A short intellectual history of organization theory and an analysis of current trends in the discipline. Two analytical frameworks within five schools of thought are identified. The traditional approach concentrates on the formal, closed-ended aspects (e.g., goals, tasks, bureaucratic problems) of an organization. The other approach views the organization as an open-ended system. Schools within this framework study the informal organizations, such as social pressures, and the organization itself as a problem-solving entity, while de-emphasizing the classical rational-choice theory of decision making. The present rapid growth of the field will probably slow as it develops a limiting paradigm and as its dependency on empirical data increases.

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