Topic 3 Administrative Behaviour

1. What really takes place in an organisation cannot be understood if one does not know
what kinds of decisions are made, who participates in making them and what their exact role
is. Identify the context and elaborate on decision-making in organisations.
2. DM is essentially problem solving in nature. Comment.
3. Elaborate the different approaches to decision-making.
4. What is the significance of decision-making in organisation? Why do administrators shirk
their decision making job?
5. Decision making is essentially problem solving in nature. Comment.
6. Decision making is a cooperative activity. Comment.

Answers
Answer 1
Statement by Nigro
Answer 4
Simon regards it as the heart of management
The organisations nature and goals depend on the decisions taken by the management
It is through the decisions that one can understand what is happening in an organisation
Very important in public administration because it decides the public policy
Its a very important part but by no means the whole of it: the central point is the policy,
decisions are only a means to it.
Due to the welfare nature of many public policies, the administrators need to take quick and
most appropriate decisions.
Shirk because
o Existence of excessive problems to solve
o Lack of time
o Lack of technical competence
o Fear of going wrong
Answer 5
DM involves a conscious choice of one alternative from among a group of two or more
behaviour alternatives.
To decide about a matter means to come to a conclusion about that
Hence, decision making may involve choosing the best course of action in a given situation
or problem
It is in this sense that DM is problem solving in nature.
Answer 6

Notes
Motivation
ERG Content
Achievement - content
Goal setting theory - Process
Set goals
Low self-efficacy
High self efficacy
Feedback
Reinforcement theory - process
Addition to goal setting
Extrinsic factors also decide self-efficacy
Cognitive Evaluation - process
Addition to herzberg
Extrinsic factors affect intrinsic factors
Job design theory - content
Five characteristics of a job that motivate
o Skill variety
o Task identity: is the task complete
o Task significance
o Autonomy
o Feedback
Depending on these 5 characteristics, first three bring sense of meaning to the job,
autonomy brings responsibility, feedback brings knowledge
Based on this he gives the formula for motivation potential score
o avg of first three * autonomy * feedback
o Higher the score, more the motivation
Social Information processing theory
Job design theory does not take into account the variability from individual to individual
Equity theory - process
Individual in jobs experience a sense of equity or inequity depending on their contribution
and reward
When contribution < reward, inequity. Over paid inequity and underpaid
4 types of process to establish equity
o Self-insight: put yourself in other positions in the same organisaton
o Self-outsight: other positions in other organisation
o Others insight: compare with other people
o Others outsight: compare with other people in other organisation.
They move towards equity in six ways
o Change input
o Change output
o Change perception of self
o Change perception of others
o Change the reference point
o Change the situation
Based on distributive justice
Revised on the basis of procedural justice later
Porter and Lauler (Potter and LOLer) - Process
Effort depends on the perception about performance
Effort need not necessarily lead to performance
For effort to convert to performance you should have the ability and role perception
Performance gives rewards
o All rewards dont motivate
o There are intrinsic and extrinsic rewards
o Only intrinsic motivate
o This is called perceived reward probability
Performance gives you satisfaction. (performance depends on satisfaction is invalid)
o So for him its a two way thing
<get more clarity>
Morale
Psychological state of highness or lowness
It is critical to efficiency of the org
Factors affecting morale
o Personnel management techniques and processes
o Human relations
o Organisational environment


Decision making
Garbage can model

"Garbage Can" Model [GARBAGE CAN MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CHOICE]:
was developed in reference to "ambiguous behaviors", i.e.
explanations/interpretations of behaviors which at least appear to
contradict classical theory. The G.C.M. was greatly influenced by the
realization that extreme cases of aggregate uncertainty in decision
environments would trigger behavioral responses which, at least from a
distance, appear "irrational" or at least not in compliance with the
total/global rationality of "economic man" (e.g. "act first, think later").
The G.C.M. was originally formulated in the context of the operation of
universities and their many inter-departmental communications
problems.....
The garbage can model tried to expand organizational decision theory
into the then uncharted field of organizational anarchy which is
characterized by "problematic preferences", "unclear technology" and
"fluid participation". "The theoretical breakthrough of the garbage can
model is that it disconnects problems, solutions and decision makers
from each other, unlike traditional decision theory. Specific decisions do
not follow an orderly process from problem to solution, but are
outcomes of several relatively independent stream of events within the
organization." (Richard L. Daft, 1982, p.139).
Four of those streams were identified in Cohen, March & Olsen's
original conceptualization:
1. Problems
require attention, they are the result of performance gaps
or the inability to predict the future. Thus, problems may
originate inside or outside the organization Traditionally, it
has been assumed that problems trigger decision processes;
if they are sufficiently grave, this may happen. Usually,
however, organization man goes through the "garbage"
and looks for a suitable fix.... called a "solution".
2. Solutions
... have a life on their own. They are distinct from problems
which they might be called on to solve. Solutions are
answers (more or less actively) looking for a question.
Participants may have ideas for solutions; they may be
attracted to specific solutions and volunteer to play the
advocate. Only trivial solutions do not require advocacy
and preparations. Significant solutions have to be prepared
without knowledge of the problems they might have to
solve.
3. Choice opportunities
...are occasions when organizations are expected (or think
they are expected) to produce behavior that can be called a
decision (or an "initiative"). Just like politicians cherish
"photo opportunities", organization man needs occasional
"decision opportunities" for reasons unrelated to the
decision itself.
4. Participants
...come and go; participation varies between problems and
solutions. Participation may vary depending on the other
time demands of participants (independent from the
particular "decision" situation under study). Participants
may have favorite problems or favorite solutions which
they carry around with them...
Why "garbage cans"? It was suggested that organizations tend to
produce many "solutions" which are discarded due to a lack of
appropriate problems. However problems may eventually arise for
which a search of the garbage might yield fitting solutions.
Probably the most extreme view (namely that of organizational
anarchy) of the Carnegie School. Organizations operate on the basis of
inconsistent and ill-defined preferences; their own processes are not
understood by their members; they operate by trial and error; their
boundaries are uncertain and changing; decision-makers for any
particular choice change capriciously. To understand organizational
processes, one can view choice opportunities as garbage cans into which
various kinds of problems and solutions are dumped. The mix of
garbage depends on the mix of labeled cans available, on what garbage
is currently produced and the speed with which garbage and garbage
cans are removed.