The Organizational Relational model: proposal and results

Abstract

The paper proposes a new method, the Organizational Relational model, based on the new concept of Relation, for the analysis of innovative organizational models like the network organization. The proposal is supported through results and through the evidence from some applications in real situations. Two different basic elements can be distinguished in the innovative organization: nodes (i.e. organizational units or agents) and links among nodes (i.e. organizational relations, contracts, communication channels or architectures). This paper explains the important role of IT in providing tools for the innovative organizations. IT and especially GDSS extend the autonomy of nodes and provide instruments for supporting the links between two (or more) nodes. The proposed method describes the relation according to four elements: the tools supporting the link, the goals of the node, the organizational rules and norms of the organizational group and the organizational culture. Moreover, the proposed method provides a “guide” based on the oppositions formal versus informal and society versus community for describing the role of IT (especially GDSS) in innovative organizational models. The method has been applied in different organizational contexts, like public health and various industrial companies. While the specific applications are described and detailed in other papers, the empirical evidences and the synthetic results obtained are described in this paper as a confirmation of the proposed organizational framework and method.