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Chester Barnard and the Systems Approach to Nurturing Organizations

Author

Listed:
  • Gabor, Andrea

    (Baruch College, City University of New York)

  • Mahoney, Joseph T.

    (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Abstract

Chester Barnard was best known as the author of The Functions of the Executive, perhaps the 20th century's most influential book on management and leadership. Barnard offers a systems approach to the study of organization, which contains a psychological theory of motivation and behavior, a sociological theory of cooperation and complex inter--dependencies, and an ideology based on a meritocracy. Barnard's teachings drew on personal insights as a senior executive of ATT in the 1920s and 1930s, and he emphasized the role of the manager as both a professional and as a steward of the corporation. For leadership to be effective, it had to be perceived as legitimate, Barnard maintained. Barnard sensed that the central challenge of management was balancing both the technological and human dimensions of organization. The challenge for the executive was to communicate organizational goals and to win the cooperation of both the formal and the informal organization; but he cautioned against relying exclusively on incentive schemes to win that cooperation. Responsibility--in terms of the honor and faithfulness with which managers carry out their responsibilities--is the most important function of the executive.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabor, Andrea & Mahoney, Joseph T., 2010. "Chester Barnard and the Systems Approach to Nurturing Organizations," Working Papers 10-0102, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:illbus:10-0102
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    File URL: http://www.business.illinois.edu/Working_Papers/papers/10-0102.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Williamson, Oliver E., 2005. "Transaction cost economics and business administration," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 19-40, March.
    4. Miller,Gary J., 1992. "Managerial Dilemmas," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521372817.
    5. Chester I. Barnard, 1945. "Education for Executives," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18, pages 175-175.
    6. Smith, Adam, 1776. "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number smith1776.
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