Showing papers in "Administrative Science Quarterly in 1963"

Some Consequences of Crisis Which Limit the Viability of Organizations

Abstract: This paper proposes that crisis can be denoted with a specific meaning applicable to organizational behavior. A tentative series of interrelated propositions suggests how a crisis in an organization's external environment can activate behavior within the organization which hinders its response to the crisis. The propositions are illustrated with material from a range of political and nonpolitical studies. Some attention is directed to possible means of making the eight principal variables operational.' Charles F. Hermann is a doctoral candidate in the International Relations Program of Northwestern University's Political Science Department.

A Conceptual Scheme for Organizational Analysis

Abstract: Studies of work behavior have been primarily processual as opposed to factorial. There has been a great concentration on the one-case study and little systematic attempt to relate behavior to contextual and organizational settings. A survey of the literature on bureaucracy leads to an analysis of organizational structure in terms of a set of variables (specialization, standardization, formalization, centralization, configuration, and flexibility) that are capable of empirical verification. Comparative studies will establish organizational "profiles" along these variables and relate them to contextual variables such as size, ownership and control, charter, and technology. The profiles will also allow comparative studies of individual and group behavior to be undertaken in clear relation to organizational settings. The authors are members of the Industrial Administration Research Unit, College of Advanced Technology, Birmingham, England. Industrial research conducted by this unit is jointly supported by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and The College.

From Evangelism to General Services: The Transformation of the YMCA

Abstract: This chapter is essentially a study of the transformation and molding of organizational character. It attempts to delineate those characteristics that give the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) its distinctive features and shape its mode of response to environmental pressures and change. The chapter focuses on four central factors: the dependence of the YMCA on a paying clientele; its federated structure; the YMCA secretary's lack of a highly developed ideology and his dependence on the local board of director; and the legitimation of a wide range of programs and services by broad character-development goals. From 1860 to about 1900 the emphases on physical development and on general evangelism were both debated issues in many YMCAs, and emphasis on overt or formal religious programs was declining. The transformation of organization goals and criteria for membership has had important consequences for the program and the clientele of the organization. The transformation of membership criteria is another factor in the YMCA's flexibility.

Communications Overload: Proposals from the Study of a University Library

Abstract: Urban social institutions are being exposed to a growing barrage of communications. A preview of future conditions was sought in a contemplorary institution already operating at high message input levels, particularly one unable to raise the price of services in accordance with spurts in demand. A many-sided analysis of a library for research and higher education was undertaken.' A set of general policies was revealed which first employed economies of scale and then, under conditions of stress, shifted costs *to the executive and to' the client publics. A communications channel capacity model was developed. Fourteen separate policies, combined to meet the stresses of increasing communications load, were identified. The varied effects of overloading upon spatial organization, physical equipment of central facilities, the decision pattern, morale, and the status structure are treated. Richard L. Meier is research social scientist in the Mental Health Research Institute and associate professor of conservation in the School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan.

The Impact of Governing Boards on Organizational Effectiveness and Morale

Abstract: This paper analyzes the impact of two governing boards on the effectiveness and morale of two state government wildlife management agencies. Participation in the decision-making process constitutes the core of the boards' performance; only secondarily do they engage in control activities, and they perform no economic role for the organizations. The boards' major function for effectiveness is service as a buffer group between the full-time staff and the public. With respect to dysfunctions for effectiveness, the boards act for the benefit of their home communities and require a sizable amount of attention from the staff to be kept informed on the problems of wildlife management. The staff is of the opinion that the boards create more contributions than problems with respect to effectiveness, and are basically satisfied with this system of authority.1 James Price is assistant professor, Department of Sociology, University of Oregon.

Forms of Government and Socioeconomic Characteristics of Suburbs

Abstract: In this study, 300 American suburbs are classified according to the three major forms of government: commission (considered to be most decentralized), mayor-council, and council-manager (most centralized). Various social and economic characteristics are then examined. The commission city is the least likely, and the council-manager city is the most likely, to be newer and to have a young, mobile, white, middleclass population that is growing rapidly. It is suggested that the socioeconomic character of a city may partly determine its political structure.' Leo F. Schnore is professor of sociology and Robert R. Alford is assistant professor of sociology, University of Wisconsin.

Some Effects of Organization Structure on Group Effectiveness

Abstract: This paper reports on experimental research conducted with small groups performing under three different organization structurestight, loose-written, and loose-oral. The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of structure on groups required to make decisions on relatively complex problems. Further refinements were made on work previously done on the effects of structure. The refinements consisted of an organizational structure and a problem which were more complex and more representative of industrial organizations. Another objective was to investigate and compare the performance of groups organized under a highly restricted (tight) structure against groups organized' under loose (loose-written and loose-oral) structures. The evidence indicates that different structures will initially have different effects on groups exposed' to the same problem. Eventually, however, all groups, regardless of structure will reach a level of performance that is approximately the same. Rocco Carzo, Jr., is associate professor of management, College of Business Administration, Pennsylvania State University.

The Representative Function: Neglected Dimension of Leadership Behavior

Abstract: This paper reports the results of an empirical test of the thesis that an adequate concept of leadership must include the performance of the leader in representing the interests of the group to higher organizational levels and to the organization's clientele. Two indexes were developed and incorporated into a Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire. Data from 872 elementary school teachers describing the behavior of 53 elementary school principals provided tentative support for the hypotheses.' R. Jean Hills is assistant professor of educational administration, Cornell University.

College Education and Moral Orientations: An Organizational Approach

Abstract: Although there is considerable empirical evidence that college-educated people have distinctive values and attitudes, existing research presents both positive and negative evidence that colleges serve as actual agents of moral socialization. To order these findings and generate research hypotheses, a typology of client-serving organizations is developed. This typology differentiates client-serving organizations which do and do not induct their clients into the organization. It further distinguishes among varieties of inducting organizations. By employing the typology it is possible to determine the extent to which these organizations can mobilize mechanisms of moral socialization and confront organizational problems lowering the effectiveness of these mechanisms. From this typological framework, a set of predictions about the differing moral impact of certain kinds of inducting organizations is derived, and their application to the study of colleges is discussed.' Charles E. Bidwell is assistant professor of education, University of Chicago and Rebecca S. Vreeland is assistant research sociologist, University Health Services, Harvard University.

An Analysis of Attitudes Toward a Planned Merger

Abstract: Questionnaire data from eighty-seven middle-management personnel in a bank planning a merger with a larger bank were analyzed.' Attitudes toward the merger tended to be unfavorable, although they ranged from very favorable to very unfavorable. Favorable attitudes were related to older age, lack of previous success in the organization, high morale, and high F-scale scores (authoritarianism). Unfavorable attitudes toward the merger seemed to be principally associated with: younger age, a pattern of success in the organization, low current morale, and low authoritarianism. Timothy W. Costello is professor of psychology and management, and Charles L. Shaffer is associate professor of management, in the Graduate School of Business Administration, New York University. Joseph F. Kubis i's professor of psychology in the Graduate School of Arts and Science, Fordham University.

Administrative practices in university departments

Abstract: This paper attempts to explain variation in the formalization of administrative practices current in the teaching departments of a large midwestern university. Variation was noted in the degree of formalization in the following practices: hiring procedures, evaluation of performers, and handling of unsatisfactory faculty members. This variation was analyzed to determine its relationship to: department size, frequency of decision making, department prestige, supply-demand ratio, and humanistic orientation. Frequency of decision making emerged as the most significant of these. Humanistic orientation was found to be associated with the subject matter taught by the department faculty and with degree of visibility of the training given by the department.' Eugene Haas is associate professor and Linda Collen is research assistant in the Department of Sociology, Ohio State University.

Work Assignment and Interpersonal Relations in a Research Organization: Some Participant Observations

Abstract: The research worker seeks to manage his interpersonal relations as a means to the end of getting a better work assignment, while at the same time his current assignment selectively structures his relations with others. The meaning of work and of relations with colleagues is understandably related to the technical and organizational imperatives characteristic of scientific research carried on in the setting of the large, specialized industrial unit. The newer conditions under which scientific research is practiced are having their effect on the social character of the scientist. It is no longer accurate to regard him simply as a professional man. These conclusions point to a need for certain revisions in conventional organization theory. F. William Howton is assistant professor of sociology, City College, New York.

Attraction, Autonomy, and Reciprocity in the Scientist-Supervisor Relationship

Abstract: This paper explores the basis of work integration between the scientist and his supervisor in an organization devoted to basic research.1 The analysis uses a three-dimensional model of role integration: 1) mutual attractiveness, why they get together; 2) reciprocity; and 3) autonomy, how they stabilize working together. The recognized competence in research of both parties is shown to be a source of mutual attraction, reciprocity in work and maintenance of autonomy. Barney G. Glaser is a research sociologist, University of California Medical Center, San Francisco.

Location of National Headquarters of Voluntary Associations

Abstract: The location of national headquarters of voluntary associations is examined, using data from several directories. New York, Washington, and Chicago, the three leading metropolitan centers, have nearly 60 per cent of all headquarters. Wide variations in location patterns are found, however, between and within different types of associations. These are studied in terms of the interaction between the functions of associations, distribution of members, and the differences in the social, economic, and political characteristics of urban areas. The influence of organizational function and urban specialization is examined through a case study of lobbying and its relation to location in Washington. Industrial differences among cities are found to influence the specific types of trade and business associations located in sixteen leading cities. Location of industrial associations in New York, however, is only slightly related to the industrial composition of that center. Stanley Lieberson is associate professor of sociology, University of Wisconsin; Irving L. Allen, Jr., is instructor of sociology, University of Connecticut.