Overview of Managing Public & Nonprofit Org.

Overview of Managing Public & Nonprofit Org. • Catastrophies such as 9/11 and Katrina underscore the importance of effective organization and management of public organizations • However, we are ambivalent about government…it’s a love-hate relationship often influenced by ideology

What is Management? • Many different perspectives and frameworks for studying management • We will focus on organization theory and behavior from a public perspective • Our basic framework will examining the structures, processes and people of public and nonprofit organizations • See p. 18 of Rainey for a broad definition of an organization

Course Topics • Foundational theories • Environment and networks • Forms of organizing • Leadership, power & org. culture • Motivation • Communication & conflict • “New” governance

The Study of Management is Important! • Consider rise of MPA programs like UNCW • Need to address nonprofits as well as government orgs (QENO) • Management as a second profession

Major Schools of Thought • Purpose of studying management is to build your “conceptual tool kit” – that is, provide multiple frameworks or perspectives for understanding orgs. and situations. Examples: • Scientific Management Theory • Administrative Management Theory

Major Schools of Thought • Human Relations Theory • Human Resources Theory • Systems Theory • Quality Management Theory • Organizational Culture & Leadership Theory

Learning from Experience • We will learn about management by integrating theory (Rainey & Tompkins) and practice (Ashworth and each other). • Observe your bosses carefully -- learn from both the good and the bad -- importantly, tell them what they need to know, not what they want to hear (tactfully!)

Learning from Experience • Ethics must be the foundation for practice -- first, trust your instincts (don’t ignore discomfort) -- second, draw on multiple sources of guidance for how to conduct yourself (upbringing, faith, loyalty to superiors and organization, history, personal conscience) -- for public service career, look particularly close to “democratic and constitutional imperative” (p. 165 in Ashworth)

Learning from Experience • Develop a persona like an egg with a semi-porous shell • There is a substantial universality of experience in public service that transcends geography or agency • You are permitted to get frustrated, but never thoroughly discouraged or disenchanted

Learning from Experience • You can’t learn unless you get into the fray! • Stretch your comfort zone…take on new tasks or challenges that scare you a bit!

Foundational Theories • The Systems Metaphor -- inputs, throughputs, outputs -- feedback (single vs. double-loop) -- closed vs. open or adaptive systems • Frederick Taylor and Scientific Management -- each task can be broken down and “one best way” discovered to attain most efficient process

Foundational Theories • Max Weber and the Ideal Bureaucracy -- based on legal and rational forms of authority rather than tradition or charisma-based -- focus on hierarchical lines of authority, rules, consistency, specialized expertise, stability -- raised concerns about need for individual freedom, creativity, flexibility

Foundational Theories • Administrative Management School: Principles of Administration -- POSDCORB -- span of control (between 6-10 subordinates) -- one master for each subordinate -- clear delegation and accountability -- task homogeneity – dissimilar tasks should not be grouped together -- significant contribution, but what about people?

Foundational Theories • Mary Parker Follett and the Law of the Situation -- the “giving of orders’ should be based on a shared understanding between superiors and subordinates of the particular situations and what it requires • Hawthorne Studies: Discovery of Human Beings in the Workplace -- social situation and psychology matters

Foundational Theories • Chester Barnard and The Importance of the Executive -- leaders induce and coordinate key cooperative activities -- incentives matter, not just money but also power, prestige, fulfillment of ideals -- leaders are key in shaping organization culture -- the informal organization is as important to understand as the formal structure

Foundational Theories • Herbert Simon and Bounded Rationality -- focus on how decisions are made in organizations -- strictly rational decisions and choices are impossible in complex situations -- administrators “satisfice” or choose the best of a limited set of alternatives within the constraints of limited information and time

Foundational Theories • Kurt Lewin and Organizational Change -- groups and individuals maintain a “quasi- stationary equilibrium” in their attitudes and behaviors -- equilibrium results from a balance between forces pressing for change and those pressing against change (basis for force field analysis) -- must unfreeze and refreeze

Foundational Theories • Organizational Development -- Action research -- Participative decision making (PDM) • Human Relations School -- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs -- McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

Foundational Theories • Contingency Theory -- organizations are open systems that respond to social, economic and technological imperatives (Tavistock Institute) -- successful firms must have internal structures as complex as their environments (Lawrence & Lorsch) -- organizations tend to be organic or mechanistic (Burns & Stalker)

Distinctive Context of Public Management • Fragmented Authority -- multiple masters • Open and Responsive Decision Process -- operating in a “goldfish bowl” • Ambiguous and Intangible Goals -- difficult to define and control success

Distinctive Context of Public Management • Procedural Constraints -- emphasis on accountability restrains managerial discretion • Political Constraints -- numerous stakeholders with varying levels of influence depending on the issue -- places premium on negotiating, conflict resolution and coalition-building skills

Distinctive Context of Nonprofit Management • Working With/Under a Board • Funding Constraints -- grants, foundations, donors • Mission-Driven vs. Money-Driven • Competition vs. Collaboration • Managing volunteers

Distinctiveness of Public Management • Working with Politicians -- very current-issue oriented -- they are on top -- a manager must keep professional distance and avoid inserting personal views -- their world is trade-offs, swapping, making deals, comprising -- you must be focused when you need them -- you must be willing to “be the fireplug”

Distinctiveness of Public Management • Working with the Press -- consider them another branch of government -- be very careful about “off the record” comments (the recorder is always on!) -- consider their point of view -- be brief; try to boil down complex issues -- don’t make assumptions about what they know -- don’t let them control the interview…know the one or two points you want to make and bore in

Environment of Public Organizations • Environmental scanning can be an effective tool for understanding organizational structure & behavior: -- technological conditions -- legal conditions -- political conditions -- economic conditions

Environment of Public Organizations • Environmental scanning (cont’d): -- demographic conditions -- ecological conditions -- cultural conditions • Organizations are impacted by their environments but can enact their own environment as well

Environment: Key Concepts • Turbulence and interconnectedness characterize the environments of most public organizations. • Organizations can adapt their structures in response to their environment, or they can change their niches. -- huge issue with nonprofits!

Environment: Key Concepts • Efficiency not necessarily the highest priority in the design of U.S. government -- external authorities, the media, interest groups and citizens also demand effectiveness, timeliness, reliability, and reasonableness -- remember the three E’s: efficiency, effectiveness and equity; sometimes uncomfortable bedfellows!

Competing Values Framework • How to make sense out of all the different org. theories and perspectives in a way that us useful toward understanding org. and org. behavior? • Quinn & Rohrbaugh suggest it boils down to the specific criteria or values being used to assess…and they all are important depending on the context.

Competing Values: Focus • Internal concernwith well-being of employees • External concernfor the well-being of the organization

Competing Values:Structure • Concern for flexibility and change • Concern for stability and control

Competing Values Framework • Parsons: to be a viable “social system” an organization is subject to “functional imperatives”: • Adaptive Function -- acquire resources and adjust to forces in external environment • Goal Attainment Function -- develop plans and direct their accomplishment

Competing Values Framework • Integrative Function -- coordinate the work activities toward goals • Pattern Maintenance Function -- ensure continued commitment of members • Tension Management Function -- iron out tensions that inevitably arise

Competing Values Framework • Means-oriented values -- cohesion, morale, communication, planning, goal-setting • Ends-oriented values -- growth, resource acquisition, productivity

Competing Values Framework • When these three dimensions are juxtaposed, they reveal four competing models of org. effectiveness: -- human relations model (Quadrant 1) -- open systems model (Quadrant 2) -- rational goal model (Quadrant 3) -- internal process model (Quadrant 4)

Competing Values Framework • Contradictions abound between different values and frameworks • However, organizations face such competition among values • Successful managers must balance or concurrently manage competing values • Consider how Blast in Centralia case illustrates…

Focus on Goal Attainment (Q3) • Rational Goal Model • Importance of planning & goal setting • Focus on productivity & efficiency • Leadership role is Director & Producer

Focus on Goal Attainment (Q3) • Organizations are goal-directed, purposive entities. • A basic assumption is that public organizations will perform better if the people in them clarify their goals and measure progress against them. • Reflects the huge investment in stating goals and performance measures.

Focus on Goal Attainment (Q3) • Roots of rational goal model are in the Scientific Management, Administrative Management, and Bureaucratic Theories • Critical managerial task of a Director is to set clear goals, plan, measure against them, and hold people accountable for the results

Focus on Goal Attainment (Q3) • However, in the public and nonprofit sectors, goal setting is a huge challenge -- no “bottom line” like private sector • For example, goals can be ambiguous, multiple, and conflicting -- result can be debilitating for employees

Focus on Goal Attainment (Q3) • Major tool for addressing the goal challenge is Strategic Planning & Management • Key elements: -- establishing clear vision and mission -- conducting SWOT analysis -- identifying key strategic issues -- identifying short & long-term goals in support

Focus on Internal Processes (Q4) • Importance of information management and communication • Focus on stability and control • Leadership role is Coordinator & Monitor

Focus on Internal Processes (Q4) • Roots of internal processes model is bureaucratic theory • Basic assumption is that organizational performance is enhanced by maximizing rationality through -- fixed official duties, hierarchy of authority, system of rules, task specialization and written documentation

Focus on Internal Processes (Q4) • Critical managerial task as a Coordinator & Monitor is to supervise in a top-down manner, ensure the standardization of work processes & skills, integrate the efforts of work groups, and ensure legal compliance with rules and regulations.

Focus on Internal Processes (Q4) • The focus on internal processes is critical, but the bureaucratic model presents serious challenges: -- emphasis on impersonal application of rules & procedures (creates alienation or anomie) -- dehumanizing impact on workers -- specialization & hierarchy creates communication obstacles & narrow sense of responsibility -- institutional rigidity and goal displacement

Focus on Internal Processes (Q4) • Tools that address the challenges of bureaucracy are adjusting organizational structures and organizing through work groups or teams • Different org. structures include: -- by function -- by program, product or service -- by matrix, client or process (see Graham & Hays reading)

Focus on Internal Processes (Q4) • Focus on groups or teams came about because they influence communication and conflicts among their members and between themselves and other groups. • Groups & teams also seen as a way of dealing with the problems created by bureaucracy

Focus on Internal Processes (Q4) • Group participation in decision making can enhance the quality of decisions and acceptance of change within an organization (SNF stages) • Groups can bring more knowledge, info, and approaches than individuals • Groups can provide sense of belonging or cohesion within an impersonal bureaucracy

Focus on Internal Processes (Q4) • A well-documented problem with groups is Groupthink, or tendency towards unconscious conformity by members…symptoms are: -- stereotyping the opposition, overestimating one’s own position, stifling dissent • See Rainey (p. 338) for tips to avoid this phenomenon

Focus on Human Relations (Q1) • Importance of cohesion and morale • Focus on human resource development • Leadership role is Mentor & Facilitator

Overview of Managing Public & Nonprofit Org.