Theories of Practice: The Structural Frame

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Theories of PracticeThe Structural Frame
MPA 8002 The Structure and Theory of Human
Organization Richard M. Jacobs, OSA, Ph.D.
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• Since the mid-19th century and throughout the
  Industrial Era, social scientists have made
  inquiry into the nature of human organizations.
  The overall endeavor has been to objectify and
  analyze those factors which constitute effective
  and efficient organizations.

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• The goal has been to characterize how effective
  and efficient organizations

• function well

• achieve and surpass goals

• survive and thrive in the environment

• what competitors emulate

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The rational and objective side of human
organizations...

• The structural frame upholds the notion that
  organizations are judged primarily on and by the
  proper functioning of those elements which
  constitute good organization...

giving appropriate emphasis to the process
integrating people and technology...
and enabling the organization to achieve its
goals.
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A STRUCTURAL SCENARIO
The fundamental responsibility of managers and
leaders is to clarify organizational goals, to
attend to the relationship between structure and
environment, and to develop a structure that is
clear and appropriate to the goals, the task, and
the environment. Without such a structure,
people become unsure about what they are supposed
to be doing. The result is confusion,
frustration, and conflict. In an effective
organization, individuals are clear about their
responsibilities and their contribution.
Policies, linkages, and lines of authority are
well-defined. When an organization has the right
structure and people understand it, the
organization can achieve its goals and
individuals can be effective in their roles.
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MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN A STRUCTURAL SCENARIO
The job of managers and leaders is to focus on
task, facts, and logic, not personality and
emotions. Most people problems really stem
from structural flaws rather than from flaws in
individuals. Structural managers and leaders are
not necessarily authoritarian and do not
necessarily solve every problem by issuing orders
(though that will sometimes be appropriate).
Instead, they try to design and implement a
process or structure appropriate to the problem
and the circumstances. Bolman Deal (1991, p.
355)
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the structural frame
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• For the greater part of the 20th century, the
  assumptions and concepts of scientific management
  have informed most theories of practice.

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One of the earliest precursors of scientific
management...

• Max Weber

• 19th century sociologist

• hired by Frederick the Great to reorganize the
  Prussian army

• conceived the rationalized bureaucracy

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• But, if Max Weber rationalized the
  bureaucracy

Frederick Winslow Taylor hyper-rationalized
the bureaucracy.
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Frederick Winslow Taylor...

• the father of scientific management

• originally trained as a statistician

• sought an objective, scientific mechanism to
  improve organizational functioning

• conducted time and motion studies

• to ascertain the one best way

• in turn, this provided the basis for worker
  training, assessment, and improvement

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• In 1911, Taylor published his theory of
  practice, The Principles of Scientific
  Management...

...eventually, Taylors book became the standard
textbook in management training in the North
America and Europe.
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The assumptions of scientific management...

• 1. organizations exist to achieve established
  goals and objectives

2. organizations work best when rationality
prevails over personal preferences and external
pressures
3. structures must be designed to fit an
organizations circumstances (including its
goals, technology, and environment)
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• 4. organizations increase efficiency and enhance
  performance through specialization and division
  of labor

5. appropriate forms of coordination and control
are essential to ensure that individuals and
units work together although both are subordinate
to organizational goals
6. problems and performance gaps arise from
structural deficiencies and are best remedied
through organizational restructuring
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The Five Principles of Scientific Management...
1. shift all responsibility for the organization
of work from the worker to the manager
2. use scientific methods to determine the most
efficient way of doing the work
3. select the best person to perform the job thus
designed
4. train the worker to do the work efficiently
5. monitor worker performance
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Although common sense by todays standards...

• Taylors principles were a fundamental assault
  upon traditional theories of practice

• Taylors intention was to effect a mental
  revolution aimed at transforming how people
  looked at work, their lives, and their world

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The mental revolution...
reform

• fixed division of labor

replaced

• craft guilds and trades where one worker
  completes an entire job

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reform

• uniform rules govern job performance

replaced

• work dictated by the caprice, whim, fancy, or
  feeling of a superordinate

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reform

• workers would possess technical qualifications

replaced

• patrimony, patronage, graft

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reform

• the separation of person from office

replaced

• individual assertions, claims, tenure

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reform

• a hierarchy of officers

replaced

• dictators, autocrats, monarchs

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reform

• work as a life-long career in an organization

replaced

• work as a trade where workers seek employment
  wherever available

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Taylors mental revolution also transformed
managerial practice...

• his principles focused attention upon the manager
  as a social architect

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In practice episodes...

• managers apply the principles and concepts of
  scientific management to resolve the fundamental
  dilemmas present in the workplace

Although Taylor is oftentimes credited (or
discredited) for rationalizing the workplace, he
was the first to introduce the concept of
creativity into the managerial process.
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Management and leadership as creative social
architecture...
fundamental concepts

• integration the manager devises a structure to
  conjoin people, process, and technology in the
  most efficient and effective way possible

• division of labor the manager designs an
  appropriate means of control to facilitate
  vertical and lateral integration

• span of control the manager organizes a system
  of supervision and accountability

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The dilemmas confronting managers and leaders...
integration
differentiation
vs.
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overlaps
gaps
vs.
28
overload
underuse
vs.
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lack of creativity
lack of clarity
vs.
30
excessive autonomy
excessive interdependence
vs.
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too tight
too loose
vs.
32
over-centralization
diffuse authority
vs.
33
goal-bound
goal-less
vs.
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unresponsiveness
irresponsibility
vs.
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Scientific management...

• focuses on the social context of work

• specifies goals, roles, and relationships

• encourages organizational efficiency and
  effectiveness

In its inception, scientific management
represented a fundamental reform of the
workplace. But, as scientific management became
an orthodox ideology governing practice episodes,
some of its assumptions proved to be problematic.
36
Taylorism as scientific management came to be
known...

• dominated the training of managers and leaders
  for most of the 20th century

• eventually became an ideology shaping how people
  viewed virtually every form of human
  organization, including for-profit business,
  not-for-profit social services (e.g., hospitals,
  municipal governments, schools), and even homes

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Some recent kindred cousins of scientific
management...

• PERT Analysis (1960s)

• Management By Objectives (1970s)

• Total Quality Management (1980s)

• Strategic Planning (1980s)

• Organizational Re-Engineering (1990s)

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But, the principles contain hidden assumptions...
1. shift all responsibility for the
organization of work from the worker to the
manager
managers do all of the thinking related to the
planning and design of work, leaving the workers
with the task of implementation
assumes
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2. use scientific methods to determine the
most efficient way of doing the work
managers design the workers task by specifying
the precise way in which the work is to be done
assumes
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3. select the best person to perform the job
thus designed
job competencies and requirements can be
explicitly detailed
assumes
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4. train the worker to do the work efficiently
training is routinized, involving demonstration,
practice, and drill
assumes
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5. monitor worker performance
managers ensure that appropriate procedures are
followed and that pre-determined results are
achieved
assumes
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The power of scientific management...
structural elements
hierarchies
division of labor
policies
span of control
implies
procedures
rules
integration
assessment
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can improve organizational functioning...
As these structural elements align people,
process, and technology

• the structure will support the work

• the organizational structure and workforce will
  complement one another

• efficiency and effectiveness will create the
  circumstances for achieving the organizations
  goals

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or can become an ideology...
When the structural elements become more
important than the people in the organization

• the structure will remain impervious to challenge

• tensions between structure and people will mount

• inefficiencies and ineffectiveness will
  contribute to organizational dysfunction

• new management will re-establish controlor the
  organization will flounder until it eventually
  dies in its environment

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Managing and leading human organizations
requires...

• developing a comprehensive conception of the
  organization

• What is its mission and vision?

• What are its current strategies and goals?

• What does its history say about the
  organizations strengths and weaknesses?

• What opportunities and threats are present?

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• critically examining existing structures and
  processes

• How do things really work?

• How did things come to be this way?

• Gather factual data that support these matters.
  Do not rely on anecdotal information.

• Rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel,
  how might elements of the present structure be
  used to foster organizational change?

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• designing an organizational structure that takes
  into account its history, experience, and
  preferred future

• formulate an organizational purpose that responds
  to an environmental demand, a perceived need, or
  an opportunity to be seized

• mix expertise and generate healthy organizational
  tension by cross-fertilizing divisions

• forge a common commitment to making working
  decisions for which members bear responsibility
  but, at the same time, are subject to
  re-assessment and change

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Using scientific management...
VISION
MISSION
? the motivation
? a preferred future
? the opportunities
? what ought to be
? the challenges
? based upon factual data
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VISION
MISSION
PURPOSE
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PURPOSE
STRATEGY
? formulate preferred scenario
? a shared motive
? with explicit values
? define the game plan
? explicating why we do what we do
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STRATEGY
GOALS
? action-oriented, smart outcomes
? frames subsequent decisions that will be
made at lower levels of the organizational
hierarchy
? which implement the strategy
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? translate the organizational purpose and
strategy into performance goals
short
S
measurable
M
achievable
A
realistic
R
time bound
T
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GOALS
TACTICS
? purposive actions by groups in practice
episodes
? frame subsequent decision making by the
various groups closest to the action where
frequent decisions must be made
? how we will do what we will do
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TACTICS
PROJECTS
? purposive actions by individuals in
practice episodes
? frame subsequent decision making by
individuals who do the work
? what I will do
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VISION
GOALS
MISSION
TACTICS
PURPOSE
PROJECTS
STRATEGIES
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All the while, management and leadership
endeavors to...
? regularize a system for individual and
collective accountability, one that
translates the organizational purpose,
goals, and commitments into tangible
achievements
The managerial objective
intra-organizational cohesion
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? adopt the experimental mentality associated
with practice episodes to retain what
works, to discard what doesnt, and to
refine the structure as needed
the managerial objective
flexibility
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? report back what is being learned through
practice
the managerial objective
honest and accurate feedback
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To avoid organizational dysfunction...

• The managers challenge is to integrate
  vertical coordination with lateral control

vertical coordination
lateral control
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vertical coordination

• one focus

...to integrate the various levels of the
organizations formal hierarchy
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Tactics for vertical coordination...
coercive
legitimate
power
referent
expert
reward
specify the conditions of work
rules and policies
planning and control systems
performance control
action planning
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lateral control

• a second focus

to balance the need for autonomy and
responsibility at similar levels in the
organizations formal hierarchy
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Tactics to exercise lateral control...
opportunities for dialogue, feedback about
operations, and the honest exchange of facts and
insights
meetings
Meeting agendas should forge structural redesign
that promises to improve organizational
functioning not provide a forum to air personal
grievances and interpersonal conflicts.
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groupings of stakeholders representing diverse
viewpoints
task forces
A task force is given a specific charge to
integrate structures not to be mired in endless
debate about current standard operating
procedures.
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engaging in boundary spanning
coordinating roles
Boundary spanning enables workers to develop the
cross-functional skills needed to coordinate work
in a complex organization. This liberates both
the organization and its members from
co-dependency.
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identifying critical linkages between divisions
matrix structures
Matrix structures identify and link otherwise
disassociated divisions in the endeavor to
eliminate inter-divisional conflict, confusion,
and turf protection.
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individuals and groups focusing on a
particular area of interest
networks
Self-organizing networks provide the much needed
cross-functionality and geographical diversity to
spur creative thinking about organizational
issues. However, networks are unwieldy,
difficult to control, and offer no guarantees of
positive outcomes.
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While using these tactics to integrate...
vertical coordination
lateral control

• Managers and leaders need to be realistic...

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A realistic theory of managerial and leadership...

• the central issue confronting managers and
  leaders is that change not stability
  characterizes human organizations

However, scientific management and the structural
theories of practice associated with it are
constructed on the false premise that change does
not characterize organizations.
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• Some of the significant changes impacting
  organizational functioning include

environment
size of organization
organizational vision
age of organization
information technology
core process
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• However, the single, most significant change
  impacting an organization is

people
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Because organizations are primarily human
enterprises...

• managers and leaders use scientific management by
  focusing upon developing a team

? a small number of people possessing
complementary skills
? committed to a common purpose, set of
performance goals, and approach toward
achieving them
? for which they hold themselves mutually
accountable
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• change alters the clarity and stability of roles
  and relationships, creating confusion and chaos

This requires managers and leaders to be
attentive to periodically realigning and
renegotiating formal patterns and policies.
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Structural tasks for managers and leaders...
1. set goals and policies under conditions of
uncertainty
2. achieve delicate balance in allocating
scarce resources across different businesses or
functions
3. motivate, coordinate, and control large,
diverse group of subordinates
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Using scientific management...
effective managers and leaders are
social architects
honest analysis
whose primary concerns are
creative design
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Abusing scientific management...
ineffective managers and leaders are
petty tyrants
micro-managing
whose primary concerns are
issuing memos
ruling by fiat
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Strengths of the scientific management theory of
practice...
objectivity
logical
action oriented
modes of accountability
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Limitations of the scientific management theory
of practice...
impersonal
overly simplistic
pessimistic
inflexible
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Integrating reflective practice, conceptual
pluralism, and organizational analysis...
Analyzing organizations through four frames
inculcates the conceptual pluralism that managers
and leaders need to diagnose the issues
underlying the problems manifesting themselves in
human organizations.
the political frame
the structural frame
the human resources frame
the symbolic frame
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This module has focused on...
the scientific management theories that managers
and leaders can utilize in practice episodes
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as these theories of practice provide managers a
frame of reference to inform decision making, the
the structural frame
offers managers and leaders guidance about the
strengths and limits of scientific management
theory
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A STRUCTURAL SCENARIO
The fundamental responsibility of managers and
leaders is to clarify organizational goals, to
attend to the relationship between structure and
environment, and to develop a structure that is
clear and appropriate to the goals, the task, and
the environment. Without such a structure,
people become unsure about what they are supposed
to be doing. The result is confusion,
frustration, and conflict. In an effective
organization, individuals are clear about their
responsibilities and their contribution.
Policies, linkages, and lines of authority are
well-defined. When an organization has the right
structure and people understand it, the
organization can achieve its goals and
individuals can be effective in their roles.
84
MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN A STRUCTURAL SCENARIO
The job of managers and leaders is to focus on
task, facts, and logic, not personality and
emotions. Most people problems really stem
from structural flaws rather than from flaws in
individuals. Structural managers and leaders are
not necessarily authoritarian and do not
necessarily solve every problem by issuing orders
(though that will sometimes be appropriate).
Instead, they try to design and implement a
process or structure appropriate to the problem
and the circumstances. Bolman Deal (1991, p.
355)
85
the structural frame
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The next module will focus on...
the human resources frame
and the psychological theories that managers and
leaders can utilize in practice episodes
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A HUMAN RESOURCES SCENARIO
People are the heart of any organization. When
people feel the organization is responsive to
their needs and supportive of their goals,
managers and leaders can count on their
followers commitment and loyalty. Managers and
leaders who are authoritarian or insensitive, who
dont communicate effectively, or who simply
dont care about their people can never be
effective managers and leaders. The human
resource manager and leader works on behalf of
both the organization and its people, seeking to
serve the best interests of both.
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MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN A HUMAN RESOURCES
SCENARIO
The job of the manager and leader is one of
support and empowerment. Support takes a variety
of forms letting people know that they are
important and that managers and leaders are
concerned about them listening to find out about
their followers aspirations and goals and,
communicating personal warmth and openness.
Human resource managers and leaders empower their
followers through participation and openness as
well as by making sure that they have the
autonomy and the resources they need to do their
jobs well. Human resource managers and leaders
emphasize honest, two-way communication as a way
to identify issues and resolve differences. They
are willing to confront others when it is
appropriate, but they try to do so in a spirit of
openness and caring. Bolman Deal (1991, p. 359)
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the human resources frame
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References

• Bolman, L. G., Deal, T. E. (1997). Reframing
  organizations Artistry, choice and leadership
  (2nd edition). San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Morgan, G. (1986). Images of organization.
  Beverly Hills, CA Sage Publications, Inc.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (1989). Informing
  professional practice in educational
  administration. Journal of Educational
  Administration, 27(2), p. 186.
• Taylor, F. W. (1911/1967). The principles of
  scientific management. New York W. W. Norton.
• Weber, M. (1930/1992). The Protestant ethic and
  the spirit of capitalism (A. Giddens, Trans.).
  New York Routledge.