Jay William Lorsch (born 1932) is an American organizational theorist and the

Louis Kirstein Louis Edward Kirstein (June 9, 1867 – December 10, 1942) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the chairman of Filene's, a Boston-based department store. He was "one of the foremost merchants and commercial leaders in New Englan ...

Professor of Human Relations at the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

, known for his contribution of

contingency theory A contingency theory is an organizational theory that claims that there is no best way to organize a corporation, to lead a company, or to make decisions. Instead, the optimal course of action is contingent (dependent) upon the internal and ext ...

to the field of organizational behavior.

Biography

Born in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

, Lorsch grew up in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, where he graduated from the Pembroke Country-Day School in 1950. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...

in 1955, his

Doctor of Business Administration The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is either a professional doctorate or a research doctorate, depending on the granting university, awarded on the basis of advanced study, examinations, project work, and research in business administrati ...

from the Harvard Business School in 1964, and started his academic career at the Harvard Business School in 1965. Together with Paul R. Lawrence, Lorsch was awarded the

Academy of Management The Academy of Management is a professional association for scholars of management and organizations that was established in 1936. It publishes several academic journals, organizes conferences, and provides others forums for management professors ...

's "Best Management Book of the Year Award" in 1969 for their book "Organization and Environment". This book "added ''

'' to the vocabulary of students of organizational behavior."James I. Cash, Paul R. Lawrence, J. F. Nunamaker (1989) ''Harvard Business School Research Colloquium''. p. 68 He resides in Cambridge, MA with his wife Patricia, and their dog.

Publications

Lorsch has published a dozen books, including: * ''Organization and Environment'' (with Paul R. Lawrence) (1967) * ''Understanding Management'' (1978) * ''Organizational Behavior'' (1987) * ''Pawns or Potentates: The Reality of America's Corporate Boards'' (1989) * ''Aligning the Stars: How to Succeed When Professionals Drive Results'' (with Thomas J. Tierney) (2002) * ''Back to the Drawing Board: Designing Boards for a Complex World'' (with Colin B. Carter) (2003) * ''Restoring Trust in American Business'' (

Leslie Cohen Berlowitz Leslie Cohen Berlowitz (March 1, 1944 – June 13, 2020) was President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Berlowitz became the Academy's executive officer in 1996 and was later promoted to Chief Executive Of ...

and Andy Zelleke eds.) (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2005)

References

External links

Jay W. Lorsch
at hbs.edu {{DEFAULTSORT:Lorsch, Jay W. 1932 births Living people American business theorists Antioch College alumni Harvard Business School alumni Harvard Business School faculty