The Multifunctional Organization: Two Cases for a Critical Update for Research Programs in Management and Organization
Tamara: Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 37-54, 2014
18 Pages Posted: 1 Oct 2014 Last revised: 9 May 2016
Date Written: 2014
Abstract
Organization and functional differentiation are considered key principles of modern societies. Yet, within organizational studies little research has been conducted on the interplay of function systems, organizations, and society. The few existing studies suppose trends to more functional polyphony. The cases presented in this article, however, support the idea that organizational multifunctionality is the standard case rather than a special case of organization. It is furthermore shown that organizations can change their function system preference and that the translation between function systems can be an organization’s main function. A Google Ngram view on functional differentiation finally furthers the idea that changes of function system preferences are not only a matter of individual organizations, but also a matter of entire societies.
Keywords: Organizational identity, Social differentiation, Function systems, Polyphony, Computer program
JEL Classification: M14, N84, N87
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation