The first concerns the relationship between societal institutions and organizational forms. The second is related to the analysis of the actual effects of organizational design on workers and the working class. The third highlights relations of power both within organizations and between organizational elites and societal power structures.

From the Australian Elton Mayo (1880–1949) originated the human relations movement, which morphed into organizational behavior as a scholarly discipline.

Discussing the origins of organization theory requires identifying starting points and endings. There are two main starting points – the sociology of organizations and classical management theory. The former is rooted in ‘understanding’ how the new phenomenon of organizations that penetrated every aspect of society arose and continued to develop and how it impacted society. The latter is rooted in ‘managing’: dealing with issues of operating these organizations efficiently and effectively.