Reframing Organizations, 3rd ed.
Chapter 13
Organization as Theater
Organization as Theater
 Institutional Theory
 Organizational Structure as Theater
 Organizational Process as Theater
Organizational Theater
 Theater plays to both internal and external
audiences
 A convincing dramaturgical performance
reassures external constituents, builds
confidence, keeps critics at bay
Institutional Theory
“Institutionalized organizations” focus more on
appearance than performance
 When goals are ambiguous and performance
hard to measure (as in universities and many
government agencies), organizations maintain
stakeholder support by staging the right play,
conforming to audience expectations of how the
organization should operate
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DiMaggio and Powell, “The Iron Cage
Revisited…”
 “Isomorphism” – process of becoming similar to other
organizations in the same “organizational field”
 Coercive isomorphism – organizations become alike
because law, regulation or stakeholders pressure
them to do so
 Mimetic isomorphism – organizations become more
alike by copying one another
 Normative isomorphism – organizations employing
the same professionals become similar because the
professionals have similar values and ideas
Organizational Structure as Theater
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Structure as Stage design: an arrangements of lights,
props and costumes
 Makes drama vivid and credible
 Reflects and expresses current values and myths
Public schools reassure stakeholders if…
 The building and grounds look like a school
 Teachers are certified
 Curriculum mirrors society’s expectations
Colleges judged by:
 Age, endowment, beauty of campus
 Faculty student ratio
 Faculty with degrees from elite institutions
Organizational Process as Theater
 Activities (meetings, planning, performance
appraisal, etc.) often fail to produce intended
outcomes, yet persist because they help
sustain organizational drama
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Scripts and stage markings: cue actors what
to do and how to behave
Opportunities for self-expression and forums
for airing grievances
Reassure audiences that organization is wellmanaged and important problems are being
addressed
Organizational Process as Theater II
 Meetings as “Garbage cans”
 Attract an unpredictable mix of problems
looking for solutions, solutions looking for
problems, and participants seeking
opportunities for self-expression
 Planning
 Plans are symbols
 Plans become games
 Plans become excuses for interaction
 Plans become advertisements
Organizational Process as Theater (II)
 Evaluations
 Often fail in intended goals of improving performance
and identifying strengths and weaknesses
 Ceremony signals the organization is well-managed
and cares about performance improvement
 Collective Bargaining
 Public face: intense, dramatic contest
 Private face: back-stage negotiation, collusion
 Power
 Exists in eye of beholder – you are powerful if others
think you are
 May be attributed based on outcomes
Conclusion
 Organizations judged by appearance
 The right drama:
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Provides a ceremonial stage
Reassures stakeholders
Maintains confidence and faith
 Drama serves powerful symbolic functions
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Engages actors in their performances
Builds excitement, hope, sense of momentum