MODULE 3 ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand purpose of organizations Understand...
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Transcript of MODULE 3 ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand purpose of organizations Understand...
MODULE 3ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand purpose of
organizations
Understand basic organizational
design
Awareness of line/staff relations Awareness of
advantages/disadvantages of different organizational designs for Public Works
ORGANIZATION - defined
An organization is a grouping of individuals and resources
for the purpose of achieving a set of common, defined goals
and objectives, and whose interaction is based on
structured relationships and processes.
Basic Organizational Design
Define the goals and objectives (“the
Work”)
Break work into similar tasks
Balance workload
Assign people to do the work
Assign someone to manage the work
Assign People to Do the Work
Pick people with appropriate skill set Make sure they understand purpose
and importance
Provide them with the resources to do
the work
Assign Someone to Manage the Work
Create authority - power to act, make decisions, give directions
Create responsibility - obligation to get work done
Create accountability - being responsible to higher power
Provide the Resources to do the work Good people and good management
can only do so much without the resources.
Unfortunately, the better the people and the management, the longer they can create the illusion of doing the work without proper resources.
Centralizing vs. Decentralizing
Centralize when: Work involves recurring,
familiar tasks
Uniformity is important
Qualified central staff is
available
Decentralize
when: Need flexibility in
response
Need innovation
Have trusted
subordinates
Geography requires it
Span of Control
How many different activities do you
manage
How good are your subordinates
How good are your reporting and control
systems Tolerance for mistakes – you and your
department head/City Manager
How many people report to you
“Tall” OrganizationsDepartment Head
Asst Dept Head
Deputy Dept. Head
Division Manager
Section Head
Supervisor
Line Staff
Deputy Dept. Head
Division Manager
Section Head
Supervisor
Line Staff
“Flat” Organizations
Department Head
Division Head
Division Head
Division Head
Division Head
Human Factors in Organizing
Affinity
Pecking order
Titles
Need for independence
Separating conflicting personalities
Traditional / Functional
Public Works
Streets UtilitiesFacilities &
FleetEngineerin
gTraffic
Each group focuses on a specific piece of the infrastructure and/or a specific function
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths• Specialization• Technical control• Continuity• Well established
communications• Single boss
Weaknesses• “Center of universe”• Complex
coordination• Slow to innovate• Multi-point
customer contact
Traditional / Functional Organization
Which Structure Gets Used
Mission
Size of organization
Uniqueness of activities
Geography
Personnel
Management team
Political considerations
THE EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC WORKS ORGANIZATIONS Driven by changes in the mission
From a focus on expansion to a focus on sustainability
From a focus on system performance to customer service
Also driven by social and economic changes From domineering and arrogant to democratic
and transparent From result consciousness to social
consciousness
Traditional public works organization (also typical for most smaller agencies)
PUBLICWORKS
DIRECTOR
OPERATIONSSTREET AND OTHER
MAINTENANCEENGINEERING ADMINISTRATION
CHARACTERISTICS OF TRADITIONAL PW ORG Infrastructure systems are viewed in their
totality, with recognition of the life cycle costs of these systems by engineers designing them.
Members of the organization tend to be multi-dimensional – an engineer who could not only check the work of others but perform design work (and also operate a backhoe!); a maintenance worker who was just as comfortable spreading a new layer of asphalt on a road as he was fixing a water pump and restoring water service; a traffic engineer who was just as comfortable adjusting signal timing in a controller cabinet as he was reviewing a traffic study.
REASONS WHY PW ORGANIZATIONS HAVE CHANGED
Proliferation of laws and regulations and certification requirements related to infrastructure management
Requirements for Environmental review and Sustainability of public works projects
Changing political environment with emphasis on more open and transparent governance
Emphasis on Customer Service as the driving force in the delivery of public works services rather than long term preventative maintenance programs.
Public scrutiny and public activism, bringing into question the rationale behind public works improvement strategies and questioning decisions based solely on technical and economic considerations.
Changing public attitude towards funding of all public services and accompanying tax revolts in many states.
PW ORG TRANSITIONDivisional structure of public works organization (typical
in larger agencies). PUBLIC WORKS
WORKS
ENGINEERING OPERATIONSFINANCE &
ADMINISTRATION
ENGINEERING
ARCHITECTURE
CONSTRUCTIONMANAGEMENT
SUBDIVISION & NEW
DEVELOPMENTMAPPING
STREETS AND SEWERS
BUILDINGS
FLEET
PERSONNEL
ACCOUNTING
UTILITIES
PW ORG TRANSITION Divisional structure of public works organization
“flattened” for more direct supervision by department head.
DEPTHEAD
DIVISIONHEADENG’G
DIVISIONHEAD
UTILITIES
DIVISIONHEADNEW
DEVELOP
DIVISIONHEADADMIN
DIVISIONHEAD
DIVISIONHEAD
CAPITALPROJECTS
DIVISIONHEAD
BLDG &FLEET
ALTERNATIVE PW ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
Engineering as a sub-group within the Community Development Department (or Planning) – a preferred arrangement in cities where new development was a high priority and engineers in the traditional arrangement seen as being intransigent and inflexible with respect to public improvement standards
ALTERNATIVE PW ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
Maintenance and Engineering split into two separate Departments :
Seen as a way of making maintenance more responsive to city management priority setting, and less prone to follow prescribed standards for preventative maintenance at the expense of the more customer service oriented “reactive” maintenance.
ALTERNATIVE PW ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
Water and Sewer Utilities, as separate departments:
Unlike street and drainage maintenance which deals with fixed systems that accommodate human activity, these services involve collecting or delivering, transporting, treating and disposing of the byproducts of human activity (or, in the case of water, an essential commodity that is required for human activity). These activities are highly regulated, and are usually supported not by general taxes, but by fees charged in proportion to the amount of “product” delivered or removed. The education, skills and certifications required in these areas tend to be more stringently regulated.
ALTERNATIVE PW ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
Transportation as a separate department : In urbanized areas in particular, more road
building is no longer seen as a desirable or feasible solution to transportation problems. What used to be a civil engineering exercise involving design and construction of highways, roads and bridges now involves a more holistic approach to finding solutions to traffic problems. These solutions range from neighborhood traffic calming to demand management through such techniques as encouraging alternative modes, car pooling, etc.
Use of Organization Charts
Shows big picture – who’s in charge of
what
Shows relationships
Shows lines of authority
Gives your IT Department stuff to do
Makes it appear like you know what your
department is doing at budget time
When Do You Reorganize?
Good reasons:
Improve efficiency
Change in mission
Only when there is a purpose
Not such good reasons:
Change in city management
Change in public works management
Creating High Performance Organizations Leaders must channel their egos away from
themselves and into the larger goal of building a great organization. They are incredibly ambitious, but their ambition is focused on creating a great organization…..not themselves.
Great leaders have the ability to get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. People are not your most important asset…..the right people are.
Creating High Performance Organizations (cont’d)
In determining the right people…..more important to consider character attributes vs. specific educational background, practical experience, or work experience. Personal dimensions like character, work ethic, intelligence, dedication to fulfilling commitments and values should drive selecting your organizations staff.
Creating High Performance Organizations (cont’d)
People at all levels feel personally responsible for creating the organizations culture and serving the needs of the customers vs. serving one’s personal self interest
People at all levels need to be accountable for the well-being of the organization vs. the belief that those at the top are responsible and accountable for the success of the organization.
Creating High Performance Organizations (cont’d)
Clear understanding of core business
Create a governance system which creates a strong sense of ownership and responsibility for outcomes
Beliefs and attitudes need to change…..if there is not transformation inside each of us, all the structural changes in the world will have no impact on our institutions