Administration Flashcards
Overview: Formal Organization
social grouping deliberately constructed and reconstructed to realize specific goals
Formal Organization: Contrast with Other Social Units
organizations have greater control over their activities, purposes, culture, nature, and destiny than other social groupings
What should all organizations have?
organizational manual showing its structures and procedures
What do successful organizations do?
discover new needs, create and refine new objectives, and adapt to changes in its internal and external environment
What do social welfare organizations seek?
achieve vague, often unquantifiable goals
Why do staffing changes frequently change within organizations?
low salaries and “burnout”
What influence does the environment have on an organization?
social and political changes influence the priorities of funding sources, on government agencies, and on the general public
Major Perspectives on Administration: Classical Management/Scientific Management
the employee is an appendage of the company
when a worker is well-disciplined and closely supervised, management achieves high levels or productivity
the employee determines work output
major motivation for work is all economic
productivity is limited to remuneration
the formal, hierarchical organizational structure stresses production, compliance, and efficiency
for the system to work efficiently, production workers must engage in specialized, repetitive tasks that do not require individual judgement
Major Perspectives on Administration: Elton Mayo
suggested that formal organizational arrangements are not the only factors that determine productivity
studies implied that social and psychological factors as well as group norms beyond the reach of formal authority were influential in determining production levels
eventually school argued that workplace organization should be based on more complex and layered views of human behavior
worker morale is important
Major Perspectives on Administration: Structuralists
synthesize classical and human relations school
organizational and individual needs can conflict
stress among various levels within organizations
economic and non-economic social motivations are present
formal and informal organizational structures
Major Perspectives on Administration: Decision-Making School
concerned with decision making process and forces that influence them
satisfying rather than maximizing objectives in decision-making
Major Perspectives on Administration: Systems
viewed as systems consisting of interacting, interdependent parts
organizations are related to other surrounding systems
Systems: Major Organizational Processes
Input: energy or resources that must be acquired
Throughput: the work done
Output: the results of the organization’s effort
Systems: Other Features of Systems
open or closed: how open is the organization to changes in its environment
feedback: degree or organization’s openness to new information about changes in the environment or workings of various internal subsystems
feedback requires constant absorption and processing of information, and the capacity to makes changes that increase organizational effectiveness and efficiency
systemic or empirical feedback is mediated by observation, participation, and intuition
Who was the major contributor to the theory of formal organizations and the introduction of the term “bureaucracy?”
Max Weber
Bureaucratic Structure: Highly Rational
written rules and regulations that usually circumscribe bureaucratic functions
specific spheres of competence
principal of hierarchy
specialized training
exclusion of personal considerations; staff chosen on basis of competence
impersonal relationships insure random or interpersonal factors are minimized or controlled
Bureaucratic Structure: Advantages
specialized skills are easier to coordinate
written rules assure greater uniformity and consistency
promotion based on competence rather than political criteria or family relations
assures organizational stability and predictability; specialized work units prevent disruptions caused by a single inefficient work unit
more effective and efficient
Bureaucratic Structure: Disadvantages
limits employee imagination and scope
rules or means can displace purposes and goals
neglects human need and discretion
rigid: slow to respond to changing conditions
Executive Administration Functions: Planning
Establishing the mission or purpose of an organization and the reason for an organization’s existence
organization tools include: management by objectives, total quality management, and various forms of self-evaluation or participatory strategic planning
Planning: Mission
a broad statements of agency purpose
Planning: PBS (Planning, Programming, and Budgeting Procedures)
a rational model for organizing the planning and program development function
Planning: MBO (Management by Objectives)
staff is involved in setting organizational objectives and administration in program evaluation
increases staff competence and investment in the organization’s work
What problems can arise with MBO?
possibly costly in staff time and energy; may focus on internal conditions and neglect external environment
What does planning include?
determining end goals or objectives
determining resources and methods to be used
allocating responsibility for reaching goals
selecting methods of evaluation
considering future anticipated conditions
