W. K. Hoy © 2003, 2008, 2011

Chapter 1

The School as aSocial System

McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

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What is Organizational Theory?

A set of interrelated concepts, assumptions, and generalizations that describes and explains patternsof behavior in organizations.

Elements of Theory:ConceptsGeneralizations Assumptions

Purposes of Theory:Provide an explanation of how things generally work.Guide researchGuide practice

Hypotheses: Conjectural statements that explain relationships.Use to test theories.Guide research

Scientific Knowledge:Propositions supported by systematic research.

Purpose of Science: To test theory and to provide reliable explanation.

Chapter 1: The School as a Social System

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I. Rational-Systems Perspective: A Machine Model

Scientific Management (The Beginning)

Rational-Systems Perspective

Frederick Taylor-Scientific Management•Time and Motion Studies•Standardization•Exception Principle•Division of Labor•Span of Control

Henri Fayol-Functions of Administration•Planning•Organizing•Commanding •Coordinating•Controlling

Luther Gulick--Functions of the Executive

•POSDCoRB

(A Contemporary View of Scientific Management)

•Goals--Organizations exist to attain collective goals•Division of Labor for efficiency•Specialization for expertise•Standardization for routine performance•Formalization for uniformity and coordination•Hierarchy for unity of command and coordination•Span of Control for effective supervision•Exception Principle to free superiors from routine•Coordination for administrative effectiveness•Formal Organization is the official blueprint of the

structure that guarantees efficiency and effectiveness. The formal organization is the key to organizational effectiveness.

Historical Development of Theory and Thought in Administration

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II. Natural-Systems Perspective: An Organic Model

Human Relations (The Beginning)

Mary Parker Follett Taylor antagonist and human relations advocate

Hawthorne Studies •Illumination Studies--three studies •Elton Mayo--more studies(1927-32) •Hawthorne Effect

Informal Organization •Norms •Grapevine •Informal leaders •Cliques

Informal Norms “No squealing” “No rate busting” “No chiseling” “Be a regular guy”

Contemporary Natural System (Human Resources View)

•Survival--organizations are more than instruments for goal attainment; they are social groups that adapt and survive.•Individuals are more important than the structure.•Needs motivate performance more than role demands .•Specialization can promote boredom and frustration.•Formalization produces rigidity and rule fixation.•Informal Norms not formal rules are critical to performance.•Hierarchy is ineffective because it usually neglects talent.•Span of Control is dysfunctional because it fosters close and authoritarian supervision.•Informal Communication is more efficient and open than formal communication. •Informal Organization--informal structures are more important than formal ones just as informal leaders are more influential than formal ones. The informal organization is the key to effectiveness.

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II. Open-systems Perspective: An Integration

Social Science: Interdependence, Integration, and Contingencies

Max Weber Theory of BureaucracyChester Barnard Functions of the ExecutiveHerbert Simon Administrative BehaviorTalcott Parsons Social Systems Theory

Interdependence is a fact of organizational life. All organizations are open systems whose parts interact and depend on each other and are dependent on their environments.

Integration is central to an open-systems perspective.

Integration of goals and needs Behavior is a function of structure and needs. Integration of rational and natural elements All organization have both rational and natural aspects. Integration of tight and loose couplings Organizations need both tight and loose couplings. Integration of planned and unplanned activities Politics pervades organizational life. Integration of formal and informal. Organizations have two interactive faces:

Formal & Informal.

Contingency Theory Effectiveness is contingent upon matching There is no one best way to organize, motivate, the situation with the appropriate technique. decide, lead, or communicate-- “it depends.”

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Historical Development of Theory and Thought in Administration

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Key Properties of Open Systems

Inputs --people, materials, and resources from the outside

Transformation -- the process transforming inputs into something of value by

the system.

Outputs -- the byproduct of the transformation.

Feedback -- how the system communicates to its parts and the

environment.

Boundaries -- systems are differentiated from their environments.

Environment -- is anything outside the system.

Homeostatis --a steady state of equilibrium

Entropy -- the tendency for all systems for run down and die.

Equifinality --the same end can be achieved many ways.

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Open System with Feedback Loops

W. K. Hoy © 2003, 2008, 2011

ThroughputThroughput[Transformation][Transformation]

InputsInputs OutputsOutputs

People

Materials

Finances

Products

Services

Feedback

EnvironmentEnvironment

Performance

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Social Systems Model: Key Assumptions• Social systems are open systems.

• Social systems consists of interdependent parts, which interact

with each other and the environment.

• Social systems are goal oriented.

• Social systems are peopled.

• Social systems have structure.

• Social systems are political.

• Social systems have cultures.

• Social systems have norms.

• Social systems are conceptual and relative.

• All formal organizations are social systems, but not all social systems

are organizations.

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Key Elements of the School as a Social System

Schools are social systems with the following key parts:

Structure: roles are expectations of positions that are arranged in a hierarchy.

Individual: the individual is a key unit in any social system; regardless of position, people bring with them individual needs, beliefs, and a cognitive

understandings of the job.

Culture: represents the unwritten feeling part of the organizations: its shared values

Politics: informal power relations that develop spontaneously.

Core: the teaching-learning process is the technical core of schools.

Environment: everything outside the organization; source of inputs.

Outputs: the products of the organizations, e. g. educated students.

Feedback: communication that monitors behavior.

Effectiveness: the congruence between expected and actual outcomes.

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Internal Elements of the System

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Transformation ProcessTransformation Process

Structural SystemStructural System(Bureaucratic Expectations)(Bureaucratic Expectations)

Cultural SystemCultural System(Shared Orientations)(Shared Orientations)

Political SystemPolitical System(Power Relations)(Power Relations)

Individual SystemIndividual System(Cognition and Motivation)(Cognition and Motivation)

Learn

ing

Learning Teach

ing

TeachingOutputsOutputsInputsInputs

EnvironmentEnvironment

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Social System Model for Schools

W. K. Hoy © 2003, 2008, 2011

Transformation ProcessTransformation Process

Structural SystemStructural System(Bureaucratic Expectations)(Bureaucratic Expectations)

CulturalCulturalSystemSystem(Shared(Shared

Orientations)Orientations)

PoliticalPoliticalSystemSystem(Power(Power

Relations)Relations)

Individual SystemIndividual System(Cognition and Motivation)(Cognition and Motivation)

Learn

ing

Learning Teach

ing

Teaching

OutputsOutputsInputsInputs

Environmental constraints

Human and capital resources

Mission and board policy

Materials and methods

Achievement

Job satisfaction

Absenteeism

Dropout rate

Overall quality

Discrepancy between Actual and Expected

Performance

EnvironmentEnvironment

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The Triadic Relations ofThe Triadic Relations ofTheory, Practice, and ResearchTheory, Practice, and Research

Theory, research, and practice are in a dynamic relationship.

Each set of relationships is reciprocal: theory guides practice,

but practice reinforces, refines, or disconfirms theory; theory

guides research, but research creates and refines theory; and

research guides practice, but practice directs research.

W. K. Hoy © 2003, 2008, 2011

TT

PPRR

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Practical Imperatives1. Seek and test good explanations in your administrative practice: Be both reflective and guided by evidence.2. Be prepared for both rational and irrational behavior in schools: Both abound.3. Cultivate informal relations to solve formal problems: The informal organization is a source of ingenious ideas. 4. Use multiple perspectives to frame school challenges: Framing the problem is often the key to its solution.5. Engage informal leaders in problem solving: Cooperation between the formal and the informal is a key to success.6. Be politically astute as you represent the school and its students: Politics is a fact of school life.7. Encourage both stability and spontaneity as appropriate: Both are essential to good schools.8. Be responsive to the community: The school is an open system.9. Cultivate expertise as the basis for solving problems: Knowledge should be the basis of decision making.10. Harness administration to the facilitation of sound teaching and learning: Teaching and learning is what schools are about.

W. K. Hoy © 2003, 2008, 2011