From the Publisher
We create organizations because we need to get a job
done--something we couldn''t do alone--and join them because we''re
inspired by their missions (and our paycheck). But once we''re
inside, these organizations rarely feel inspirational. Instead,
we''re often baffled by what we encounter: clueless managers, a
lack of clear objectives, a seeming disregard for data, and the
vast gulf between HR proclamations and our experience in the
cubicle.
So where did it all go wrong?
In THE ORG, Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan explain the tradeoffs
that every organization faces, arguing that this everyday
dysfunction is actually inherent to the very nature of orgs. THE
ORG diagnoses the root causes of that malfunction, beginning with
the economic logic of why organizations exist in the first place,
then working its way up through the org''s structure from the lowly
cubicle to the CEO''s office.
Woven throughout with fascinating case studies-including
McDonald''s, al Qaeda, the Baltimore City Police Department,
Procter and Gamble, the island nation of Samoa, and Google--THE ORG
reveals why the give-and-take nature of organizations, while
infuriating, nonetheless provides the best way to get the job
done.
You''ll learn:
- The purpose of meetings and why they will never go away
- Why even members of al Qaeda are required to submit Travel
& Expense reports
- What managers are good for
- How the army and other orgs balance marching in lockstep with
fostering innovation
- Why it''s the hospital administration-not the heart surgeon-who
is more likely to save your life
- That CEOs often spend over 80% of their time in meetings-and
why that''s exactly where they should be (and why they get paid so
much)
Looking at life behind the red tape, THE ORG shows why the path
from workshop to corporate behemoth is pockmarked with tradeoffs
and competing incentives, but above all, demonstrates why
organizations are central to human achievement.
About the Author
Ray Fisman is the Lambert Family Professor of Social Enterprise and
co-director of the Social Enterprise Program at the Columbia
Business School. His is the author of Economic Gangsters with Ted
Miguel.
Tim Sullivan is the editorial director of Harvard Business Review
Press and has worked at Basic Books, Portfolio, and Princeton
University Press, where he helped build one of the most successful
academic economics lists in the world.
About the Book
In "The Org," Fisman and Sullivan explain the tradeoffs that every organization faces, arguing that this everyday dysfunction is actually inherent to the very nature of orgs. Woven throughout with fascinating case studies--including McDonald's, al Qaeda, the Baltimore City Police Department, and more--the give-and-take nature of organizations is revealed.
Format: Hardcover
Published: January 8, 2013
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Language: English
The following ISBNs are associated with this title:
ISBN - 10: 0446571598
ISBN - 13: 9780446571593
