ADMN 8110 Organizational Theory and Behavior

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ADMN 8110Organizational Theory and Behavior

• Class 3

Dr. Mickey Dunaway
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Housekeeping

• Questions related to syllabus or expectations?
• Organizational Visit Plans?

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(No Transcript)
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Irving JanisGroupthink The Desperate Drive for
Consensus at Any Cost

• Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by
  group members who try to minimize conflict and
  reach consensus without critically testing,
  analyzing, and evaluating ideas.
• During Groupthink, members of the group avoid
  promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of
  consensus thinking.

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Classical Organizational Theory
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Fundamental Tenets

• Beliefs reflected harsh societal values and
  conditions
• Workers viewed as parts of machines
• Organizations work like machines
• Success comes from efficient production systems
  keeping machines busy and costs controlled

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Fundamental Tenets

• Organizations exist to accomplish
  production-related and economic goals
• One best way to organize for production
  Scientific Management
• Production is maximized through division of labor
• People and organizations act in accordance with
  rationale economic principles

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Human Resource Theory
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Basic Assumptions

• Organizations exist to serve
• human needs
• Hawthorne Experiments by Elton Mayo became most
  significant event
• Wanted to determine what affected productivity
  such as light, flow of materials, wage plans
• The organization influences human behavior and
  behavior shapes the organization

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Major Players

• Mary Parker-Follett
• Argued for a participatory leadership
• Abraham Maslow
• All discussions of motivation begin with Maslows
  Hierarchy of Need
• Douglas McGregor
• Theory X/Y and self-fulfilling prophecy
• Frederick Herzberg
• Motivators and Maintainers

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Irving JanisGroupthink The Desperate Drive for
Consensus at Any Cost

• Illusion of invulnerability Creates excessive
  optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
• Collective rationalization Members discount
  warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.
  
• Belief in inherent morality Members believe in
  the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore
  the ethical or moral consequences of their
  decisions.
• Stereotyped views of out-groups Negative views
  of enemy make effective responses to conflict
  seem unnecessary.
• Direct pressure on dissenters Members are under
  pressure not to express arguments against any of
  the groups views.
• Self-censorship Doubts and deviations from the
  perceived group consensus are not expressed.
• Illusion of unanimity The majority view and
  judgments are assumed to be unanimous.
• Self-appointed mindguards Members protect the
  group and the leader from information that is
  problematic or contradictory to the groups
  cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.

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Have you ever experienced groupthink?
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Modern Structural Theory
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Basic Assumptions

• Organizations are rational institutions with
  primary purpose to accomplish established
  objectives
• Rational behavior best achieved through system of
  defined rules and formal authority
• Control and coordinaiton are keys for maintaining
  organizational rationality

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Basic Assumptions

• There is a best structure for any organization
  or at least a most appropriate structure based on
• Organizational objectives
• Environmental conditions
• Nature of product or service
• Technology of production process

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Basic Assumptions

• Specialization and division of labor increase
  quality and quantituy especially in highly
  skilled professions
• Most problems result from structural flaws and
  can be solved by changing the structure

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Burns and StalkerMechanistic and Organic Systems

• The mechanistic (traditional) management is
  appropriate to stable conditions
• Organic forms (less rigidity, more participation
  from workers) more appropriate to changing
  conditions (fresh problems, unforeseen
  requirement for action

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MintzbergFive Basic Part of an Organization

• The Operating Core
• Those members who perform the basic work
  directly related to the product or service of the
  organization
• Strategic Apex
• Those people charged with overall responsibility
  for the organization

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MintzbergFive Basic Part of an Organization

• The Middle Line
• Connects strategic apex to operating core
• Middle management
• The Technostructure
• Analysts and their clerical support
• Support Staff
• Provides support outside the operating core

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MintzbergFive Basic Part of an Organization
Strategic Apex
Middle Line
Operating Core
How well does Mintzbergs work apply to your
experiences?
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Elliot JaquesIn Praise of Heirarchy

• Hierarchy is the most efficient, hardiest, most
  natural structure devised for large organizations
• Theorists propose changes
• It ought look like an orchestra or hospital
• It ought function by semiautonomous work teams
• It should be organic and entrepreneurial
• It should hinge on skunk works or MBWA

A small, loosely structured corporate research
and development unit or subsidiary formed to
foster innovation
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Elliot JaquesIn Praise of Hierarchy

• Problem is not in hierarchy but in gimmicks and
  fads which have been added on to the system
• No need for flatter organizations, but better
  understanding of how the hierarchy should work
• Complaints
• Too many rungs on the ladder
• Few managers add real value
• Hierarchies bring out worst in people

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Elliot JaquesIn Praise of Hierarchy

• False group solutions fail to acknowledge nature
  of employment systems
• People are employed individually
• Employment contracts are individual
• While theorists focus on group authority,
  responsibility, decisions, and consensus, none of
  them address group accountability
• Group authority without group accountability is
  dysfunctional
• Group authority with group accountability is
  unnacceptable

Any Jaques ideas resonate with you?
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Burton and ObelTechnology as a Contingency Factor

• Effects formalization
• Based on need to process information
• Effects centralization
• Smaller organizations more centralized
• Effects on complexity
• The more complex the work, the fewer people a
  manger can supervise and control
• Effects on configuration
• If you understand this one, help me!
• Effects on coordination and control mechanisms
• Routine technology does not change much and
  require less control and coordination

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Organizational Economics Theory
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Basic Ideas

• Economic tools are used to study internal
  organizational processes
• Key Questions asked over the years
• Contractual nature of organizations
• Bounded rationality
• The idea of bounded rationality is that
  individuals strive to be rational having first
  greatly simplified the choices availablethey
  accept a satisfactory solution which is good
  enough for their purposes rather than finding the
  optimum answer Answers.com
• Significance of investment in specific assets
• Specific rights and residual rights
• The effects of imperfect information

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The World is Flat

• Amy Nichols The Introduction

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Power and Politics Theory
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Basic Assumptions

• The neatest thing about power is that we
  understand it
• Coalitions continuously compete for scarce
  resources
• Conflict is inevitable
• Influence is the primary weapon of competition
  and conflicts
• Coalitions shift with issues often cross
  organizational boundaries

Can you cite scarce resource examples? Is
conflict inevitable? Where do fall on the
influence continuum?
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Basic Assumptions

• Organizational goals change with shifts in
  balance of power
• Organizational goals are important because they
  provide the official rationale and legitimacy
  for resource allocation
• Power is a function of structure
• More critical units have more power

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Basic Assumptions

• Sources of organizational power
• Downward influence (authority)
• Lateral influence
• Upward influence
• Other forms of power
• Control of scarce resources
• Easy access to others perceived with power
• Central place in a potent coalition
• Knowing how to get things done
• Credibility

If you are leader, which of these do your
employees value most in you?
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Definition of Power

• The ability to get things done the way one wants
  them done it is the latent ability to influence
  people
• Power is relative to the relationship
• It is used to determine methods, means,
  approaches, and/or turf

Who an you identify with who has power? Can you
identify one situation in which you had
significant power and another where you had no
power?
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Jeffrey PfefferUnderstanding the Role of Power
in Decision Making

• To measure and operationalize power, one must
  estimate
• What would have happened in its absence
• What were the actors intentions in attempting to
  exercise power?
• The effect of the actions by the actor on the
  probability that what was desired would be likely
  to occur

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Jeffrey PfefferUnderstanding the Role of Power
in Decision Making

• Distinguishing Power and Authority
• When power is legitimized, it is authority
• Exercise of Power in a social context has costs
  and is used only with very important issues
• Exercise of Authority is both expected and
  desired and the use may enhance the amount of
  authority possessed
• In spite of considerable power of lower level
  employees, they seldom exercise it because
• The authority of the manager to direct work is so
  legitimized
• Subordinates obey because they expect such
  directions will be given and followed

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Jeffrey PfefferUnderstanding the Role of Power
in Decision Making

• Organizational politics are those activities
  taken within an organization to
• Acquire, develop, and use power and other
  resources to obtain ones preferred outcomes in a
  situation of uncertainty or dissent about choices
• Power is a property of the system at rest
• Politics is the study of power in action
• Political activity is an activity which is
  undertaken to overcome some resistance or
  opposition
• Politics are not by their nature immoral or
  unethical, but are a fact of life

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Jeffrey PfefferUnderstanding the Role of Power
in Decision Making

• Where have you seen power used appropriately and
  inappropriately?
• Have you ever played politics?
• Have you ever used your influence for a good
  outcome?
• How well do you think the average person
  understands about the nature of power?
• Has your power ever been assumed to be greater
  than it actually was?

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Rosabeth Moss KanerPower Failure in Management
Circuits

• People tend to prefer bosses with clout
• Employee status is enhanced by an influential
  manager and they generally have high morale and
  feel less critical or resistant to their boss.
• Powerlessness often creates ineffective petty,
  dictatorial management styles.
• Power can/should follow efficacy and capacity
• Powerful leaders are more likely to
• Delegate
• Reward talent
• Build a team that places subordinates in
  significant positions

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Rosabeth Moss KanerPower Failure in Management
Circuits

• Sources of power
• Lines of supply influence over the environment
• Lines of information knowledge and expertise
• Lines of support able to exercise discretion
• Positions of Powerlessness
• First line supervisor
• People in the middle
• Often at a dead end in careers
• Administer programs or policies they had little
  to do to create
• Often lack resources to reward people

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Rosabeth Moss KanerPower Failure in Management
Circuits

• Positions of Powerlessness
• First line supervisor
• Demonstrate symptoms of powerlessness
• Overly close supervision
• Rules-mindedness
• Tendency to do the job themselves
• Staff Professionals
• Must sell programs with few favors to exchange
  for compliance
• Without line experience may have limited career
  options
• Effectiveness/contributions are hard to measure
• Act out powerlessness by becoming turf-minded

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Rosabeth Moss KanerPower Failure in Management
Circuits

• Positions of Powerlessness
• Top Executives
• Credibility comes from dramatic actions
• But routine problems trap them with small
  solutions and rewards
• People at the top should insulate themselves from
  routine operations in order to develop and
  exercise power
• Life at the top is characterized by real
  loneliness
• Leaders may create closed inner circles of people
  like themselves who are their principal sources
  of information

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Rosabeth Moss KanerPower Failure in Management
Circuits

• To expand power, share it
• Delegation does not mean abdication
• Powerless people are the ones whose behavior is
  most likely to change with shared power
• Spreading power means educating people to the
  nature of shared power

• What are your experiences with powerless people?
  With shared power?
• Why is shared decision-making not shared power?

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The Exam
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For Wednesday

• Take a look at the project guidelines and take
  this opportunity to ask some of the questions
  during our visit.