Transcript Organizational Dynamics

Organizational Dynamics
Denhardt Chp. 8
Functions of management
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Early emphasis on structure
– Efficiency most important criterion
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POSDCORB (Giulick): Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing,
Coordinating, Budgeting
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Scientific management (Taylor): Concentration on the work process
– Time and motion studies to make the work process more efficient “science of shoveling”
– Single center of power / top-down hierarchical control
 Agency head is accountable to elected officials
 Similar to how a CEO is responsible to a Board of Directors
Hierarchical structure
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Task specialization - sets division of labor
– Vertical: boss/subordinate
– Horizontal: peer
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Unity of command (everyone has a single superior)
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Limited span of control (number of persons reporting to a single
individual)
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Vertical and horizontal divisions of labor
Max Weber and bureaucracies
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Applies to large organizations - public or private
Hierarchy of offices
Selections based on technical qualifications
Strict discipline and control
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Distinction between line and staff
Classification of managers
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Supervisors/first-line managers
Middle managers
Top managers/executives
Post-Weber management thought
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Emerging emphases on democratic values and human behavior
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Is efficiency the most important value for a public agency?
Is the authoritarian/top-down model compatible with democratic
principles?
Can rigid, bureaucratic structures even be effective? Can they
adapt to change?
Does “scientific management” reduce people to “machines”? Do
bureaucratic practices conflict with human development?
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Simon - “bounded rationality” - human beings seek the best possible
solution, not necessarily the most economically sound solution
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Argyris - individual development and growth can be stifled by
bureaucratic imperatives
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people are expected to react positively to strict control - to be
passive and submissive
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human striving for self-actualization can be interpreted as
threatening and dysfunctional
A new approach - organizations as
open systems
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Systems theory: input, process, output
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Organizations are shaped by the outside world
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Best way to understand how organizations work is to analyze their
external influencers – their “environment”
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Public
Interest groups
Politics and economics (political economy approach) - focus on
programs rather than agencies
A new concern - organizational
culture
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Attitudes, beliefs and values that shape an organization
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Rejects a preoccupation with “efficiency” and “control”
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Emphasizes service and quality
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Fosters autonomy/entrepreneurship
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Achieves productivity through motivated employees who agree on
an organization’s core values Illinois Head Start
Organization development (O.D.)
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A process for planning and implementing change
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Management accessibility
Open communication
Willingness to experiment
Emphasizes collaboration (not just authority)
Sense of community and shared responsibility
Authentic personal relationships / interdependence
Association
promoting
OD