Understanding Organizations Dr. Bob Barcelona HEHD 803 October 25, 2011

Understanding Organizations

Dr. Bob BarcelonaHEHD 803

October 25, 2011

Need a Good GoalPost Picture Here!

Some things I Learned From You….• Collin’s Athletic Director and Sandee’s ZestQuest programming

model both suffered from the curse of cluelessness• Aimee wants all of the organizations in the NHBRCPYV to

understand one another and just get along (oh yeah – and read B&D so they can get on board with reframing…)

• Ashley likes the “PRIDE” motto – personal responsibility in delivering excellence – sounds like a good values statement to me…

• Sheronda’s principal needs to read K&P – could be a good Christmas present!

Why Organize?

Lets Talk Systems• Organizations operate in a

continuous exchange with their environment

• Environment and organization are in a state of interaction and mutual dependence

• All of this contributes to organizational complexity

• Degree of “openness” varies by organization

Morgan (2003).

Open Systems Concepts• Organizations seek homeostasis• Organizations have entropic tendencies• Closed systems atrophy, lose complexity, lose

uniqueness – eventually they die• So – organizations are inherently paradoxical• Open systems recognize equifinality• Organizational structure, function, behavior, and other

aspects are closely interrelated (web of interrelationships)– Complex organizations (greater differentiation and

specialization) depend on more complex systems of integration to maintain the whole system

Morgan (2003).

Technological Subsystem

Structural Subsystem

Human-Cultural Subsystem

Strategic Subsystem

Managerial Subsystem

Environmental Suprasystem

Organizational OutputsInputs which

energize the organization

Production of goods & services at a level of efficiency and effectiveness that will influence future resource availability and systems operation

Human, financial, informational, and material resources

Morgan (2003)

Uncertainty!

• Not sure what the problem is• Not sure what is really

happening• Not sure what we want• Don’t have needed resources• Not sure who is supposed to

do what• Not sure how to determine

success

Bolman & Deal (2008)

Given this view of the organization and its environment…

And given the fact that this all of this makes organizations complex, surprising, deceptive and

ambiguous (B&D, 2008)…

What qualities or skills are required of management (or better yet, LEADERSHIP) to

effectively navigate this kind of an environment?

How Managers Think How Leaders Might Think

Bolman & Deal (2008).

Managers need to understand the whole picture in four key ways:



Limited view of the organization Thinking holistically






Facts, logic, structure Embrace an array of options







Certainty, rationality, control Think creatively; accept ambiguity; take risks








Focus on the “one best way” Commit to principle, be flexible in understanding and responding to events








Focus on the “one best way” Commit to principle, be flexible in understanding and responding to events



-By the organization’s STRUCTURE-By the organization’s HUMAN RESOURCES

-By the organization’s POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT-By the organization’s CULTURE


What About Ethics?• Identifying right actions;

distinguishing right from wrong

• Ethical dimensions = when situations and actions have significant impact on well-being of others!

• Focused on how things should be – not as they are

What About Ethics?• Reference points – moral absolutes and social or

community standards• Standards of care; commitment to serve the greater

good – hallmark of professionalism!• Judgments should be based on the moral traditions

of the NFP sphere (caritas)

Understanding Organizations Dr. Bob Barcelona HEHD 803 October 25, 2011

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