Educational Leadership: Outline of Chapters 1 & 2: Organizational Behavior in Education by Robert G. Owens

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Educational Leadership

Outline of Chapters 1 & 2:


Organizational Behavior in Education
by Robert G. Owens

Dr. T. Valesky
Owens’ Prospective
Chapter 1
 Why study Organizational Behavior?
– Leadership is defined as “working with and
through other people to achieve organizational
goals” (Owens, p.2).

 Why study the history of Organizational


Behavior?

 Why study Theory?


History of Educational
Administration
 WOODROW WILSON: 1887 Essay “The Study of
Administration"
 FREDERICK TAYLOR: The "Father of Scientific
Management", who wrote The Principles of Scientific
Management (1911)
– FRANK AND LILLIAN GILBRETH: Time and Motion
Studies
 HENRI FAYOL: General and Industrial
Management (1916)
 MAX WEBER: The "Father of Bureaucracy"
Four Principles of Scientific
Management
Frederick Taylor: The Father of Scientific Management who was
influenced by Wilson’s essay.

 1. Adopt scientific measurements to break jobs into series of small,


related tasks and develop a standard time for each task.

 2. Use systematic methods for selecting workers and training them for
specific jobs.

 3. Establish clear division of responsibility between management and


workers, where management sets goals, plans, and supervises, and the
workers execute the required tasks.

 4. Establish a discipline where management sets the objectives and the


workers cooperate in achieving them.
Henri Fayol Defined Administration
in Terms of Five Functions
 Fayol focused on the managers, not the worker as did Taylor.
 He was the first to separate administration from other
operations, like production.
 He emphasized that the administrative process had the
following common elements (POCCC).
 1. Planning
 2. Organizing
 3. Commanding (leading)
 4. Coordinating
 5. Controlling (evaluating)
Max Weber’s Ideal Bureaucracy
1. A division of labor and specific allocation of responsibility
based on functional specialization.
2. Exact hierarchical levels of graded authority.
3. A system of rules covering the rights and duties of employees.
4. Written policies, rules, and regulations that guide behavior.
5. An impersonal, bureaucratic environment.
6. The development of longevity of administrative careers, with
selection and promotion based on technical competence.
Others Who Promoted Classical
Organizational Theory
 Ellwood Cubberly: supported the use of scientific
management schools. Most noted for promoting the
development of state funding for schools.
 Fred Ayer: study of school superintendents' roles affected
what was taught in the universities (budgeting, heating,
janitorial services, record keeping, etc.)
 Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick: developed ideas of
grouping elements by function, location; and developed idea
of formal organization chart for communication and control;
Administrative Process is POSDCoRB: Plan, Organize,
Staff, Direct, Coordinate,Report, and Budget.
Some Principles of Classical
Organizational Theory
1. Scalar principle: line V. staff (chain of command;
organizatioanl charts)

2. Unity of Command: receive orders from only one person

3. Exception Principle: delegate routine tasks and deal only


with exceptions

4. Span of Control: classical theory limited number of people


reporting to superior (3 to 12)
Tall v. Flat Organizational
Structures

Tall Organizations:
– Longer chain of command and communication
– Many layers of responsibility
– Slow decision making
– Smaller span of control, which encourages more
decision making and control
– at higher levels
Tall v. Flat (continued)

Flat Organizations:
– Shorter chain of command and communication
– Fewer layers of responsibility
– Faster decision making
– Larger span of control, which encourages
decision making at lower levels
Beginnings of Human Relations
Theory in Management
Mary Parker Follett modified classical organization theory:
 focusing on decision making at lower levels of the organization;
 opening up communication horizontally;
 permitting a "situational" approach in which lower levels in the
organization could self-adjust to meet their needs;
 acknowledging that management is a dynamic process and must
respond to emerging situations;
 a focus on dealing with conflict by "integration": bring out in
open and seek a win-win situation.
Mary Parker Follett bridged the gap from classical organization
theory to further study and reflection that resulted in the Human
Relations Movement.
Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric--
Illumination and Bank Wire Experiments
Follett’s work used knowledge learned from the Hawthorne Plant’s
studies.

Elton Mayo: Senior experimenter and writer for the National


Research Council (1923-26). Major results of the Western Electric
Hawthorne Plant studies:
 illumination had no effect on production
 any change in stimuli increased production
 human variability is important in the production process
 simple human interaction among workers increased productivity
(break periods)
Human Relations Concepts
The Hawthorne Experiments led to new concepts in organizational behavior:

 morale
 group dynamics
 motivation
 democratic supervision personnel relations

 1.
Others of Importance to the
Human Relations Movement
1. Kurt Lewin: group decision making and leadership
studies
2. Jacob Moreno: sociometric analysis (sociograms)
3. Robert Bales: Interaction Analysis led to finding that
successful groups have someone who:
– keeps the group focused on accomplishing the task
(task orientation)
– focuses on maintaining productive human relationships
in the group (relations or maintenance orientation)
Organizational Behavior Movement (combines
Classical Org. Theory with Human Relations--
focusing more on structure, less on people)

 Organizational behavior seeks to describe, understand,


and predict human behavior in the environment of
formal organizations. It recognizes that both the
internal, informal organization (created by human
interaction and groups) and the formal organization
affect one another, and that management must seek
arrangements to maximize the effectiveness of this
interaction.
 The formal and informal organization cannot be
separated when studying organizations.
Three Significant Works Affected
Development of Organizational Behavior
1. Chester Barnard (VP NJ Bell): The Functions of the
Executive (1938).
2. Felix Rothlisberger and William Dickson: Management
and the Worker (1939).

All three of these men followed the Western Electric


Hawthorne Plant experiments. They focused on formal
and informal organization, stating that the informal could
not be ignored, and that the needs and aspirations of the
worker were important to effective management.
Three Works of Influence
(continued)

3. Herbert Simon: Administrative Behavior (1947).

– Also focused the importance of worker needs


and behavior, but highlighted also the
importance of decision making.
Human Resources Development (HRD) is
Basically Synonymous with Org. Behavior
 HRD FOCUSES MORE ON PEOPLE AND LESS ON
STRUCTURE, WHICH CHARACTERIZES ITS
DIFFERENCES WITH ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR.
– Many ideas and individuals led to the concepts in HRD,
however, they are depicted best by Thomas Sergiovanni
and Robert Starratt in Supervision: Human Perspectives
(1971).
– The following diagram shows the philosophical
differences between Human Relations and Human
Resources theories:
Difference Between Human
Resources and Human Relations
Human Resources:

Example Action: Adopt Shared Decision Making Practices

Increases School Effectiveness

Increases Teacher Satisfaction


Difference Between Human Resources
and Human Relations (continued)
Human Relations:

Example Action: Adopt Shared Decision Making Practices

Increases Teacher Satisfaction

Increases School Effectiveness


Concepts That Led to Human
Resources Development
1. Qualitative or Ethnographic Research Methods (Chapter 10):
permitted a rich account of what actually happens in schools.

2. James Thompson : laid the foundation for new organization


theory. He suggested
A.Uncertainty leads to our inability to foresee problems, no
matter how structured we are; and
B. Concept of coupling (the way people relate): Reciprocal
(multiple dependent relationships), Sequential (single
dependent), and Pooled Coupling (share resources but
independent).
HRD Concepts (continued)
3. James March, Michael Cohen, and Johan Olson: Schools
are different they have:
– Organized Anarchies (goals are not specific nor clear;
technology is unclear; participation is fluid)
– Garbage Can Model of choice: problem and solutions
are in the can are only loosely connected to one
another. Similar to Charles Lindbloom’s “Science of
Muddling Through” and Simon’s early work of
accepting the first idea that solves the problem (called
satisficing)
HRD Concepts (continued)
4. Karl Weick (Chapter 3): Schools are loosely coupled and bottom
heavy.
5. John Meyer and Brian Rowan (Chapter 3) : Schools are Dual
Systems
– Loosely Coupled Systems: the technical core of teaching is
loosely connected to the Administration. The Administration has
indirect control only of instruction through control of time
(schedules); student assignments; grouping (tracking; self
contained; departmental); and resources.
– Bureaucratic (tightly controlled) Systems: non-instructional
activities, such as paychecks, transportation, budgets, and others.
HRD Concepts (continued)
Organizational Culture: norms, values, and philosophy of an
organization and the people within it. The best way to
influence change in a school is to change the culture.
(many writers, beginning with Lewin, and including
Barnard, , Halpin and Croft, Servgiovanni, Tagiuri, Ouchi,
Peters, and many others).
Contingency Approaches: some organizations can use
classical organizational approaches, while others should
be less bureaucratic--focusing on the human relations side
of the worker--while others must balance both.
Douglas McGregor: Theory X & Y
 Everyone, including Leaders, have a
philosophy of human nature that affects
one’s leadership behavior. One’s philosophy
has certain assumptions that can be
characterized generally into one of two
types:
– Theory X or Theory Y
 Define these assumptions.
Chris Argyris: Pattern A & B
 Argyris characterized Theory X and Y as
leading to certain types of leader behaviors:
– Pattern A--hard
– Pattern A--soft
– Pattern B
 What types of behaviors are identified in
each?
Rensis Likert: 4 Management
Systems Theory
 His research shows that human behavior in
organizations is the “crucial variable that
differentiates more effective from less effective
organizations” (p. 37).
 Each system is identified by behaviors in
decision-making, communications, amount of
interaction between leaders and followers, how
employees are motivated, and the amount of
autonomy and control.
General Systems Theory
 Organisms, people, and organizations are
extremely complex systems for which
simple cause and effect logic does not
apply.
 Systems Theory “puts us on guard against
the strong tendency to ascribe phenomena
to a single causative factor” (p. 42).
Social Systems Theory
 Open v. Closed Systems. Define in terms of
schools.

 The linear model is far too simple for us to


use in understanding the complexity of a
system: (P. 43)
Inputs Educ. Processes Outputs
The Contextual Approach: The
Open System of an Organization

 Example: School (subsystem), School District(system),


Community (suprasystem)
Interaction of the Individual (teachers,
students, etc.) in the System
Role Theory
 Role theory can help us understand and
predict organizational behavior.
 Individuals have roles to perform, and how
one carries out the role is complex
depending on: ones interpretation of the
role; expectations of supervisor(s);
expectations of peers; school culture; and
others.
Definitions in Role Theory
 Role Conflict: differing expectations

 Role Ambiguity: unclear, vague role


definition

 Role Set: one’s position among subgroups


Functional Roles in Groups
 Group Task Roles: Focuses on the task.
Typically the designated leader has responsibility
for most, but everyone should contribute to these
– Seeking opinions from everyone in the group
– Keep the group focused on the task(s)
– Contributing information and opinion
– Evaluator/critic/devil’s advocate
– The recorder of the group’s work
Functional Roles in Groups
(continued)
 Group/Team Building and Maintenance:
Focuses on group climate and harmonious
relationships
– harmonizing differences between ideas and group
members
– facilitating communication, e.g. encouraging
everyone to participate
– providing feedback
– setting high expectation of performance
Role Theory and Social Systems
Theory
 Jacob Getzels and Egon Guba describe
organizations as Social Systems.
 Social Systems have two primary
components: the individual and the
institution, respectively, the idiographic and
nomothetic the dimensions.
– These are graphically depicted as:
Getzels and Guba Model
Getzels: B = f (R x P)
 The amount of role prescription in
organizations will differ.
Social Systems Theory
 Motivation ties directly into this theory.
 There must be an equilibrium between the
needs of the individual and the needs of the
organization.
 That is, the organization must focus on
accomplishing tasks and in providing adequate
rewards for effective participation.
 But this theory is not complete:
Add Structure and Technological
Resources for a Complete System
Contingency Theory
 How the parts of the system in the System Theory are
organized should depend on the unique needs of each
organization.
 The Contingency Approach indicates that there is no one
best way to organize and manage people, tasks,
technology, and structure.
 There are however, certain principles that are more
effective and must be understood. This course focuses on
these principles.
 <The End>

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