Disconnects and Consequences in Organization Theory?

A look at the historical roots of the study of organizations reveals that a central concern, a defining question, or theme was "What are the consequences of the existence of organizations?" This concern was deeply embedded in the work of a founding father of the discipline, Max Weber. It can also be found, historically, in the work of Micheles and Burnham in the 1950s and 1960s, in particular, there were a number of writers who took up this issue in a variety of ways. The question of the consequences of the existence of organizations was addressed at 2 levels: first, how organizations affect the pattern of privilege and disadvantage in society; second, how privilege and disadvantage are distributed within organizations. The history of organization theory, as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.