Making Organizational Theory Work: Institutions, Occupations, and Negotiated Orders

• Published in: Organization science (Providence, R.I.) Vol. 22; no. 5; pp. 1157 - 1167
• Main Author: Bechky, Beth A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Linthicum INFORMS 01-09-2011; Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
• Subjects: Accountability; Analysis; Bargaining; Barley; Conformity; Ethnomethodology; Health care organizations; Institutionalism; Institutions; Management; Meaning; Medical practice; Meta-analysis; negotiated order; Occupations; Organization; Organization theory; Organizational analysis; Organizational behaviour; Organizational research; Organizational theory; Physicians; Practice; Professions; Social interaction; Social structure; Social structures; Sociology; Volunteerism; work; Workplaces; United States
• ISSN: 1047-7039; 1526-5455
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1100.0603

In this essay I argue that organizational theorizing would benefit from incorporating a richer understanding of work and occupations. To demonstrate how, I turn to recent literature analyzing inhabited institutions, occupations as institutions, and occupations as negotiated orders. I explore the theoretical and methodological implications of these approaches to show how they challenge some of our more abstract images of organizations. They do so by grounding their theoretical frameworks in work practices and interaction, interpretation and meaning, and understandings of occupational membership.