The Org
How The Office Really Works
Published on 31. January 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-84854-996-8 (ISBN)
Description
Why do members of Al Qaeda have to submit travel and expense reports?
How do you create incentives for policemen, or priests?
What are managers good for?
We create organizations because they are an efficient way of doing something we couldn't do alone. We join organizations because we are inspired by their mission, or their payslip. But once we're inside, these organizations rarely feel efficient or inspiring.
In The Org, Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan explain the trade-offs that every organization makes, arguing that this everyday dysfunction is in fact actually inherent in the very nature of orgs. Woven throughout The Org are fascinating stories of organizations ranging from Google and McDonald's, to Al Qaeda and the island nation of Samoa.
The Org tells us how the office really works. As such it is required reading for anyone who wants to come to terms with the frustrations of their workplace, or to work their way up the org.
How do you create incentives for policemen, or priests?
What are managers good for?
We create organizations because they are an efficient way of doing something we couldn't do alone. We join organizations because we are inspired by their mission, or their payslip. But once we're inside, these organizations rarely feel efficient or inspiring.
In The Org, Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan explain the trade-offs that every organization makes, arguing that this everyday dysfunction is in fact actually inherent in the very nature of orgs. Woven throughout The Org are fascinating stories of organizations ranging from Google and McDonald's, to Al Qaeda and the island nation of Samoa.
The Org tells us how the office really works. As such it is required reading for anyone who wants to come to terms with the frustrations of their workplace, or to work their way up the org.
Reviews / Votes
The writing is compelling, the research is rigorous and the topic could hardly be more relevant to us all - The Org is a must-read. * Tim Harford, author of THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST STRIKES BACK * If you despair at endless meetings and interfering managers - you need to read The Org ... a charming and deeply researched field guide to what makes organisations tick, and why they sometimes drive us crazy. * Oliver Burkeman, Guardian columnist and author of THE ANTIDOTE * ...a compelling new book....The book offers telling insight on a topic that has ebbed and flowed across the world over the last 30 years, as governments of all stripes have set out to privatize state-owned enterprises and outsource services - what does the private sector do better than government, and what does it do worse? -- Eduardo Porter * The New York Times * A voice of -reasoned -analysis amid the airport bookstore barkers . . . breezy and approachable . . . the conclusions and insights presented in THE ORG are ones you can actually use. Less Hollywood blockbuster and more a moody independent film, THE ORG is incisive on how things actually are, while leaving readers to find the answers. * Boomberg Business Week * An amiable guide, enjoyably wry without being jokey....[A]s an antidote to hokum, the authors' mission to help you "descend into better-informed cynicism"-to find the "least dysfunctional" of all possible dysfunctional orgs-is the kind of literary stock that pays greater dividends. * The Wall Street Journal * For many of us who are seeking a framework for understanding the confusing and rapidly evolving patterns of global supply chains and trade, THE ORG provides a wonderfully powerful and clear conceptual lens. -- Michael Spence, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and author of THE NEXT CONVERGENCEMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Murray Press
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
422 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84854-996-8 (9781848549968)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2014
John Murray Business
€3.99
Available for download
Persons
Ray Fisman is Lambert Family Professor of Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School. Tim Sullivan is the editorial director of Harvard Business Review Press.