The Dynamics of Rules: Change in Written Organizational Codes

ISBN-13: 9780804737449 Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication date: 08/01/2000 Edition description: 1 Pages: 248 Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d) Written rules in formal organizations are distinctive elements of organizational history; they shape organizational change and are in turn shaped by it. These rules are created, revised, and eliminated in ways that leave historical traces, and they have a visibility and durability that elude non-written rules. They thus provide rich data for an empirical probe into the dynamics of organizational history. This study uses qualitative and quantitative data from the history of a specific organization, Stanford University, to develop speculations about the ways in which written rules change. It contributes both to a theory of rules and to theories of organizational decision-making, change, and learning. Organizations respond to problems and react to internal or external pressures by focusing attention on existing and pote