A New Theory of Organizational Ecology, and its Implications for Educational Leadership

Christopher M. Branson, Maureen Marra

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781350215153
• eBook ISBN:
  9781350159648
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This book provides a timely and comprehensive response to the widely acknowledged serious failings in our current knowledge of organizational leadership and culture, providing an ecologically inspired approach which unifies knowledge and practice across all of the pivotal organisational elements of leadership, culture, teamwork, creativity, complexity and wisdom. Drawing on case studies from Australia and New Zealand, Branson and Marra argue that just as ecosystems are systems of connected elements through which the energy needed to maintain the health of the system must readily flow, an organisation is also a connected system that equally requires a healthy flow of energy in order to achieve its core purpose. Their theory of organizational ecology describes how organizational connectivity, as revealed by the quality of the relationships among the people and the parts of the organization, provides the conduit through which the essential energy (in the form of knowledge, information, ideas, innovation, and support sharing) must flow. Through the application of the theory of organizational ecology, Branson and Marra illustrate how a leader must grow their leadership knowledge and wisdom in order to develop the organization's people and culture so that it is fully able to accomplish the desired vision, mission and core purpose.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Introduction: The Organization as an Ecosystem
• 1 Leading the Whole Principle of Organizational Ecology #1: No Organization, or Parts of an Organization, Exists in Isolation
• 2 Reconstructing Culture Principle of Organizational Ecology #2: Organizational Climate (How Culture Is Experienced by the People) Shapes the Level of Individual, Team, and Departmental Capacity, Performance, and Productivity
• 3 Organizational Energy Principle of Organizational Ecology # 3: Information and Knowledge Sharing Are Pivotal to Organizational Success
• 4 Organizational Synergy: Teams Working Together Principle of Organizational Ecology #4: An Organization’s Success Is Greater than the Sum of Its Parts
• 5 Creativity and Innovation Principle of Organizational Ecology #5: Organizational Change Is Constant
• 6 Simplifying Complexity Principle of Organizational Ecology #6: Each Person Counts
• 7 Leadership Wisdom Leadership in an Organizational Ecosystem—Where Wisdom Surpasses Rational Knowledge
• Conclusion: Applications and Implications
• References
• Index