Download An Administrative State?

Overview of Managing
Public & Nonprofit Org.
Catastrophies such as 9/11 and Katrina
underscore the importance of effective
organization and management of public
organizations
However, we are ambivalent about
government…it’s a love-hate
relationship often influenced by ideology
What is Management?
Many different perspectives and
frameworks for studying management
We will focus on organization theory
and behavior from a public perspective
Our basic framework will examining the
structures, processes and people of
public and nonprofit organizations
See p. 18 of Rainey for a broad
definition of an organization
Course Topics
Foundational theories
Environment and networks
Forms of organizing
Leadership, power & org. culture
Motivation
Communication & conflict
“New” governance
The Study of
Management is
Important!
Consider rise of MPA programs like
UNCW
Need to address nonprofits as well as
government orgs (QENO)
Management as a second profession
Major Schools of
Thought
Purpose of studying management is to build
your “conceptual tool kit” – that is, provide
multiple frameworks or perspectives for
understanding orgs. and situations.
Examples:
Scientific Management Theory
Administrative Management Theory
Major Schools of
Thought
Human Relations Theory
Human Resources Theory
Systems Theory
Quality Management Theory
Organizational Culture & Leadership Theory
Learning from
Experience
We will learn about management by
integrating theory (Rainey & Tompkins) and
practice (Ashworth and each other).
Observe your bosses carefully
-- learn from both the good and the bad
-- importantly, tell them what they need to know,
not what they want to hear (tactfully!)
Learning from
Experience
Ethics must be the foundation for practice
-- first, trust your instincts (don’t ignore
discomfort)
-- second, draw on multiple sources of guidance
for how to conduct yourself (upbringing, faith,
loyalty to superiors and organization, history,
personal conscience)
-- for public service career, look particularly close
to “democratic and constitutional imperative”
(p. 165 in Ashworth)
Learning from
Experience
Develop a persona like an egg with a
semi-porous shell
There is a substantial universality of
experience in public service that
transcends geography or agency
You are permitted to get frustrated, but
never thoroughly discouraged or
disenchanted
Learning from
Experience
You can’t learn unless you get into the
fray!
Stretch your comfort zone…take on new
tasks or challenges that scare you a bit!
Foundational Theories
The Systems Metaphor
-- inputs, throughputs, outputs
-- feedback (single vs. double-loop)
-- closed vs. open or adaptive systems
Frederick Taylor and Scientific
Management
-- each task can be broken down and “one best
way” discovered to attain most efficient process
Foundational Theories
Max Weber and the Ideal Bureaucracy
-- based on legal and rational forms of authority
rather than tradition or charisma-based
-- focus on hierarchical lines of authority, rules,
consistency, specialized expertise, stability
-- raised concerns about need for individual
freedom, creativity, flexibility
Foundational Theories
Administrative Management School:
Principles of Administration
-- POSDCORB
-- span of control (between 6-10 subordinates)
-- one master for each subordinate
-- clear delegation and accountability
-- task homogeneity – dissimilar tasks should not
be grouped together
-- significant contribution, but what about people?
Foundational Theories
Mary Parker Follett and the Law of the
Situation
-- the “giving of orders’ should be based on a
shared understanding between superiors and
subordinates of the particular situations and what
it requires
Hawthorne Studies: Discovery of
Human Beings in the Workplace
-- social situation and psychology matters
Foundational Theories
Chester Barnard and The Importance of
the Executive
-- leaders induce and coordinate key cooperative
activities
-- incentives matter, not just money but also
power, prestige, fulfillment of ideals
-- leaders are key in shaping organization culture
-- the informal organization is as important to
understand as the formal structure
Foundational Theories
Herbert Simon and Bounded Rationality
-- focus on how decisions are made in
organizations
-- strictly rational decisions and choices are
impossible in complex situations
-- administrators “satisfice” or choose the best of
a limited set of alternatives within the constraints
of limited information and time
Foundational Theories
Kurt Lewin and Organizational Change
-- groups and individuals maintain a “quasistationary equilibrium” in their attitudes and
behaviors
-- equilibrium results from a balance between
forces pressing for change and those pressing
against change (basis for force field analysis)
-- must unfreeze and refreeze
Foundational Theories
Organizational Development
-- Action research
-- Participative decision making (PDM)
Human Relations School
-- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
-- McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
Foundational Theories
Contingency Theory
-- organizations are open systems that respond
to social, economic and technological
imperatives (Tavistock Institute)
-- successful firms must have internal structures
as complex as their environments (Lawrence &
Lorsch)
-- organizations tend to be organic or
mechanistic (Burns & Stalker)
Distinctive Context of
Public Management
Fragmented Authority
-- multiple masters
Open and Responsive Decision
Process
-- operating in a “goldfish bowl”
Ambiguous and Intangible Goals
-- difficult to define and control success
Distinctive Context of
Public Management
Procedural Constraints
-- emphasis on accountability restrains
managerial discretion
Political Constraints
-- numerous stakeholders with varying levels of
influence depending on the issue
-- places premium on negotiating, conflict
resolution and coalition-building skills
Distinctive Context of
Nonprofit Management
Working With/Under a Board
Funding Constraints
-- grants, foundations, donors
Mission-Driven vs. Money-Driven
Competition vs. Collaboration
Managing volunteers
Distinctiveness of Public
Management
Working with Politicians
-- very current-issue oriented
-- they are on top
-- a manager must keep professional distance
and avoid inserting personal views
-- their world is trade-offs, swapping, making
deals, comprising
-- you must be focused when you need them
-- you must be willing to “be the fireplug”
Distinctiveness of Public
Management
Working with the Press
-- consider them another branch of government
-- be very careful about “off the record”
comments (the recorder is always on!)
-- consider their point of view
-- be brief; try to boil down complex issues
-- don’t make assumptions about what they know
-- don’t let them control the interview…know the
one or two points you want to make and bore in
Environment of Public
Organizations
Environmental scanning can be an
effective tool for understanding
organizational structure & behavior:
-- technological conditions
-- legal conditions
-- political conditions
-- economic conditions
Environment of Public
Organizations
Environmental scanning (cont’d):
-- demographic conditions
-- ecological conditions
-- cultural conditions
Organizations are impacted by their
environments but can enact their own
environment as well
Environment: Key
Concepts
Turbulence and interconnectedness
characterize the environments of most
public organizations.
Organizations can adapt their structures
in response to their environment, or
they can change their niches.
-- huge issue with nonprofits!
Environment: Key
Concepts
Efficiency not necessarily the highest
priority in the design of U.S. government
-- external authorities, the media, interest groups
and citizens also demand effectiveness,
timeliness, reliability, and reasonableness
-- remember the three E’s: efficiency,
effectiveness and equity; sometimes
uncomfortable bedfellows!
Competing Values
Framework
How to make sense out of all the
different org. theories and perspectives
in a way that us useful toward
understanding org. and org. behavior?
Quinn & Rohrbaugh suggest it boils
down to the specific criteria or values
being used to assess…and they all are
important depending on the context.
Competing Values:
Focus
Internal concern with well-being of
employees
External concern for the well-being of
the organization
Competing Values:
Structure
Concern for flexibility and change
Concern for stability and control
Competing Values
Framework
Parsons: to be a viable “social system”
an organization is subject to “functional
imperatives”:
Adaptive Function
-- acquire resources and adjust to forces in
external environment
Goal Attainment Function
-- develop plans and direct their accomplishment
Competing Values
Framework
Integrative Function
-- coordinate the work activities toward goals
Pattern Maintenance Function
-- ensure continued commitment of members
Tension Management Function
-- iron out tensions that inevitably arise
Competing Values
Framework
Means-oriented values
-- cohesion, morale, communication, planning,
goal-setting
Ends-oriented values
-- growth, resource acquisition, productivity
Competing Values
Framework
When these three dimensions are
juxtaposed, they reveal four competing
models of org. effectiveness:
-- human relations model (Quadrant 1)
-- open systems model (Quadrant 2)
-- rational goal model (Quadrant 3)
-- internal process model (Quadrant 4)
Competing Values
Framework
Contradictions abound between
different values and frameworks
However, organizations face such
competition among values
Successful managers must balance or
concurrently manage competing values
Consider how Blast in Centralia case
illustrates…
Focus on Goal
Attainment (Q3)
Rational Goal Model
Importance of planning & goal setting
Focus on productivity & efficiency
Leadership role is Director & Producer
Focus on Goal
Attainment (Q3)
Organizations are goal-directed,
purposive entities.
A basic assumption is that public
organizations will perform better if the
people in them clarify their goals and
measure progress against them.
Reflects the huge investment in stating
goals and performance measures.
Focus on Goal
Attainment (Q3)
Roots of rational goal model are in the
Scientific Management, Administrative
Management, and Bureaucratic
Theories
Critical managerial task of a Director is
to set clear goals, plan, measure
against them, and hold people
accountable for the results
Focus on Goal
Attainment (Q3)
However, in the public and nonprofit
sectors, goal setting is a huge challenge
-- no “bottom line” like private sector
For example, goals can be ambiguous,
multiple, and conflicting
-- result can be debilitating for employees
Focus on Goal
Attainment (Q3)
Major tool for addressing the goal
challenge is Strategic Planning &
Management
Key elements:
-- establishing clear vision and mission
-- conducting SWOT analysis
-- identifying key strategic issues
-- identifying short & long-term goals in support
Focus on Internal
Processes (Q4)
Importance of information management
and communication
Focus on stability and control
Leadership role is Coordinator &
Monitor
Focus on Internal
Processes (Q4)
Roots of internal processes model is
bureaucratic theory
Basic assumption is that organizational
performance is enhanced by
maximizing rationality through
-- fixed official duties, hierarchy of authority,
system of rules, task specialization and written
documentation
Focus on Internal
Processes (Q4)
Critical managerial task as a
Coordinator & Monitor is to supervise in
a top-down manner, ensure the
standardization of work processes &
skills, integrate the efforts of work
groups, and ensure legal compliance
with rules and regulations.
Focus on Internal
Processes (Q4)
The focus on internal processes is
critical, but the bureaucratic model
presents serious challenges:
-- emphasis on impersonal application of rules &
procedures (creates alienation or anomie)
-- dehumanizing impact on workers
-- specialization & hierarchy creates
communication obstacles & narrow sense of
responsibility
-- institutional rigidity and goal displacement
Focus on Internal
Processes (Q4)
Tools that address the challenges of
bureaucracy are adjusting
organizational structures and organizing
through work groups or teams
Different org. structures include:
-- by function
-- by program, product or service
-- by matrix, client or process (see Graham &
Hays reading)
Focus on Internal
Processes (Q4)
Focus on groups or teams came about
because they influence communication
and conflicts among their members and
between themselves and other groups.
Groups & teams also seen as a way of
dealing with the problems created by
bureaucracy
Focus on Internal
Processes (Q4)
Group participation in decision making
can enhance the quality of decisions
and acceptance of change within an
organization (SNF stages)
Groups can bring more knowledge, info,
and approaches than individuals
Groups can provide sense of belonging
or cohesion within an impersonal
bureaucracy
Focus on Internal
Processes (Q4)
A well-documented problem with groups
is Groupthink, or tendency towards
unconscious conformity by
members…symptoms are:
-- stereotyping the opposition, overestimating
one’s own position, stifling dissent
See Rainey (p. 338) for tips to avoid this
phenomenon
Focus on Human
Relations (Q1)
Importance of cohesion and morale
Focus on human resource development
Leadership role is Mentor & Facilitator
Focus on Human
Relations (Q1)
Roots of human relations model in work
of Mary Parker Follett, Fritz
Roethlisberger, and Elton Mayo.
Basic assumption is that the human
side of organizations matter…focusing
on goals, structure and processes tells
us nothing about how to manage people
effectively.
Focus on Human
Relations (Q1)
Follett believed that humans have an
inherent need to associate with others,
develop social bonds, and participate in
collective life.
Humans have a need for self-expression
and for self-realization through groups.
Focus on Human
Relations (Q1)
Follett was a pioneer in modern conflict
resolution through her concept of
integration…a useful conceptual tool.
She argued that conflict is typically
resolved through either domination or
compromise. Both techniques are
flawed…why?
Focus on Human
Relations (Q1)
Integration is achieved by intermingling the
ideas and perspectives of each party as
concerns are discussed (called
interpenetration).
As mutual understanding and a sense of
interdependence are created, new ways of
thinking about the situation emerge that
integrate interests (instead of positions).
Focus on Human
Relations (Q1)
Another useful concept from Follett is
the “law of the situation.”
One person should not give orders to
another person, but both should agree
to take their orders from the situation.
Implications for management?
Focus on Human
Relations (Q1)
Mayo focused on adverse effects of
social disorganization and irrational
tendencies of otherwise normal
individuals in the workplace.
Roethlisberger focused on
organizations as social systems and
significance of aligning the formal and
informal organization.
Focus on Human
Relations (Q1)
Classic research studies fueled the human
relations model.
Hawthorne studies showed that higher
morale improved productivity by:
-- relaxed supervision (less fear & anxiety)
-- social cohesion or solidarity
-- personal attention/sympathetic treatment
-- participative decision making
Focus on Human
Relations (Q1)
Bank Wiring Observation Room
-- output can be determined by group norms
rather than individual effort and skill (“rate
busters” or :chiselers” socially ostracized)
-- social cliques within the organization
established informal status levels and addressed
problems outside of the formal structure and
hierarchy