• Comprehensive coverage of the most relevant topics in the field of organization theory provides a thorough grounding that will immerse students in the subject.
• Only textbook to explain core concepts from the three dominant perspectives on organization theory, providing a distinctive approach that encourages thought and discussion.
• Unique writing style makes complex ideas accessible and engaging.
• Numerous figures and tables help explain theories, make them more memorable, and serve as reference tools for quick review.

New to this edition

• Contains new chapters on practical applications of organization theory and on new perspectives in organization theory.
• A largely revised chapter on power, politics, control and conflict now appears in Part II: The Core Concepts of Organization Theory.
• Includes major revisions to all chapters updating and extending modern symbolic-interpretive and postmodern perspectives.
• A companion web site contains resource material for both students and instructors, the latter of which will be password-protected, including web links, discussion questions, and teaching suggestions.

Mary Jo Hatch, C. Coleman McGehee Eminent Scholars Research Professor of Banking and Commerce, McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia; Adjunct Professor, Copenhagen Business School, and Ann L. Cunliffe, Albert and Mary Jane Black Endowed Professor of Economic Development at the University of New Mexico

" Organization Theory is unique among textbooks in organization and management. It is theoretically acurate, giving a comprehensive and up-to-date view of this dynamic, diverse and quickly developing field. In addition, the book is written in such a way that it encourages a reflexive stance towards both academic theory and organizational practices. We have used the book extensively in our undergraduate education, and it has proved to enrich students' understanding of this important field of theory and practice." - Rolf Lind, Stolkholm University School of Business

"I very much welcome this second edition of Organization theory. As a textbook it is not only comprehensive and instructive but also original and evocative - it makes a significant contribution to the study of organizations. In particular the book demonstrates convincingly the advantages of taking a multiperspectival approach to organization theory. Taking the student through the complex literatures of modern, symbolic, and postmodern analysis it offers the reader a repetoire of new ways of understanding complex organisations. In my view it is a must for students of organization." - John Hassard, Manchester University

"The instant success of Mary Jo Hatch's Organization Theory when it was first published in 1997 demonstrated that this text was badly needed... But even the best textbooks age, and therefore it is a great relief to see that Mary Jo Hatch continues to update her book. This is a livig text, which reports the most recent developments in organizational theory and practice, and both teachers and students can continue to use it with full confidence." - Barbara Czarniawaska, Goteborg University

"Mary Jo Hatch;s textbook was brilliant the first time it was published. Now, revised jointly with Ann Cunliffe, it is even better. Hatch and cunliffe do not merely summarize major perspectives and trends in organization theory for the reader, They provide an organizing framework for making sense of it perplexing density, while, at the same time, being sensitive to the forced synthesis any integrative summarizing may entail.. This is a marvellous textbook." - Haridimos Tsoukas, Athens Laboratory of Business Administration (ALBA) and Warwick University

"Textbooks are supposed to icover the ground so that the student is introduced to a field or to an area. ncovering is much harder; uncovering involves the bringing in of innovative and marginalized knowledge to a field through exposure to perspectives that refresh and challenge it. Students who read this book should open their minds; by contrast, many textbooks in organization theory erect strict boundaries and manage foreclosures on contexts, politics and public issues. Theycover things. Hatch and Conliffe cover - but they also uncover." - Stewart Clegg, University of Technology, Sydney

I: WHAT IS ORGANIZATION THEORY?
1: Why Study Organization Theory?
2: A Brief History of Organization Theory
II: CORE CONCEPTS AND THEORIES
3: Organization and Environment
4: Organizational Social Structure
5: Technology
6: Organizational Culture
7: The Physical Structure of Organizations
8: Organizational Power, Control and Conflict
III: PRACTICAL ISSUES AND NEW DIRECTIONS IN ORGANIZATION THEORY
9: Theory in Practice
10: New Directions in Organization Theory