Applying information technology to organization design

In the past, organization theory has been mainly concerned with what might be called “organization for production.” The theory traditionally paid special attention to two problems: how to divide up the work for its efficient performance and in such a way as to keep the needs for coordi-nation of the parts within manageable bounds;

The nature of efficiency

The criterion of efficiency is most easily understood in its application to commercial organizations that are largely guided by the profit objective. In such organizations the criterion of efficiency dictates the selection of that alternative, of all those available to the individual, which will yield the greatest net (money) return to the organization. This

Criticisms of the efficiency criterion

Criticisms of “efficiency” as a guide to administration have been frequent and vociferous.8 One group of criticisms need not concern us here, for they refer to definitions of the term different from the one proposed here. In this category must be placed attacks on efficiency which equate the term with “economy” or “expenditure reduction.”

The Criterion of Efficiency: Factual elements in decision

We have seen that the criterion which the administrator applies to factual problems is one of efficiency. The resources, the input, at the disposal of the administrator are strictly limited. It is not his function to establish a utopia. It is his function to maximize the attainment of the governmental objectives (assuming they have

Functionalization in relation to efficiency

A few words need to be said now about the bearing of this efficiency cri- terion upon organizational problems. In an earlier chapter it was noted that specialization in organization often follows functional lines. This functionalization involves the analysis of the organization objective into subsidiary objectives. One or more of the subsidiary objectives may

Efficiency and the budget

As a practical application of the approach set forth in this chapter, we may consider the public budget-making process, and the form which this process will have to take if it is to conform to the requirements of rationality. It has been asserted that the concept of efficiency involves an analysis of the administrative

Measuring results in business firms

CHAPTER IX PLACES CONSIDERABLE EMPHASIS upon the difficulty of measuring results in public organizations, and argues that it is easier to do so in business organizations. The latter have profits as the “bottom line,” and accountants know how to measure those—at least to a first approximation. But in spite of this, the measurement of

Social versus organizational values

When it is recognized that actual decisions must take place in some such institutional setting, it can be seen that the “correctness” of any particular decision may be judged from two different standpoints. In the broader sense it is “correct” if it is consistent with the general social value scale80—if its consequences are socially

Organizational identification

To designate the phenomenon we are discussing, we may introduce the term “identification” which has already had some currency in political theory. “Identification” is used in psychoanalytic literature to denote a particular kind of emotional tie. Freud describes the nature of the tie thus: It is easy to state in a formula the distinction

Modifying identifications through organization

It would seem that a major problem in effective organization is to specialize and subdivide activities in such a manner that the psychological forces of identification will contribute to, rather than hinder, correct decision-making. 1. Modes of Specialization The way in which activities are subdivided in the organization will have a major influence on

Cognitive bases and mechanisms for identification

1. COGNITIVE BASES FOR IDENTIFICATION The cognitive component of the mechanism of identification discussed in Chapter X can be described thus: As we saw in Chapter IX, high-level goals often provide little guide for action because it is difficult to measure their attainment and difficult to measure the effects of concrete actions upon them.

Altruism in organizational behavior

Contemporary evolutionary theory has cautioned us against attributing altruistic motives to people. In standard models of natural selection, nice guys generally aren’t fit—they don’t multiply as rapidly as their more selfish brethren. This argument has often been used to fill the utility function with selfish personal economic goals. But the argument is incorrect; models

The process of composite decision

It should be perfectly apparent that almost no decision made in an orga- nization is the task of a single individual. Even though the final responsibility for taking a particular action rests with some definite person, we shall always find, in studying the manner in which this decision was reached, that its various components

Planning and review in the process of composite decision

There are two administrative techniques that are of key importance in the process of composite decision and in bringing to bear on a single decision a multiplicity of influences. Reference has already been made to them from time to time, but they deserve more systematic discussion as a part of the over-all decisional structure

The Anatomy of Organization: Centralization and decentralization

Our examination of the process of composite decision, and particularly of the methods and functions of review in an organization, casts considerable light on the way in which decisional processes can best be distributed through the organization, and on the relative advantages and disadvantages in centralizing the processes of decision. What has already been

The Anatomy of Organization: Lessons for administrative theory

In Chapter 11 the position was taken that the currently accepted “principles of administration” are little more than ambiguous and mutually contradictory proverbs, and that a new approach was needed to establish a consistent and useful administrative theory. This is a fact that is beginning to be recognized in the literature of administration. If

The role of the administrator

It may be appropriate to conclude this volume with a brief statement about the role and training of administrators. It has been suggested earlier that the decisions which might be uniquely designated as “administrative” decisions are those which are concerned with the decision-making process itself. That is, such decisions do not determine the content

A half century of growth in organization theory

The commentaries on the preceding chapters of Administrative Behavior mainly examined the important new ideas that have been injected into organization theory by the half century of research and observation since the book was first published. The purpose of these final comments is to observe how these ideas are related to the text that

The birth of an organization

We hear a good deal these days about an organization’s need for a “vision statement” and a “mission statement.” Many of the manifestos produced in response to this supposed need appear to contain little more than apple pie and motherhood. A proclamation that a company is going to make high quality products, give its

The business school: A problem in organizational design

In 1949 I came to Carnegie Institute of Technology to assist in the organi- zation of a new business school, the Graduate School of Industrial Admin- istration (GSIA). Its central educational mission was to offer a master’s degree in Industrial Administration for persons wishing to prepare for a career in management, but the plans