Lex Donaldson's Contingency Theory of Organizations

Summary

From a synthesis by Gerard Fairtlough:

Donaldson distinguishes the 3 polarities of formal vs informal, organic vs mechanistic, and decentralized vs centralized which gives different possibilities.

- the bureaucratic mode, which is formal and mechanistic, f.e. a govt agency

- the mechanistic, technologically fixated, centralized production without autonomy, f.e. in the assembly line

- the organic autonomy and technological uncertainty of a R&D lab

- the simple informal personal management of a SME.

(https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Three_Ways_of_Getting_Things_Done)