Showing papers on "Organizational effectiveness published in 1982"

Managing Organizational Behavior

Abstract: The field of organizational behaviour organization structure and design organization culture learning and personality attitudes, perceptions and judgement career choice and development motivation theories applications of motivation theories stress group formation, development and structure group dynamics communication decision-making conflict in organizations influence, power and politics in organizations leadership organization change and development organizational behaviour in the global context.

Human service organizations

Abstract: 1. The Ubiquity of Human Service Organizations 2. Theoretical Approaches to Human Service Organizations 3. Organization-Environment Relations 4. Organizational Goals 5. Organizational 6. Technology 7. Structure, Power, and Control 8. Client-Organization Relations 9. Assessment of Organizational Performance 10. Changing Human Service Organizations References.

Input uncertainty and organizational coordination in hospital emergency units.

Abstract: The relationships among input uncertainty, means of coordination, and criteria of the organizational effectiveness of hospital emergency units were explored using data from 30 emergency units in six midwestern states. Input uncertainty generally was not associated with the use of various means of coordination. However, input uncertainty affected relationships between the means of coordination and the effectiveness criteria. Specifically, programmed means of coordination made a greater contribution to organizational effectiveness under conditions of low uncertainty than under conditions of high uncertainty. Conversely, nonprogrammed means of coordination made a greater contribution to organizational effectiveness when uncertainty was high than when it was low. Findings were interpreted and suggestions were advanced as to how emergency units might best solve their coordination problems under varying conditions of uncertainty.

Turnover Overstated: The Functional Taxonomy

Abstract: The issue is the measurement of turnover. The traditional reliance on a metric derived from a dichotomy which describes turnover as either voluntary or involuntary has the clear effect of overstating the gravity of turn-over for any organization. It also serves to perpetuate the notion that voluntary turnover invariably is detrimental to the organization. A taxonomy, which introduces the notions of functional turnover and managerial control that may reduce this tendency, is suggested. Implications for practitioners and organizational theorists are discussed.

Industrial Firms' Grand Strategy and Functional Importance: Moderating Effects of Technology and Uncertainty

Abstract: The impact of four grand strategies on the relative importance of seven organizational functions and the moderating effects of type of production system and perceived environmental uncertainty were...

Consulting is more than giving advice

Abstract: Of all the relationships that executives enter into with outsiders, perhaps none is so tainted by misunderstanding as the engagement of management consultants. To executives, consultants may seem concerned mainly with prolonging their assignments and unable to appreciate the practicalities of managerial issues. Conversely, consultants may see their clients as short-sighted and lacking the backbone necessary to make important decisions. How can such stereotypes be done away with? By starting at the beginning of the assignment. Mr. Turner maintains that if managers and outside advisers work out in advance what is expected of each party during their work together, the chances of solving problems are improved. He suggests that managers and consultants structure the engagement according to a hierarchy of goals--which proceeds from the most basic objective, providing information, to the most sophisticated, permanent improvement of organizational effectiveness. The best way to move up that hierarchy is for executives and advisers to work together to identify needs and develop solutions.

Conceptual Issues of Linkage in the Assessment of Organizational Performance

Abstract: Current perspectives on the assessment of organization performance assume that organizations exhibit a oneness of structure and that the linkages among characteristics of organizations are rational. This paper examines the validity of these assumptions and their implications for assessing organization performance.

The Performance Appraisal Interview: A Review, Implications, and Suggestions

Abstract: Research on the performance appraisal interview was reviewed in the context of recent performance appraisal models. Three factors seem consistently useful for producing effective interviews: superior's knowledge of the subordinate's job and performance, superior's support of the subordinate, and welcoming the subordinate's participation. The appropriate function, frequency, and format of the interview, as well as goal setting and actual subordinate participation, depend on characteristics of the employee and job.

Maintaining organizational effectiveness during organizational retrenchment.

Abstract: Organizational changes usually imply work force changes. The method used to make personnel changes can reduce organizational effectiveness, particularly in terms of productivity and turnover. This paper describes and assesses an action research program to alter an organization's procedures for achieving work force changes in response to a declining environmental niche. Evaluation research was conducted to assess the consequences of existing procedures, and the resulting data were reported in dollar terms to demonstrate more effectively their negative impact on the organization. A demonstration program, subsequently evaluated as successful, provided the model for change. The paper examines the difficulty of establishing the revised procedures, the unintended side effects, the generalizability of the experience, and the social values underlying the approach.

Constituent Views of Organizational Effectiveness: Evidence from Police Organizations

Abstract: The effectiveness of police organizations is measured by 10 criteria. Numerous complex relationships are found among the criteria, many of which are organizationally and theoretically relevant. Som...

The Relationship Between Faculty Unionism and Organizational Effectiveness

Abstract: In a study of colleges and universities, unionized institutions are found to be less effective than nonunionized institutions on eight of nine dimensions of effectiveness. Statistically significant...

The Kilmann and Herden Model of Organizational Effectiveness Criteria for Small Business Managers

Abstract: Kilmann and Herden hypothesized that the conceptualization of organizational effectiveness criteria would be a function of problem solving style. In a sample of 150 managers of small businesses, th...

Effectiveness in professional organizations: the impact of surgeons and surgical staff organizations on the quality of care in hospitals.

Abstract: In this research, we examine the relative importance of different structural units in a professional organization, the hospital, as they affect organizational effectiveness The difficulties of measuring effectiveness in a complex professional organization are discussed, and an adjusted measure of surgical outcome is developed Data are drawn from a prospective study of over 8,000 surgical patients treated by more than 500 surgeons in 15 hospitals throughout the nation Two different types of analyses are presented, both indicating that hospital features have more impact on surgical outcomes than do surgeon characteristics The second analysis assesses the relative importance of specific attributes of the hospital, surgical staff organization, and surgeon characteristics on surgical outcomes

A review of the literature and an annotated bibliography on managing decline in school systems

Abstract: This review of the literature focuses on the effects of enrollment and fiscal decline on local school district management' and also looks at the effects of local districts' policy responses to decline. The review't five sections 'includean overview of the kinds . of literature available on decline; a summary%of the main policy issues identified in the literature; a codification of the professional consensus on how best to manage decline; a review and summary of the/research literature on'local school systems' management of and adjustments to decline; and a discussion of*the 'policy implications of those research findings, paying special attention to the trade-offs between the requirements of technical rationality and the political constraints facing declining school systems,. The review is based on a comprehensive search of the literature in the ERIC witedthrough July 1981 and serves as the first report in a 15monthproject that will produce a handbook in August 1982 on the r4nasement of decline in school systems." An extensive `annotated biography of 250 items, including 28 reports doCumenting local school districts' responses to decline, accompanies the review. (Author/PGD)

Organizational Competence as a Predictor of Long Run Survival and Growth

Abstract: The subjective evaluation of an organization's effectiveness (or competence) by its top executives was found to be an excellent predictor of the subsequent survival and growth of the organization. ...

The Cyclical Nature of Decision Making An Exploratory Empirical Investigation

Abstract: As group decision making becomes more popular as a vehicle for making decisions in organizations, the lack of knowledge about effective and efficient decision practices becomes increasingly apparent. Literature in small group behavior suggests that although groups are less efficient than individuals in making decisions, they are often more effective (Hare, 1976; Vroom and Yetton, 1973). In addition, participation in decision making tends to increase commitment to the decision made (Granvold, 1978; Kadushin, 1976). Consequently it may be reasonable to assume that cooperative decision making will continue to increase as a pivotal factor in the functioning of most organizations. While the outcomes of group decisions may have been found to be effective, the processes leading to them appear to be less than

Assessing the effects of industrial relations and quality of working life : effects on organizational effectiveness

Abstract: This study assesses the relationships among industrial relations system characteristics, quality of working life improvement efforts, and selected measures of organizational effectiveness in twenty-five manufacturing plants between 1970 and 1980. Theoretical propositions are developed by integrating research on organizational behavior, industrial relations, and micro-economics. Thereby, the importance of linking concepts and analytical techniques from these fields is illustrated. The paper also emphasizes the need for professionals within organizations to develop better data systems in order to track the effects of experiments in organizational change on industrial relations performance and organizational effectiveness. The empirical results show strong connections between measures of industrial relations system performance and organizational effectiveness and more limited support for the hypothesis that quality of working life efforts improve organizational effectiveness.

Industrial Compliance with Social Legislation: Investigations of Decision Rationales

Abstract: A model of compliance behavior and a research paradigm for testing the model's validity in organizational settings are presented. The model seeks to determine whether compliance decisions are based on normative or calculative criteria and whether such rationales are individual or organizational in origin. Studies that have tested the model are reviewed. They provide support for the general approach and also insight into specific legislation decision rationales.

The Ethics of MBO

Abstract: Despite the widespread adoption of Management by Objectives (MBO) and its extensive coverage in the literature, few questions have been raised regarding the ethical issues involved in this form of management Points in the MBO process that are particularly likely to create ethical problems for organizational members are identified, and some means that management can use to increase the likelihood that its MBO program will be conducted in an ethical manner are suggested

Organization development methods in the management of the information systems function

Abstract: The work presented in this article relates directly to perhaps the most serious problem facing the Information Systems manager in a large, complex organization today, namely how to plan and manage in a rapidly changing, high-demand, resource-limited environment. The article describes an organizational change effort undertaken within a major data processing organization to seek improvements in four broad areas: data center production performance, responsiveness of the systems development activity, management control and decision making, and long range and operational planning processes. Much of the change effort involved activities and tasks which were defined and implemented using Organizational Development (OD) methods. OD involves the application of behavioral science knowledge in a collaborative and participative process in response to some perceived need within the organization. It is a planned and systematic way to alter patterns of organizational behavior. The general change strategy utilized is described along with specific examples of particular OD techniques, those which worked well and those which did not. Finally the article presents some observations as to why OD methods are important to Information Systems (IS) managers. OD methods are powerful skills and tools for working change of the most important kind, namely change in organizational and group behavior. As the primary agent for change in the corporation, IS managers can employ these methods to make the IS organization more responsive to the needs of the business. More importantly they can bring these same skills to bear on the larger problem of helping their corporation adjust to change, facilitating and leveraging that change in ways which mere technology cannot accomplish

Organization structure and the effectiveness of public agencies

Abstract: There is little consensus about the impact of various organization structures on organization effectiveness. The most notable characteristic of empirical research on the purposes of this assessment is to develop some under-standing of the reasons structure/effectiveness research continues to disappoint. The more important barriers to research progress include: (1) a continued reliance on “blackbox empiricism;” (2) underspecified models ; (3) measurement discontinuities ; (4) sampling complexities; (5) conceptual problems pertaining to aggregation; and (6) basic methodological and statistical errors. In addition to reviewing these problems, this study presents a propositional inventory of structure/effectiveness research and assesses the evidence that has accumulated. Special attention is given to problems involved in the application of findings in a public sector setting. Finally, it is argued that a current primitive state-of-the-art is such that the best approach to applied structure/effectiveness resea...

Organizational Change Efforts: Methodologies for Assessing Organizational Effectiveness and Program Costs Versus Benefits

Abstract: This article presents two methodologies for evaluating organizational effectiveness and program costs versus benefits in organizational change programs. The first methodology describes the development of a standardized approach for identifying, defining, and measuring indicators of work behavior and performance that fit a broader concept of organizational effectiveness than traditional production and financial outcomes. The second methodology describes methods used to estimate the costs and benefits of work innovation or change programs, in terms of both economic and social utility. A framework for assessing organizational change is provided from which behavior and financial results can be estimated and compared with program costs to develop a cost-benefit ratio. Both methodologies are used to monitor and assess an extensive longitudinal quality of work life experiment.