Improving Managerial and Leadership Practice

1
Improving Managerial and Leadership Practice
MPA 8002 The Structure and Theory of Human
Organization Richard M. Jacobs, OSA, Ph.D.
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For Cuban (1992)...

• managing and leading organizations successfully
  requires differentiating...

problems
dilemmas
and
3
Problems...

• those recurring and frustrating glitches and
  snafus impeding smooth organizational
  functioning

• that hinder the process of achieving the
  organizations goals

4

• problems make managing and leading organizations
  a matter of...

identifying and selecting the technique(s)
promising to solve problem(s) in the most
efficient and effective manner
developing expertise in problem solving
5

• managers and leaders solve problems in practice
  episodes by using...

? structural theories of practice
? human resource theories of practice
? political theories of practice
? symbolic/cultural theories of practice
6

• managers and leaders also solve problems in
  practice episodes by using images of
  organization...

? machines
? politics
? organisms
? psychic prisons
? brains
? flux
? cultures
? domination
7

• unfortunately...

the same or similar problems recur in future
practice episodes
forcing managers and leaders to deal with these
problems yet another time
8

• while these managers and leaders are successful
  in ameliorating the symptoms of the problem(s)...

these managers and leaders are providing only
temporary palliatives for organizational
dysfunction
9

• with the result being frustration...

as the organization does not change
and as managers and leaders point the finger of
blame at other members of the organization
and followers accuse managers and leaders for
this quandary
10
Dilemmas...

• those conflicts of values embedded in and
  motivating recurring organizational problems

11

• dilemmas make managing and leading organizations
  a matter of...

recognizing the disease(s) manifest in the
symptom(s) of organizational dysfunction
challenging oneself and others to probe into and
beyond the problems for the deeper issue they
manifest
12

• managers and leaders resolve these fundamental
  issues by...

? focusing on organizational purpose and shared
values
? engaging in self change
? inculcating virtuous behavior
? modeling ethical and principled decision making
13

• to solve problems is not resolve an issue...

solutions are one-time, definitive actions
intended to repair problems
resolutions require a personal commitment to
deal over the long term with the value conflicts
implicit in organizational problems
14

• managers and leaders ameliorate the issues
  embedded in organizational problem(s)...

by building management and leadership density
within and throughout the organization
15

• with the result being normative compliance
  (Etzioni, 1975)...

as the organization gradually changes
as its members accept their managerial and
leadership responsibilities
and solve problems ethically
16
Management/leadership analogies...


solutions
problems
symptoms
as


dilemmas
resolutions
diseases
17


techniques
solutions
expertise
as


resolutions
virtues
character
18
Managing and leading ...

• involves reframing, but not in the sense
  advocated by Bolman Deal (1997)...

problems
dilemmas
as
solutions
resolutions
as
19

• while possessing a primary concern for...

virtues
techniques
not
character
not
expertise
20

• and endeavoring to foster...

management and leadership density
subservient and acquiescent functionaries
not
21

• where organizations become...

vibrant and purposive communities characterized
by shared values and genuine human relationships
demoralizing workplaces characterized by
impersonal rules and functional relationships
not
22

• whose members exude...

not
courage
fear
23

• because they are...

authentic characters
artificial clones
not
24

• and...

stand for something
rather than
standing for everything
25
McWhinney (1992) maintains that...

• dealing with the dilemmas embedded in practice
  episodes...

requires envisioning a pathway through a
minefield of competing and conflicting values
This pathway necessitates self change as managers
and leaders confront the antecedents to their
intentions and actions.
26
Envision a five-tier game of chess...

• where...

any move on a superordinate board
impacts further moves on subordinate boards
27

• managing and leading human organizations, then,
  is a matter of dealing with the dilemmas embedded
  in practice episodes...

by engaging in self change at superordinate
levels rather than trying to change others at
subordinate levels
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• the organizations foundation...

action
? where problems arise
? structural problems
? human resources problems
? political problems
? symbolic/cultural problems
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• overshadowing this foundation at a superordinate
  level...

power
? how problems are dealt with
? coercive
? remunerative
? normative
30
The action-power interaction...
power
This dynamic depicts how hierarchical
superordinates deal with most organizational
problems and conflict.
action
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• inherent in the exercise of power, thereby
  exerting superordinate normative authority are...

norms
? guidelines for action
? personal dispositions
? learned behaviors
? theories of practice
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Norms exert authority...
This interaction expands the exercise of power
beyond a person or office by referencing
authoritative guidelines. It provides insight
into the normative dimensions of politics in
organizations.
norms
power
action
33

• implicit in normative authority is a...

worldview
? a milieu defining perspectives
? educational background
? social background
? religious background
? economic background
? historical background
34
A worldview frames expectations...
worldview
This dynamic offers insight into the origins of
the dilemmas manifesting themselves in
organizations. Conflict is a contest of values
implicit in each worldview.
norms
power
action
35

• at the foundation of authority are perceptions
  about...

truth
? ideas about the good
? philosophical/ethical ideas
? religious/moral ideas
36
truth
? ideas about good
worldview
? a milieu defining perspectives
norms
? guidelines for action
power
? how problems are dealt with
action
? where problems arise
37
Whats in an individuals point of view...
This dynamic exemplifies the intransigent
position people in organizations oftentimes
adopt. It also highlights the nature of
substantive organizational change, namely, the
courage to engage in self change through
reflective practice.
truth
worldview
norms
power
action
38
Organizational change involves...
truth
worldview

• self change...

confronting ones antecedents
norms
considering alternative views
power
probing beyond ones comfortable status quo
action
39
truth
worldview

• in order that...

norms
power
action
40
The challenge for managers and leaders

• to probe ones experience to discern whats
  transpiring within oneself as well as within the
  organization

41

• the process of self change at the heart of
  organizational change can be likened to an
  onion...

? peeling away the outer skins and layers
(actions, power, norms, worldview, truth)
? to reveal the inner core (character)
? to change as necessary (maturity)
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• requires...

character
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Especially a character who...

• confronts the diseases afflicting the
  organization...

not simply ameliorating the symptoms
The moral art (Barnard, 1938), evident in ones
abiding commitment to organizational purpose...
44

• anticipates conflict...

and bears responsibility for the forces
unleashed by ones plan for organizational change
...while remaining flexible in terms of the
strategy for organizational change.
45

• allows chance, surprise, and serendipity...

to challenge ones thinking
In much the same way that people with divergent
truths can be looked upon as interesting rather
than as foes to be conquered through
organizational warfare and the clever use of
power.
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Reflective practice (Sergiovanni, 1989)...

• is constructed on the reality that professional
  knowledge is different from scientific knowledge

• and accounts for the fact that there are no
  unitary theories or skills to manage and lead
  human organizations successfully

In contrast, improving management and leadership
practice requires personal knowledge and a
willingness to develop the maturity necessary for
one to make virtuous decisions and to do right
things.
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References

• Barnard, C. I. (1938/1968). The functions of
  the executive. Cambridge, MA Harvard University
  Press.
• Bolman, L. G., Deal, T. E. (1997). Reframing
  organizations Artistry, choice and leadership
  (2nd edition). San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Cuban, L. (1992). Managing dilemmas while
  building professional communities. Educational
  Researcher, 21(1), 4-11.
• Etzioni, A. (1975). A comparative analysis of
  complex organizations. New York Free Press.
• McWhinney, W. (1992). Paths of change
  Strategic choices for organizations and society.
  Newbury Park, CA Sage Publications.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (1989). Informing
  professional practice in educational
  administration. Journal of Educational
  Administration, 27(2), p. 186.