Organization Theory Project--Chapter Outline
I've recently reworked the main post/page on the Org Theory project to feature a chapter outline of material published online so far. It can still be found at the same link on the sidebar. I'm also reposting it here.
Part One: State Capitalist Intervention in the Market
Chapter One: A Critical Survey of Orthodox Views on Economy of Scale (blog post)
Chapter Two: A Survey of Empirical Literature on Economy of Scale (blog post)
Chapter Three: State Policies Promoting Centralization and Large Organizational Size (blog post)
Part Two: Systemic Effects of Centralization and Excessive Organizational Size
Chapter Four: Systemic Effects of State-Induced Economic Centralization and Large Organizational Size (blog post)
Part Three: Internal Effects of Organizational Size Above That Required for Optimum Efficiency
Chapter Five: Information Problems
(Bounded rationality, etc. Orthodox organization theory work of Mises, Hayek, Simon etc.; adapted to anarchist critique by Polyani, Kenneth Boulding, R.A. Wilson, etc.)
Chapter Six: Agency Problems
(Opportunism, incentives, monitoring problems, etc. Adam Smith on incentive effects of land tenure. Work of Knight, Arrow, Ross, etc. Integrate with radical commentary of Goodman on extrinsic motivation, LeGuin on hierarchy in military, etc. Special agency problems presented by labor in a hierarchical, capitalist enterprise: implications of the incomplete contract and private ordering for labor disputes)
Chapter Seven: Application of the Austrian Calculation Argument to the Capitalist Corporation
Chapter Eight: Increasing Internal Authoritarianism
(including material on contract feudalism)
Chapter Nine: Attempts at Reform Within the System
(Tom Peters, reengineering, and other management fads that pay lip-service to decentralization and self-management, as attempts to put new wine in old bottles; and more sinister, such management fads as management by stress; attempts to coerce morale and manufacture incentives through gimmicks like Fish! Philosophy)
Chapter Ten: Crisis Tendencies
(of internal governability of the large organization, as opposed to our consideration of systemic crises in Chapter Four; especially the vulnerability of the corporation internally to asymmetric warfare)
Part Four: Conjectures on Decentralist Free Market Alternatives
Chapter Eleven: The Abolition of Privilege
Chapter Twelve: The Cost Principle
Chapter Thirteen: Decentralized Production Technology (blog post)
Chapter Fourteen: Social Organization of Production
Chapter Fifteen: Social Organization of Distribution and Exchange
Chapter Sixteen: Mutual Aid
General Material
A Heads-Up on My New Project
General Outline (pdf)
Major Posts:
On the Irrationality of Large Organizations
On the Superior Efficiency of Small-Scale Organization
What Can Bosses Know?
Toilet Paper as Paradigm
Economic Calculation in the Corporate Commonwealth
Part I: The Divorce of Entrepreneurial from Technical Knowledge
Part II: Hayek vs. Mises on Distributed Knowledge (Excerpt)
Part III: Rothbard's Application of the Calculation Argument to the Private Sector
Follow-up: P2P, the Two Economies, and Desktop Manufacturing
Distribution of Capital and the Pull Economy
Managerialism and the State
Natural Organizations and the Pull Economy
Robert Jackall on Corporate Bureaucracy
Liberation Management, or Management by Stress?
Secondary Posts:
The Panopticon: Not Just For Prison Any More
Face Time, Extrinsic Measures, and Contract Feudalism
Dilbert, Corporate Bureaucracy, and Libertarianism
P2P: New Economic Paradigm?
Dave Pollard on Organizational Behavior
Inmates Running the Asylum
New Wine in Old Bottles
Great Discussion on Corporate Hierarchies
Three Quotes on Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
Outsource Everyone But the Pointy-Haired Bosses
Blaming Workers for the Results of Mismanagement
I Wish You Wouldn't Be So Good to Me, Cap'n (or, Executive Compensation and Ass-Kicking)
The Importance of Competitive CEO Salaries
Chapter Outline
Part One: State Capitalist Intervention in the Market
Chapter One: A Critical Survey of Orthodox Views on Economy of Scale (blog post)
Chapter Two: A Survey of Empirical Literature on Economy of Scale (blog post)
Chapter Three: State Policies Promoting Centralization and Large Organizational Size (blog post)
Part Two: Systemic Effects of Centralization and Excessive Organizational Size
Chapter Four: Systemic Effects of State-Induced Economic Centralization and Large Organizational Size (blog post)
Part Three: Internal Effects of Organizational Size Above That Required for Optimum Efficiency
Chapter Five: Information Problems
(Bounded rationality, etc. Orthodox organization theory work of Mises, Hayek, Simon etc.; adapted to anarchist critique by Polyani, Kenneth Boulding, R.A. Wilson, etc.)
Chapter Six: Agency Problems
(Opportunism, incentives, monitoring problems, etc. Adam Smith on incentive effects of land tenure. Work of Knight, Arrow, Ross, etc. Integrate with radical commentary of Goodman on extrinsic motivation, LeGuin on hierarchy in military, etc. Special agency problems presented by labor in a hierarchical, capitalist enterprise: implications of the incomplete contract and private ordering for labor disputes)
Chapter Seven: Application of the Austrian Calculation Argument to the Capitalist Corporation
Chapter Eight: Increasing Internal Authoritarianism
(including material on contract feudalism)
Chapter Nine: Attempts at Reform Within the System
(Tom Peters, reengineering, and other management fads that pay lip-service to decentralization and self-management, as attempts to put new wine in old bottles; and more sinister, such management fads as management by stress; attempts to coerce morale and manufacture incentives through gimmicks like Fish! Philosophy)
Chapter Ten: Crisis Tendencies
(of internal governability of the large organization, as opposed to our consideration of systemic crises in Chapter Four; especially the vulnerability of the corporation internally to asymmetric warfare)
Part Four: Conjectures on Decentralist Free Market Alternatives
Chapter Eleven: The Abolition of Privilege
Chapter Twelve: The Cost Principle
Chapter Thirteen: Decentralized Production Technology (blog post)
Chapter Fourteen: Social Organization of Production
Chapter Fifteen: Social Organization of Distribution and Exchange
Chapter Sixteen: Mutual Aid
General Material
A Heads-Up on My New Project
General Outline (pdf)
Major Posts:
On the Irrationality of Large Organizations
On the Superior Efficiency of Small-Scale Organization
What Can Bosses Know?
Toilet Paper as Paradigm
Economic Calculation in the Corporate Commonwealth
Part I: The Divorce of Entrepreneurial from Technical Knowledge
Part II: Hayek vs. Mises on Distributed Knowledge (Excerpt)
Part III: Rothbard's Application of the Calculation Argument to the Private Sector
Follow-up: P2P, the Two Economies, and Desktop Manufacturing
Distribution of Capital and the Pull Economy
Managerialism and the State
Natural Organizations and the Pull Economy
Robert Jackall on Corporate Bureaucracy
Liberation Management, or Management by Stress?
Secondary Posts:
The Panopticon: Not Just For Prison Any More
Face Time, Extrinsic Measures, and Contract Feudalism
Dilbert, Corporate Bureaucracy, and Libertarianism
P2P: New Economic Paradigm?
Dave Pollard on Organizational Behavior
Inmates Running the Asylum
New Wine in Old Bottles
Great Discussion on Corporate Hierarchies
Three Quotes on Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
Outsource Everyone But the Pointy-Haired Bosses
Blaming Workers for the Results of Mismanagement
I Wish You Wouldn't Be So Good to Me, Cap'n (or, Executive Compensation and Ass-Kicking)
The Importance of Competitive CEO Salaries
posted by Kevin Carson | 6:52 PM
4 Comments:
Keep up the good work, Kevin. I look forward to the finished product!
Mr Carson, I wonder if you have read "The Science of success". It's a book written by libertarian Charles Koch, CEO of Koch Industries about how its companies are run following (he says) austrian economics principles.
Koch has been the founder of several libertarian organizations, so I believe th guy has some credibility.
I read the book and he says he has tried to foster internal markets, giving decision rights to employees,etc.
Pretty interesting
Regards,
Carlos
Hi Kevin - I haven't checked in in a while - looks like you have a major task on your hands. The book i am reading - Signs of Life : How Complexity Pervades Biology by Sole' and Goodwin - has a chapter on self-organization based on chaos theory. There is a lot of science math - which is the same but different than economics math. I'd like to cross paths with you again and discuss some of the mutualism and voluntarism concepts in practice rather than in theory. my life slows down substantially this august (as it has to, for health reasons).
Thanks, Nick!
Carlos,
I've never heard of the book, but it sounds like a good read. You may or may not know, of course, that the Koch name provokes some pretty colorful language in some libertarian circles.
Dr. Lenny,
Thanks for the reference on the biological angle. It might be useful. "Practice"? I think I did a paper in college on that once (apologies to The Simpsons). Seriously, I hope your health improves.
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