Chapter Four: Chapter Four:

Organizational Organizational TheoryTheory

As a citizen interested in governmentand as a former legislator, I had longbelieved that too many governmentalprograms are botched because theyare started in haste without adequateplanning or establishment of goals.Too often they never really attack thetargeted problems.

Jimmy Carter2002 Nobel Peace Prize recipient,then governor of Georgia, National Governors Conference, June 1974

Formal Theories of OrganizationWeber’s Bureaucratic Model

Division of labor/functional specializationHierarchyFormal framework of rules and proceduresMaintenance of filesProfessionalization

Formal Theories of OrganizationWeber’s model based on legal and

political authorityReaction to patronage systemControlBroad frameworkFocus on uniformity (not diversity)

Formal Theories of OrganizationContemporary American public

administration differs from WeberResponsive to those outside hierarchyFunctional overlapMerit system plus other personnel

systemsBureaucratic professionalsOnly recent career emphasis

Formal Theories of OrganizationTaylor’s Scientific Management

Managerial focusAdapts production practices and values

EfficiencyRationalityProductivityProfit

“One best way”

Formal Theories of OrganizationScientific Management tools

Time-and-motion studiesStandardizationTask-related capabilities

Formal Theories of OrganizationScientific Management shortcomings

Workers just “cogs in the machine”Profit only motivationDoes not account for supply and demand

But significant impact on private industry and public administration

Formal Theories of OrganizationImpact of Taylor

White’s Introduction to the Study of Public Administration

Principles of administration approach

The Human Relations SchoolHuman relations approach:

worker’s noneconomic needs and motivations

Hawthorne studies (1927-1932)Hawthorne/halo effectImportance of noneconomic incentives

The Human Relations SchoolBarnard’s zone of acceptanceLewin’s leadership styles

AuthoritarianLaissez-faireDemocratic

Emphasizes role of leadership in productivity

The Human Relations SchoolHuman relations shortcomings

Does not account for worker/manager conflict

Discounts effects of formal structureIgnores role of technologyWhat is worker’s relationship to work itself?

Organizational HumanismNew assumptions about workers:

Work intrinsically motivatesWork satisfies many needsWork is a central life interestWorkers can be self-motivating

Theory X and Theory Y Summary

Source: Reproduced by permission of the publisher, F. E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., Itasca, Ill. From Robert T. Golembiewski and Michael Cohen, eds., People in Public Service: A Reader in Public Personnel Administration, 1970 copyright, p. 380.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Source: Abraham Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 2nd ed., Harper & Row, 1970, accessed http://www.union. umd.edu/GH/basic needs/index.html.

Organizational HumanismOrganizational humanism criticisms:

Workers have widely varying needsDoes everyone self-actualize?Money primary motivation for manyType of work affects motivation/satisfaction

Modern Organization TheorySeparates facts from valuesUses new empirical research

methodsInterdisciplinaryBroader generalizations

Modern Organization TheorySystems theory approach

Inputs (and responses)OutputsFeedbackFurther inputs

Simplified Model of a Political System

Source: From David Easton, A Framework for Political Analysis. Copyright © 1979, 1965 by David Easton, reprinted with permission of the University of Chicago Press.

Modern Organization TheoryClosed systems

Few internal variables/relationshipsLittle vulnerability to external environments

Open systemsHighly complex, interdependentExpectation of change and uncertaintySeeks homeostasis

Modern Organization TheoryInformation theory: organizations

require information to prevent chaosGame theory: competitionTheory Z: greater communication,

feedback and worker involvement

Values/Characteristics of Theory Z

Source: Adapted from Clyde McKee, “An Analysis of ‘Theory Z’: How It Is Used in Japan’s Public Sector,” paper delivered at the 1983 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, September 1983. Reprinted by permission of Clyde McKee, Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.

Modern Organization TheoryTotal Quality Management

Empowered employees more committed to organizational goals

Statistical process control techniquesAppropriate for public sector?Learning organizations

Organizational Dynamics and Behavior

Process issuesCommunicationCoordination

Design issuesLine and staff activitiesCentralization vs. decentralizationTall vs. flat hierarchiesAlternative forms of organization

Organizational Dynamics and Behavior

Formal communications (official, directed, proper channels)

Informal communications (many sources, many audiences, broader)

Lateral or cross-functional communication (relatively formal, but cuts across hierarchy)

Organizational Dynamics and Behavior

Feedback can be formal or informalGood news travels easilyBad news often suppressed or rewrittenUpward communication becoming

increasingly important to organizations

Organizational Dynamics and Behavior

Dimensions of communicationPurposeObstaclesConsequences

Organizational Dynamics and Behavior

Bargaining or conflict modelConsensual or consensus-

building modelCommunication style influences

content, purpose, effectiveness and consequences of message

Organizational Dynamics and Behavior

CoordinationChannels and mechanisms must be

carefully established and maintainedDesigned to reduce difficultiesRarely neutralObstacles include differing goals,

preferences, uneven fiscal resources, political pressures, poor organization or leadership, communication breakdowns

Organizational Dynamics and Behavior

Improving coordinationRole of leadershipCentral coordinationMutual adjustmentMore difficult to achieve in complex

organizations

Organizational Dynamics and Behavior

Line functions vs. Staff functionsInteraction important in public

administrationSome conflicts inevitableTraditional distinctions becoming

blurred

Centralization and DecentralizationCentralization is traditional approach

Control, internal program consistencyOrderly operationsLack of flexibility and adaptability

Decentralization becoming more acceptableAdaptive and responsiveIncreases meaningful participationDecreases accountability

Flattening Organizational HierarchiesTall HierarchyDiversity of tasksNarrow span of

control (efficient)Higher level

employees seen as more professional

Growing complexity of tasks

Flat HierarchyTop management is

collegial; lower levels seen as equal

Work groups may not have designated leader

Decision-making shared

Tall and Flat Hierarchies

Alternative Forms of OrganizationEnd to hierarchy and competitionBennis’ participative managementReverse pyramid

Organization Theory and Behavior in Perspective

Organizations continually changingMost not fully closed or openIncreasing interdependenceShift from formal hierarchy to more worker

participation/team direction

New values = new challenges