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Organization, membership and the formalization of behavioural expectations

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  • Niklas Luhmann

Abstract

This text is a translation of the first five chapters of Niklas Luhmann's book ‘Funktionen und Folgen formaler Organisation’ [Functions and consequences of formal organization], which originally appeared in German in 1964. In contrast to his later works, which rely crucially on the concept of communication, in this text, Luhmann applies an action‐based approach. He defines social systems as consisting of meaningfully interrelated actions that can be distinguished from their environment. Organizations are a specific type of social systems, that is, a social system that orders actions through the formalization of certain expectations. Formal expectations are those that are bound to the membership role and the acceptance of these is the condition for entry into and exit from the organization. Through the generalized member role, an organization is capable of defining highly generalized expectations. Thus, membership becomes the basis for imposing a broad range of specific yet constantly changeable expectations on members.

Suggested Citation

  • Niklas Luhmann, 2020. "Organization, membership and the formalization of behavioural expectations," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3), pages 425-449, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:srbeha:v:37:y:2020:i:3:p:425-449
    DOI: 10.1002/sres.2689
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Grothe‐Hammer, 2020. "Membership and contributorship in organizations: An update of modern systems theory," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3), pages 482-495, May.
    2. Michael Grothe-Hammer & Héloïse Berkowitz & Olivier Berthod, 2022. "Decisional organization theory: towards an integrated framework of organization," Post-Print hal-03699112, HAL.
    3. Héloïse Berkowitz & Michael Grothe-Hammer, 2022. "From A Clash Of Social Orders To A Loss Of Decidability In Meta-Organizations Tackling Grand Challenges: The Case Of Japan Leaving The International Whaling Commission," Post-Print halshs-03271137, HAL.
    4. Michael Grothe-Hammer & Héloïse Berkowitz, 2024. "Unpacking Social Order: Towards a Novel Framework that Goes Beyond Organizations, Institutions, and Networks Forthcoming in Critical Sociology," Post-Print hal-04426296, HAL.
    5. Ghita Dragsdahl Lauritzen, 2020. "Looking beyond formal organization: How public managers organize voluntary work by adapting to deviance," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3), pages 467-481, May.

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