Organizational studies: cognitive

The notion of cognitive activity has two different meanings within organization studies. The first meaning is the opposite of behavioral and means that decisions are made by reflective insights and not just by automatic response to certain stimuli.

The second meaning is prominent within the instititionalist debate. Herein, the expression cognitve denotes the tendency of humans within institutionalized settings to comply with the environment. Because humans have to create reliable frameworks in which they can repeatingly act in a stable way, the cognitive task of the human mind is to reassure the social structures they are living in. This has to be carried out actively, so that the categories of life are brought about by the actual human conduct. The result is a taken-for-granted world which is not reflectively questioned but which is actively constructed. An example would be a daily meeting of superiors which is seen as a basic element of organizing and is associated with many typical procedures which this meeting cannot do without. Otherwise it would not be the same essential part of organizing. However, organizational members have to actively dedicate themselves to the conduct of this meeting without questioning it in order to keep it as a stable element of the organizationīs activities.

See also: organizational learning, organization studies: behavioral

Literature: Scott (1995)

Entry by: Klaus Beck

November 10, 1997
Direct questions and comments to: Glossary master