A Holistic Synthesis of the Organisation Theories

Much literature exists on the topic of ‘organisation’. Many different academic disciplinary areas stake their claim to aspects of business organisation. The social sciences offer many different perspectives of the phenomena associated with it; as different lenses, through which the object is perceived very differently. According to social constructivists, the business organisation is socially constructed. For psychologists, it exists at the nexus of individual human needs. For economists, the business organisation operates as a mechanism responding to signals of supply and demand. In this paper the business organisation is re-imaged as an entity existing within, and comprised of, chaotic systems. On the basis of a synthesis of seminal theory this paper attempts to offer a holistic perspective of business organisations; that ‘pulls together’ these multidisciplinary perspectives. On the basis of this synthesis, it is argued that the organisational context is inherently endogenous, and that qualitative research methods might offer management scientists a more valid perspective of the relationships within organisations than empirical methods can.