Understanding Organizations...Finally!: Structure in Sevens [Paperback]

The iconic Henry Mintzberg provides a crystal-clear map to the forms and forces that shape all human organizations, synthesizing his fifty years of research.

We live in a world of organizations, from our birth in hospitals until our burial by funeral homes. In between, we are educated, employed, entertained, and exasperated by organizations. We had better understand how these strange beasts really work. But where can we go to find out?

Welcome to Understanding Organizations . . . Finally! For half a century, Mintzberg has been observing organizations, advising them, engaging them, and escaping them. Here he offers a masterful update and revision of his 1983 classic, Structure in Fives.

Believing there is one best way to structure organizations is the worst way to do so. A better place to start is by recognizing different species of organizations. Mintzberg identifies seven—personal enterprises, programmed machines, professional assemblies, project pioneers, and others. He explores these forms and the seven forces that drive them toward hybrids and across their life cycles.

You will find no better guide to the care and feeding of these extraordinarily varied and vital creatures than this book.1. Our World of Organizations
Part I: Re-Viewing the Organization
2. The Players and the Parts
3. The Art, Craft, and Science of Organizing
Part II: The Building Blocks of Organizational Design
4. The Mechanisms to Coordinate
5. The Elements of Design
6. Design in Context
Part III: Four Fundamental Forms of Organization
7. The Personal Enterprise
8. The Programmed Machine
9. The Professional Assembly
10. The Project Pioneer
11. The Four together
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