories of structure, competitiveness and human resources, and no overall theory of organising. This book fills that gap by constructing a physiological theory of organising. During the middle of the twentieth century, the anthropologist Radcliffe-Brown asserted that there should be a single branch of science for the study of human society. He maintained that a natural science, in the form of the study of the physiology of societies, was not yet available to form a link between theory and applied science. This research-based book explores the feasibility of studying the physiology of organisations, and determines whether this sort of knowledge can offer an improved perspective on organisational functioning. If we think about organisations in the same way that we think about human bodies, then we will be able to treat them when they are ill, and ensure that they work at maximum efficiency.

Organizational Change provides a discussion of change in relation to the complexities of organizational life, offering comprehensive coverage of the significant ideas and issues associated with change at all levels of organizational activity from the strategic to the operational and at the individual, group, organizational and societal levels. The book seeks to meet both the academic and applied aims of most business and management courses and is for both graduate as well as postgraduate business studies students

International Business

A version of the OpenStax text

“Strategic International Management” takes a global perspective and covers the major aspects of international business strategies, the coordination of international companies and the particularities of international value chain activities and management functions. The book provides a thorough understanding of how Production & Sourcing, Research & Development, Marketing, Human Resource Management and Controlling have to be designed in an international company and what models are available to understand those activities in an international context. The book offers 20 lessons that provide a comprehensive overview of all key issues. Each lesson is accompanied by a case study from an international company to facilitate the understanding of all important factors involved in strategic international management. In this second edition, all chapters have been updated, all case studies revised and recent data were integrated. The concept, though, remained unchanged.