A Way for Organizations to Cope with Uncertainty: Mimetic Isomorphism

Abstract

Uncertainty, which means absence of sufficient clarity in obtained information and lack of full or correct information, is experienced by managers and employees because of dynamic changes within the organizational environment. Mimetic isomorphism, which is due to the attempts of organizations to minimize uncertainty, occurs when organizations mimic or take well-established and successful organizations as a model to legitimize themselves, especially where the objectives are uncertain. Competition, which accompanies globalization and massification, allows higher education institutions to react to changing social demands, with restructuring of existing programs and elimination of older ones. In this chapter, the ways in which higher education institutions mimic other such institutions when they encounter uncertainty are elaborated with examples. It is concluded that higher education institutions may adopt faulty applications as well as positive applications as a model for themselves.