Educational Organization and Management (Endalkachew Wubie, SNED, Year III)

UNIT:1 THE NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF EDUCATIONAL
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

Objectives:
At the end of the unit, you will be able to:
 define the concepts of organizations, management, administration and leadership
 Describe the major characteristics common to all organizations.
 Distinguish between formal and informal organizations.
 Analyze /educational system/ as organizations in the light of their commonality
with and differences from other organizations.
 Synthesize the various arguments about the unique characteristics of educational
organizations and management
The unit consists of the definitions, and characteristics of organization and management
and the science and art of management. It also deal with the co-existence of formal and
informal organizations, and its place in school organizations. It finally presents the
factors that make educational organization and management different from other forms of
management.
THE NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZATION
1.1.1. Why DO We Study Organizations?
Managers consider the study of people in an organization as vital one However, trying to
understand people's behavior without looking at organizations in which they do their
work will make the study incomplete. This is because such a study deals with only half of
the problem of managing work in organizations.
Today's managers require an understanding of organizations and their complexities from
a macro perspective
- What is to be gained by looking at organizations rather than people? Don't people
make up organizations? And if that is true, shouldn't the study of people be the proper
unit for analyzing organizations? Obviously, people do make up organizations, and
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indeed you can not, have organizations without people. Since an organization is a unit
of analysis separate and apart from the psychology of organizations members, the
examination of organization is a useful study for managers and administrators. In
addition, Understanding the essential issues in designing or recognizing the existing
organizations is critical to mangers particularly at middle and upper levels.
We must understand organizations if we are to be able to deal with them on a personal
basis.
Sound organizational management results from the real understanding of the organization
The fundamental reason one needs to study organizations is to understand and make them
effective and efficient institutions in realizing their objectives.
Activity 1.1.
Discuss what benefits do educators and educational administrators obtain from
studying the schools as organization.
What is an Organization?
The term 'organization may be defined as an assemblage of resources particularly of

human ones arranged and sequenced in a technology to achieve specific outcome (
Acheson in Ayalew, 1991), organizations are an essential part of the way society
operates. They can be found at all levels of society and are involved in the bulk of the
transaction in which we engage with other people. A healthy society has all its
organizations working well in relation to one another Societies set up organizations to do
specific work. Organizations are also influenced, shaped or formed by people. An
organization is thus the result of the grouping of work and the assignment of durites,
responsibilities and authority to people who work towards achieving specific goals. As an
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entity, organization is also defined as a group of people bound together in a formal and
stable relationship to achieve organizational goals . It can further be defined as:
The framework within which human actions are directed, coordinated and a formal
command structure is established by grouping and arranging activities in an orderly
fashion .
What common ideas do the above definitions carry?
Activity 1.2
Consider the following list of organizations and Identify as many common
features as possible
Schools , Business firms, Churches, The army
1.1.2. Characteristics of Organizations.
Although individual organizations are different, there are some features (characteristics)
which are common to all. Accordingly, organizations:
1. Are goal-oriented- The very reason for the existence of organization is to

accomp1ish a given Purpose and much of the behavior within and between
organizations reflect their goals. Why?
2. Have life cycle of their own that extend beyond the lives of individual
membership. i.e. they are relatively permanent social entities. This relative
permanence enables organizations continue their existence and operation even
though their management is changing and even when their founding members
pass away. or terminate their membership.
3. Have distinct structure- All organizations have a set of prescribed and regularized
Way of bringing together the various Work activities. This is quite necessary if
the origination is to reach its goals. Structure defines and specifies the links and
relationships between different Work activities and defines authority grades and
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hierarchy within the organization. The relationships created are also relatively
stable and deliberate rather than haphazard or random. How?
4. Require specia1ization- utilization of highly specialized skills and this is more
true in organizations with increasing in size, complexity, high technology and
those with a great diversity of formations and activities (Ayalew 1991)
Consider the following features:
- Organizations are composed of people
- Organizations are composed in order to pursue and realize certain aims and objectives
- Organizations seek to attain their objectives by areas of differentiated tasks and
conscious coordination and leadership
- Organizations seek to attain goals
Activity 1.3
Compare this list of features with those listed by Ayalew (1-4) above. What did
you understand from both descriptions?
1.1.3: Dimensions of Organization:

Formal Organization
A formal organization is a system that coordinates activities throughout the organization
in order to achieve aims. The formal organization comes about through purposeful
planning, organizing and structuring and implies formal structures and groups that are
created deliberately by management for attaining objectives. Such structures include the
following:
 a task structure
 a role structure (or responsibility structure)
 a command structure
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 a communication structure
 a remuneration Structure
 a structure for interpersonal relationships
A formal organization is structured because it functions according to rules and
regulations. The respective tasks of the members of the organization are largely defined,
the division of activities is spelt out and the chains of command and responsibility are
clearly delimited. According to Van der Westhuizen (1986;475) a formal organization
displays the following characteristics:
 There is a clear policy and objectives
 It has a hierarchical command structure.
 Tasks are entrusted to people whose posts are clearly defined.
 There are appropriate rules and regulations for the performance of activities.
 The activities are to a large extent coordinated by the effective exercise of
control, among other things.
Informal Organization
In contrast with a formal organization, an informal organization is characterized by the
formation of informal relationships within the formal organization. Informal group
formation is a spontaneous reaction to interaction and communication between and
among the members of the organization –Informal task groups,informal communication
groups and informal communication groups.
Van der Westhuizen (1986:480) identifies three types of groups as elements of an

informal organization..
 Informal task groups are groups that were initially formally constituted to perform
a certain task. The quality of the interaction and the interpersonal relationships
result in the development of a style of informal cooperation.
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 Informal communication groups consist of persons who bring about informal
interaction voluntarily with a view to the exchange of information. These are not
necessarily friendship groups.
 Informal friendship groups are composed of persons who interact with one
another spontaneously and voluntarily because they feel a mutual attraction,
common interests or values or experience shared happiness and sorrow.
.
Activity 1.4
1. Can you think of informal groups in the school situation? List them. Do they
entail any benefits for the school ? Explain
2. Read Ayalew (1991 ) and compare the descriptions given above about
formal and informal organizations
operation and functioning of the formal organization in various ways- in opposition or in

support of the activities of the formal organization. If they go in harmony and
consistently with the purposes of the formal organization, informal organizations:
o Faciltat communication in the formal organization
 Foster personal integrity and self-respect among members.
 Raise group cohesiveness
 Introducing can serve as a valuable and innovative ideas ( later as
part of the formal operation of the organization
 May serve as a means of informally informing an executive about
a sensitive issue that could be embarrassing if told in a formal communication
channel (Ayalew, 1991)
If informal organizations are not in harmony with the formal organizations, the latter
would be handicapped if not completely crippled (Ayalew, 1991 :54). From this one
cannot say that the informal orgaization is good or bad because it can either be good or
bad or both, depending on the circumstances. Its relative importance, however, depends
on the degree to which the formal organization satisfies personal needs of its members.
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Therefore, understanding and recognizing informal organization and the groups
constituting them may enable the administrators ensure their cooperation. A skillful
school administrator knows such organizations and their respective leaders and can
exploit them as sources of information and enables the formal organization to flexibly
adjust to special cases and situation. The school manager who does not understand how
the informal organizations operate in his/her school is in real trouble. An attempt to
manage educational school System solely by using the formal and legally constituted
rules is just to become deficient in accomplishing the tasks properly.(Hanson, 1986)
In sum, the complete understanding of any organization is possible with the

understanding of both formal and the informal ones together. What is indicated in the
organization chart of the formal organization is one thing, and what actually operates
through informal organization may be quite a different one.
1.2. THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT

1.2.1. What is Management?
Management may mean different things to different people at different times; and thus a
variety of definitions have been offered. Almost everyone has opinions about what
management is.
There are almost as many definitions of management as there are writers in the subject.
However, most definitions of management do share a common idea - management is
concerned with accomplishment of objectives through the efforts of other people. The
various definitions of management can be continently classified into four categories
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Management defined by Different Management Schools of Thought
Functional School Human Relation School Decision Systems and contingency
making school views
- A process by which managers create, direct, - Accomplishment of - Management - Organizations are organic
maintain and operate purposive organization results through the efforts means decision and managers are there to
through coordinated, cooperative human effort of other people making and achieve results effectively and
- To manage is to forecast and to plan to - Art of getting things done control over the efficiently
organize, command to coordinate and to through and with action of human Management is situational
control informal organizational beings for the which requires managers
- Management is a distinct process consisting of groups express purpose design organizations, define
planning, organization actuating. to determine - Getting things done of attaining goals and formulate policies in
and accomplish objectives by the use of through the agency of predetermined accordance with prevailing
people and resources community goals environmental conditions
- What do you think, is the major source(s) of difference in defining management?
- What common elements do you see among the schools of management in the definitions presented above?
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Management may be defined as an art of carrying out organizational functions and tasks
through people. This art involves the application of skills and techniques in human
relations, organization structuring, communicating (including decision making and
problem solving) and managing changes. The knowledge, skills, and attitudes in
management can be acquired through learning, from experience and from formally
organized (courses). This may characterize management as a discipline with various
subjects and topics.
The process of management involves the coordination of human and material resources
toward the accomplishment of certain objectives or goals. The responsibility of the
manager is to coordinate, regulate and integrate all activities and resources by designing
and maintaining an environment which individuals, working together in groups
accomplish efficiently selected aims. (Koontz and Weihrich 1989).
Management is a common set of activities designed to promote and direct purposeful

work. This implies that, irrespective of the type and size of the organization, everyone,
even when dealing with his/her own personal and family affairs, is a manager. However,
management becomes a major activity in an organizational context where people become
organized and create a formal and stable relationship. (Ayalew,1991:1) This process is
divided into several broad categories of activities such as planning, organizing, decision-
making and communicating which are commonly know as managerial activities.
Activity 1.5
On the basis of information you obtained above ,define management in your own words
;and show whether your definition can work to school management
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1.2.2. Features of Management
Is there any definition of management agreed by all? The nature of management makes it
difficult to provide a single universal definition covering all the important aspects of
management.
 Management is extensive thus formulating a comprehensive definition of it

pauses certain difficulties
 management is concerned with human beings whose behavior is highly
unpredictable
 Management is a young discipline whose concepts are continually changing
 The extreme complexity of industries and business for similarly contributes
to the difficulty of management as do does the changing stations of
members of business organizations
 An accelerating rate of change in all aspects of business and management
likewise complicates the managerial activity. /No universally accepted
definition of management, As things stand now, management is the least
known and least understood subject.
Activity 1. 6
1. What common elements are shared among these definition about management
(Describe)
2. What do you think is the major source of the difference in defining the same
term? discuss
Whenever people work together in an organization they need management to coordinate

their efforts and abilities toward achieving a common goal. The management functions
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are performed at all level of the organization regardless of the type and size. The services
of management are necessary in all cooperative endeavors.
1. Management is purposeful - goal oriented and action focus are the louchworks of
management
2. Management is concerned with ideas, things, and people
3. A social process
4. A coordinated force
5. Concerned with group efforts
6. Is an activity
7. A composite process
8. Acts as a creative and invigorating force in the organization
9. A diagramic descriptive
10. Management is intangible
We can now operationally define management as the process of planning, organizing,

directing and controlling to accomplish organizational objectives through the coordinated
use of human and material resources" It is the process of efficiently getting activities
completed with and through other people. It is a process by which human and non human
resources are coordinated to accomplished a set of objectives. The analysis of
management can only be made through the description of its functions .
Paisey (1980) includes to this that management is the universal and unavoidable personal
and organizational process of relating resources to objectives. Educational management is
a particular process of relating resources to objectives required in organizations which
explicitly exist to provide education.
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1.2.3. Is Management a Science or an Art?
In order to facilitate subsequent discussion on the principles of management, it would be

helpful to establish whether management is a science or an art or both.
It is often pointed out that management is a science and to a larger degree also an art. A
more realistic view recognizes that the science of management is not the same as the
physical science. Because probably, with the exception of planning, evaluating, decision
making and problem-solving the science of management has not yet evolved to the point
where we can explain and predict with the same degree of precision as can be done in the
physical science or exact sciences. Management can be described as a science if the term
is used loosely, because it primarily deals with human behavior. Human beings can be
regarded as the most complex organisms whose needs, interests and attitudes can hardly
be explained and predicted with precision. Therefore, it is often said that management is
not an exact science.
Management can also be described as an art because it requires/ of the manager's know-
how to accomplish a desired result. It takes the manager's judgment on when and where
to apply the basic principles of management in various managerial tasks to achieve the
desired objective.
This may help one to conclude that management like any other sciences has theories and
principles which guide the day to day managerial practices and activities of managers. At
the same time, as in art it requires the ability and skill of the manager .to appropriately
apply the theories and principles in light of the particular circumstances.
1.2.4. Controversies of the Definitions: Administration- Management .
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Administration Vs Management.
The terms administration and management give different meanings to different people.
An attempt is made to distinguish between administration and management. Some writers
carefully draw the distinction between management and administration and others totally
ignore such categorization. Modern writers use the terms interchangeably. The
terminology conflict between administration and management can be examined from two
angles.
1. Administration and management are separate functions -
a) one group of writers with this position lays that administration is broader than
management
- Administration determines goals and lays down the broad areas within which those
goals are to be achieved
- Administration is a policy making function
- management on the other hand is concerned with carrying the broad policies laid
down by administration.
- Administration is largely determinative where as management is essentially
executive. To this group of scholars: administrators think, managers act:
administration is a top level activity and management is a lower level function.
b) The other group of writers argues that management is a wider concept than
administration.
Administration handles the current (day to day) problem that may arise in carrying out
the policies laid down by management.
- Management is the rule making and rule enforcing. It is an all-encompairing and
comprehensive term and administration is a part of it.
 The key to understanding of the different emphasis arises out of the outcome
orientation of an enterprise.
One can administer an enterprise which has no explicit results to achieve. One
must manage an enterprise which has explicit results to achieve
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 Historically, there was a difference in the application of the terms. Management
was commonly used when discussing capitalistic non-governmental
organizations. Administration was used to refer to governmental organizations.
The second anglea views the two as synonymus

3. - This position hardly maintains the distinction between the two terms. A manager
or for that matter an administrator has to perform both thinking and doing
functions. It is virtually impossible to put administration and management in
separate compartments in an undertaking. In general, it can be said people at the
top spend more time in discharging administrative functions while people at lower
level pay more attention top reforming routine activities. In other words, top
management is chiefly concerned with performing administrative (functions)
activities whereas managers at lower levels are predominantly concerned with
executive functions. Every manager has to perform the planning and doing
functions.
Top management
administration
Management
lower level management
1.3. PECULIARITY OF ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT IN

EDUCATION.
Is educational organization and Management differs from other forms of
organization and management?
Before answering this question, it would be useful to answer a question "Is administration
the same in all organizations?" In answering this question writers split in different
groups.
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The first group of writers argue that administration differs from one organization to the
other. The variability of functions brings with them the way these organizations are to be
managed and handled. As the variability of functions, schools of management developed
areas of training and specialties the graduates of which are required to manage different
sections of organizations as specialists. The term administration/ management/ should
then be preceded by an adjective qualifying what type of management one is talking
about the second group argues that there is similarity among organizations and among
departments within one organization. These organizations are governed by the universal
characteristic of administration. In other words, organizations are more similar than they
are different - (the similarities exceed the differences) Therefore, administration,
irrespective of the function to be managed, management is the same in all organizations.
The third group of writers took, a middle road and compromising position between the
first two positions - that management is one and different . The basis for their arguments
is the three skill required by all managers- conceptual, human and technical skills.
Conceptual Skill -relates to the managers ability to integrate and coordinate the
organization's activities. It refers to the manager's ability to see the "total picture", how
the different parts of the organization fit together and deped on each other, and how a
change in one part of the organization can cause a change in another part. This implies
how much the manager is able to sense the organization as a whole and the total situation
relevant to it. Conceptual skill, therefore, involves the organization in its entirety.
Accordingly, the school principal must have the ability to see the school, the environment
(say, district) in which it operates and the total educational programs as a whole. The
development of this skill, therefore, relies heavily on a balanced emphasis of
administrative theory (macro level) and organizational and human behavior (Micro
perspective.
Human Skill -Refers to the manager's ability to work effectively as a group member and
to build cooperative effort within the group he is the head. It calls for the ability to select,
motivate, work with, and lead employees either individually or in groups. Human skills
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are primarily concerned with working with people. Human skill requires considerable self
understanding and acceptance as well as appreciation for others.
Technical skills- refer to the ability to use tools or approaches in a specialized manner. It
implies an understanding of, and proficiency in a specific kind of activity particularly one
involving methods, processes, procedures or techniques. Technical skill involves
specialized knowledge, analytical ability within that specialty in the use of the tools and
techiniques
Techniques of the specific discipline.

In education, technical skill assumes an understanding of and proficiency in the methods,
processes, procedures, and techniques of the teaching- learning activities. Hence, for the
manager, the technical skill is two-fold. First, he should have developed some expertise
in work being done. Secondly, he should have the skills required {or managing the work -
being done. For example, the school principal or supervisor, has to be an experts in
teaching, planning, classroom management, instructional methods etc. Managing the
work of teachers, school activities is another aspect of the skill required of him.
Whereas each of these skills is essential at all hierarchical positions, their relative
importance seems to vary with the level of administrative responsibility. This discussion
can be substantiated by Talcot Parson's characterization of organization as vertical
systems. These are institutional level, managerial level, and technical core level. At lower
level (technical core level) the technical and human skills are more needed, whereas, at
higher level (managerial level) administrative effectiveness highly depends on conceptual
and human skills. At the top(institutional level) conceptual skill becomes the most
important of all for successful management.
Activity 1.7
Discuss and show the interdependence and integration of the human, conceptual and
technical skills of a manager to become effective in his work.
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Educational managers, like other managers, deal with people. Hence, the skill required of
them in working with people as members and leaders are the human skills. They have
also to see the school in relation to other organizations in the environment, and the ability
to recognize the interrelationship of various factors involved in the situation requires
them to have a conceptual skills. These skill tend to be similar to that of the mangers in
other types of organizations. The difference in their activities seems to be more in the
mechanics of the particular job for which they are responsible (i.e. the technical skill) It is
also suggested that technical skill in the area for which the manager is responsible varies
with organizational purpose, but that the other two skills required of managers, human
and conceptual, are common to all managerial work irrespective of the kind of work
being managed.
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Tanle 2. Summary of Factors that make educational organization and Management Unique from other organizations.
Campbell et. al. (1965) Graff and Street (1957 ) Bush et.al (1980)
1 Cruciality to society  The school is a unique institution due to  Objectives are much lossesly to define
major share of responsibility of providing than industrial objectives
education for citizens
2 Complexity of functions  Takes its direction from all community  The "Raw materials' (input) of the
institutions school are mainly human being
3 The necessity of Intimacy of relationships  The school is pointed directly to people  Common professional back ground of
teachers and managers.
4 School's public visibility, and sensitivity  The school found at the vertex of  Measurement of autputs cannot be done
conflicting culture/values easily
5 Staff professionalization  Closeness of school and community
Interactions
6 Difficulty of Appraisal
Source: Ayalew Shibeshi (1991) Approaches to Educational Organization and Management. Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University .
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UNIT2- EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT
Do all Managers at Different Level do the same thing?
Activity 1.8
List down as much activities as possible which are performed by managers at different
levels of the organizational hierarchy
.
After having examined whether educational organizations, are peculiar, it is important to
answer questions related to whether all educational managers are doing the same tasks or
activities. This requires classifying managers on the basis of organization hierarchy or
level as top, middle, and first line managers.
1. Top level Managers (Executive)- is made up of small group of individuals who

are at the higher level of management, Mangers at this level are responsible for
establishing goals, plans, strategies and broad operating policies and guide lines.
2. Middle level Manager- These managers translate orders into operations,
implement plans, and supervise lower level managers, This is probably one of the
most important management levels because it is a prime training" ground for
future executives and is the center of the organization's activities
Top level
Middle level
First level
3. First line (level) managers- are responsible for directing first line, non-supervisory
employees and are concerned mainly with the work flow through their part of the
organization, Thus, first level managers are:
 involved in day today operations
BAHIR DAR UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL SCIENCES

COURSE CODE INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
 concerned with coordination in the sense of finding some immediate

solutions to operating problems
 operating within a short time span
 .subject to influence from outside the unit, concerned either making
primarily concrete. Immediate and highly personal contacts with
employees. These managers integrate organizational and personal needs.
In our educational system we can see starting from the various department and division
heads in the Ministry of Education, down to the school level, all department heads and
unit leaders are managers. As such they can be categorized into the three managerial
levels discussed above.
The important point in the discussion of the classification or the differences between
managerial levels is that work changes in kind as well as in complexity as one moves up
the organizational hierarchy.
Top level middle level First level
Planning Directing
organization Controlling
Source: Ayalew Shiebeshi (1991)

The activities in the managerial process have been identified by different writers in the
field. For instance, according to Fayol, the functions of the manager are to forecast and
plan, to organize, to command, to coordinate and to control. Leather Gluick amended
Fayol's description stating that management task consists of planning, organizing,
staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting. Subsequent management
theorist: have come up with their own descriptive terms to suggest the functions of the
administrator. However, there has been no consensus on the terms used to describe the
functions that managers carryout. (Ayalew, 1991)
Most writers, however, agree that managers are involved in the activities of planning,
organizing staffing and training, controlling, decision-making and communicating etc.
The three levels of management, however, differ in their emphasis and time devotion to
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the managerial function. The top level managers devote more time and pay more
emphasis to the functions of planning and organizing
g whereas, level managers focus on directing, monitoring and evaluating. However, these
functions are not mutually exclusively belong to one level of managements.
Generally there are similarities as well as difference among managers at the three levels
as indicated below
SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES
All of them get works done through their Top and middle level managers have
subordinates managers as subordinates but first line
Get involved in planning, organizing and managers have workers as their
motivating others subordinates
Spend most of their time with people: The area of emphasis is different for all of
talking, listening and attending meeting. them.
Activity 1.9
Study the factors listed above by the three groups of writers about the peculiarity of
educational organization and management :read Ayalew (1991) and work on the
following questions
Study the description of each of them and synthesize these ideas and develop
one list of factors that characterize educational management of your own.
Unit Summery
In this unit you have studied basic concepts and issues related to organization and
management in general and the characteristics of educational organization and
management in particular. You have also studied features that all organizations share in
common and therefore, make management a universal human activity on the one hand,
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and the specific features that would likely inquire special and management procedures on
the other.
Activity 1.10
1. Read the job description for a school teacher and school principal
from " ¾ƒUI`ƒ ›e}ÇÅ` ¾Iw[}cw }dƒö“ ¾óÃ“”e SU]Á " and
discuss which skills of management do they require to carry out their
responsibilities? Why?
2. Argue whether future educational administrators and school
principals should have work experience as teachers? Why?
Study check list for unit one

Yes No
1. Have you now defined Organization, management, leadership and
Administration
2. Are you able to describe where the difference in these
terminologies lie
3. Have you explained the relationship between formal and informal
organizations?
4. Can you now discuss the advantages of informal organization to
the formal ones?
5. Can you now elaborate the basic skills required of all managers?
6. Can you explain the reasons why educational organizations are
said to be "peculiar from other forms of organization and
management?
7. Can you now evaluate the school as an organization?
UNIT 2
EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT
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CONTENTS
2.0 INTRODUCTION
2.1 EARLY SCHOOLS OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT
2.2 MODERN SCHOOLS OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT
GENERAL SYSTEMS AND CONTINGENCY VIEWS
Objectives:
By the end of this unit the b student will be able to :
 Understand the different theories of management applicable to the management of
educational organization.
 Explain the contributions and shortcomings of each management theories.
 Infer the implications of each management thought to the management of
educational organizations.
 Analyze managerial problems of educational organizations in light of different
management theories.
 Evaluate the practices of educational managers in the light of the different
theories.
 Appreciate the contribution of management theories to organizational efficiency
and effectiveness.
Reading materials:
 Agarwal, R.D (1982). Organization and Management. (3rd ed.) New Delhi: Tata
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited.
 Ayalew S. (1991). “Approaches to Educational Organization and Management ”.
Addis Ababa. (Unpublished)
 Hoy, W.K and C.G Miskel (1987). Educational Administration: Theory, Research
and Practice. (3rd ed) New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
2. INTRODUCTION
Management as a system of knowledge and a distinct and identifiable discipline is the

product of the twentieth century. Management as a practice has, of course, been in
existence ever since man started combining his effort with others for the achievement of
common goals. The ancient Egyptian and Roman civilizations would not have attained
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their glory with out the organization and management of group activities. The Roman
Catholic Church has been the most effective formal organization in the history of
Western civilization. Some of the modern management principles and techniques also
owe their origin to military organizations. The pyramidal structure of modern
organizations, principles of authority and responsibility, specialization along functional
lines, use of staff advice and several other organization and management principles and
practices were developed and used by the Roman Catholic Church and military
organizations long before they were used by modern organizations.
Activity 2.1
Write a review of management practices evident before the industrial revolution

in no more than three pages. Focus on the contributions of
1. The ancient Egyptian and Roman civilizations
2. The Roman Catholic Church
The industrial revolution and consequent organization of production activities in large

enterprises provided a tremendous impetus to the development of management theory.
As of its inception, many scholars have developed different approaches to management
that have contributed to the development of management thought. In this chapter the
different management theories would be presented in two broad categories- early and
modern schools.
2.1. EARLY SCHOOLS OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT
2.1.1. THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT (1900-1930)

Points to reflect
1. What does efficiency mean?
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2. How do you think efficiency is attained?
The classical school of management thought was composed of writers who were
prominent at the second half of the twentieth century. The period was generally known as
the period of efficiency. The writers developed their theories on the basis of their
experience and studies, and laid the foundation upon which later scholars built. Many of
the ideas and practices they discussed and advocated are still in use in different forms.
The classical school can be examined from three perspectives based on the problems that
different contributors have addressed.
o Scientific Management: It concentrates on lower-level managers dealing with

every day problems of the work force.
o Classical organizational theory (Universal principles of management): It
concentrates on top-level managers dealing with every day problems of managing
the entire organization
o Bureaucracy: It concentrates on organizational and management efficiency.
The three perspectives are discussed next at length.
Scientific Management Theory
Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1912) is one of the most distinguished thinkers who have
made significant contributions to what is known as “scientific management”. He is the
first person who replaced the ”rule of thumb” methods by scientific methods of
management and brought about a great impact on the early development of management,
Taylor is acknowledge as the “father” of scientific management”.
As to his background, Taylor was an engineer by training. He had also a range of work
experience in the Midvale Steel Works Company that rose from laborer to chief engineer.
His training and experience reinforced him to apply scientific analysis on the process and
tasks performed by the work force. Through his scientific analysis Taylor found that
25
wasteful movements, fatigue and deficiencies in the physical environment of work

affected workers‟ efficiency.
With the intention of improving efficiency and productivity, Taylor tried to find the most
effective way to use people and other resources in the work place. For Taylor, there was
one way of performing every process and task in industry. He thought that, to find the
best way, workers‟ performance of a task should be examined scientifically, objectively
and in great detail, using an empirical and experimental approach. Only then could a
more productive way of doing the job be found. After finding the “one best way” of
performing a job, the manager should then teach it to the workers. Taylor thought that an
incentive system rewarding fast workers and penalizing slow workers would encourage
them to adopt the new system or method of work quicker (Kinard, 1988).
Taylor‟s firm stand of creating a system of management that ensures productivity and
efficiency in industries resulted in the development of the following scientific
management principles:
1. Determination of Standard of Performance
One of the troubles Taylor faced while working as a Forman at Midvale Steel insisted
him to set standards of performance. During his foremanship, Taylor realized that there
was no one that really knows exactly how much work a worker was expected to do in an
hour or in a day of eight or ten hours. The standards of work performance were fixed not
on any scientific basis but on the basis of rule of thumb or the amount of work done by an
average worker. In addressing this problem Taylor introduced his time and motion
studies. The study involves the analysis of all the operations and motions involved in
each job, and then the motions are timed with a stopwatch. Standards of performance are
determined on the basis of time taken on the performance of each element of the job
together with the time needed for rest and avoidable delays. An analysis of motions
involved in each operation leads to the identification and elimination of wasteful
movements.
26
Learning Activity 2.2
What roles of managers could be implied from this observation of Taylor?
2. Separation of Planning from Doing & Functional Specialization.

Taylor's observation of the functioning of various organizations led him to the conclusion
that one of the important causes of inefficiency and wastage was problems related to
planning. According to Taylor each worker customarily planned his/her work more or less
in the same manner in which he/she learnt from others when he/she was an apprentice
rather than planning on the basis of scientific analysis. He also recognized that workers
were not effective in determining the sequence of operations as well as in the selection of
tools. In order to improve efficiency and productivity Taylor called for a drastic
reorganization of supervision. Taylor‟s system embodied two concepts:
i) Separation of planning from doing, and
ii) Functional specialization
For Taylor each supervisor was a specialist in only one kind of work. Those specialists
planned various aspects of each worker's job and issued him/her instructions on their
specialty. Thus, if a worker performed a job involving six to seven operations, he would
receive instructions from as many functional specialists. The worker was purely a doer;
his/her work was planned by a number of functional specialists (supervisors). Taylor held
that this was necessary because "one type of man was needed to plan ahead and an entirely
different type to execute the work." This resulted into the shifting of planning functions,
formerly performed by workers to functional specialists like supervisors.
Learning activity 2.1
27
Analyze the strengths and shortcomings of Taylor’s suggestion in his second

principle.
3. Responsibility of management
According to Taylor, managers should not only accept responsibility for planning, directing
and organizing but also perform these functions in a scientific way. He then specified the
responsibility of managers to be:
o analyzing all the operations and developing scientific methods of operations that
would replace rule of thumb.
o selecting and training workers scientifically.
o cooperating heartily with workers in order to ensure that the work is done according
to the scientifically developed methods.
o taking over all work for which it is better fitted. This particularly involves the work
of planning, organizing or directing.
4. Differential Piecework System of Wage Payment

Taylor was keen to ensure that workers turned out optimum production but he found that
they did as little as possible. He came to the conclusion that under the prevalent system of
wage payment, a good worker had nothing to gain if he/she worked hard.
Taylor observed that when a naturally energetic men works for a few days besides a
lazy one, the logic of the situation is unanswerable: why should I work hard when
the lazy fellow gets the same pay that I do and does only half as much work?
To get over this problem, Taylor developed the device of "differential piece work" for
motivating the worker to attain highest possible level of efficiency. Under this system of
wage payment, a worker received the piece rate if the number of pieces produced by
him/her was below the predetermined standard and a higher rate for his entire production if
he met the standard or produced above it.
For example, let us assume that the standard production is 50 units per day of eight hours; the
regular piece rate is 5 Birr per piece and the differential rate is 10 Birr per piece. In this case, if
the worker produced less than the standard pieces, say 49 pieces, s/he will be paid at the rate of
285 Birr per unit and a total amount of Birr 245, but if s/he produced 50 pieces or more, say, 51
pieces, s/he will be paid at the rate of 10 Birr per piece for the entire production, i.e. Birr 510.
What is the difference between “differential piecework system” and “piece rate
system”? Which one is more effective?
5. Mental Revolution
Taylor held that since his techniques of determining work standards, eliminating wasteful
operations and differential piecework system of wage payment would benefit the workers
in the form of higher wages, and the employers in the form of higher production, it would
result into a "mental revolution" both among the management and the workers. They would
develop cooperative rather than an antagonistic attitude toward each other.
According to Taylor, the essence of scientific management is mental revolution. It involves

a complete mental revolution in the attitudes of workers toward their work, their fellowmen
and their supervisors. It also involves a complete mental revolution in the attitudes of
manager toward their fellowmen, workers and the ways in which they handle their daily
problems. Taylor held that "Without this complete mental revolution on both sides
scientific management does not exist".
29
Activity 2.3
From the discussions made so far about the scientific management theory
synthesize the roles that managers should play to maximize efficiency and
productivity in the organization.
Criticisms on Taylor's Scientific Management
Tailors Scientific management has been subject to much criticism both by scholars as well
as practitioners. Some of the criticisms are presented next.
o His idea of separating planning from doing, and intrusting the former to functional
supervisors virtually meant multiplicity of command as each worker was supposed to
take instructions from a number of supervisors and get confused in the process. This
idea of Taylor was against the fundamental principle of organization known as unity
of command.
o Taylor's formulations of time and motion study and differential piecework system of
wage payment are based on the assumption of "economic man". He ignored the
motivational role of social and psychological factors. Management scholars like
Mayo, Likert, Argyris and many others have found enough evidence that a worker
has a variety of social and psychological needs beside financial needs, and the former
often take precedence over the latter. Moreover, in the social system of an
organization, the worker is often not an individual isolated from his/her fellow
workers & guided by rationality criterion in his/her work behavior. Rather s/he
belongs to one or more informal groups, and his/her work behavior is generally
guided by group norms and expectations.
30
o For every task Taylor assumed that there is only one best way or method to
accomplish. The contemporary theorists of management challenge this idea that there
is no as such one best method which serves effectively in all situations.
o Scientific management concentrated on repetitive muscular tasks at the operational

level and lower level management only and failed to deal with higher levels of
management.
Followers of Taylor
Gantt, Frank & Lillian Gilberth & Emerson are some among many followers of Taylor.
They made significant contributions to scientific management although some differences
are evident. For instance, supporting the idea of scientific management Gantt stressed:
1) The mutuality of interests between management and workers.

2) Gantt made improvement in Taylor‟s incentive system, and developed what is
known as "task and bonus plan", under this incentive plan, the worker is paid a
guaranteed daily wage whether or not he/she completes the standard work. But if
s/he completes four hour‟s task in three hours or less he is paid for four hours.
3) The most significant contribution of Gantt was the invention of Gantt chart on
which work progress is related against time.
However, unlike Taylor, Gantt emphasized the importance of considering human element
in all types of management.
Frank and Lillian Gilberth were interested in motion study and reduced the number of
movements in bricklaying from eighteen to five. Frank emphasized the need of developing
or discovering the "one best way of doing a given task", whereas Lillian concerned herself
with the human aspects of management. The Gilberths held that the most important cause
of workers' dissatisfaction was the lack of management's interest in them. They emphasized
that management should understand workers‟ need and personality.
31
Frank Gilborth's system became known as "speed work", and the speed came not from
rushing the workers to work faster but from cutting down unnecessary motions.
Harrington Emerson was concerned with the management of the enterprise as a totality. In
his book, twelve principles of efficiency published in 1912. He put forward the principles
of efficient management. Prominent among them are:
o Ideals: the best product in shortest time at the least expense should be the ideal of
management, and all the objectives, goals and strategies should stem from this
ideal.
o Reliable, immediate, Adequate and permanent Records: Emerson pleaded that
records should cover costs, efficiency of machines and manpower utilization.
o Dispatching: It refers to work scheduling and control. If each separate step in the
work is identified and scheduled in proper sequence, the work can be completed
speedily.
o Standards: work standards based on time and motion study should be rationally
determined after taking into account the placement of workers. Conditions,
procedures and operations should be standardized so as to make work measurement
more meaningful.
Activity 2.4
1. Compare and contrast Taylor’s idea of scientific management with those

discussed as contributors to his theory. What similarities and differences have
you observed?
2. Discuss the impact of scientific management theory on educational
organization and administration.
The Classical Organizational Theory
As the name classical implies it is the first school that had tried to examine management of
the entire organization. Hennery Fayol (1845-1925)was a French industrialist who
32
developed a theory which focused on the five functions of the manager and fourteen
principles of management. Different naming is also given to this school by different
authors.
- Management process school
- Universal Management Principle
- Administrative management theory
Whatever naming may be used this theory regards management as the process of getting
things done with and through people as individual and as members of work-groups. It holds
that management is a process which can best be understood by analyzing its functions. It
uses the managerial experience as the basis for developing certain generalizations or
principles which can be further used for the study and research of management as well as
for improving management practices.
The first proponent of the classical organizational thought is Heneri Fayol (1841-1925).
Fayol was a French mining engineer. Alike Tailor, he took a scientific approach to
administration and applied a systematic analysis to study the overall management process
of organizations. Based on his study, Fayol identified that administrative behavior consists
of five functions, which he defined as:
Planning: Means to study the future and arrange the plan of operations.
Organizing: Means to build up material and human organization of the business,
organizing both people & material
Commanding: Means to make the staff do their work.
Coordinating: Means to unite and correlate all activities. It involved holding weekly
meetings with department heads to improve coordination
Controlling: Means to see that everything is done in accordance with rules that have
been laid down and the instructions that have been given.
Fayol is also known for his lists of fourteen Universal Principles of Management: Order,
Esprit de Corps, Authority and responsibility, Unity of command, Initiative, Stability of
33
tenure of personnel, Unity of direction, Subordination of individual to general interest,

Division of work Remuneration of personnel, Centralization, Discipline, Scalar chain, and
Equity.
Exercise 2.3
Match the above universal principles of management to it appropriate description
given below.
No. Management
Description Principle
1 It encompasses three basic concepts: (i) breaking down a task
into its components, (ii) training workers to become specialists
in specific duties, and (iii) putting activities in sequence so one
person’s efforts build on another’s. Specialization is a key to
division of work because it assures efficiency and productivity
2 Authority is the right to give directives or to command action.
This right rests in the job the manager holds in an
organization. Responsibility, on the other hand, is a sense of
obligation that goes with authority. Authority should be
delegated only to subordinates who are willing to assume
commensurate responsibility
No. Management
Description Principle
3 It comprises obedience, application, energy, behavior, and
outward marks of respect observed in accordance with
agreements between the organization and its employees. It is
essential for smooth running of any business.
4 An employee should receive directives from only one superior.
5 All activities geared toward achieving the same objective

should be directed and controlled by one person. This
improves coordination and ensures that energies are
channeled in the proper direction.
6 The over all interest of the organization is more important than
the interest of any person or group of people who work for it.
7 Pays should be fair and equitable to both the worker and the
organization.
8 Centralization and its counterpart, decentralization, mean how
much authority is concentrated at the top of an organization or
34
dispersed throughout the management hierarchy. The
question of centralization or decentralization is a question of
proportion. It is important to find a balance between the two.
9 Often called the chain of command, this is the line of
managers from highest to lowest in an organization. All
organizational requests and directives must follow this chain.
Links may be skipped or circumvented only when superiors
approve a real need exists to do so.
10 It is an advocacy of a place for everyone and everyone in
his/her place; a place for everything & everything in its place.
The objective of order is to avoid loss and waste
11 Kindness and justice should be practiced by persons in
authority to extract the best that the subordinate have to give.
12 Time is needed for the employees to adjust to their work and
perform it effectively. Experienced, well-trained managers and
workers are crucial to the success of the organization, so a
stable work force should be maintained
13 It is the ability to think through and develop a plan of action.
So people should be allowed the freedom to propose and
execute ideas at all levels of the organizational hierarchy.
14 It emphasizes the need for teamwork and the maintenance of
interpersonal relationships. Managers have the duty to
promote harmony and discourage things that disturb harmony
because in unity there is strength
Fayol believed that these principles are applicable to all kinds of organizations, and at all
levels of hierarchy within an organization. Moreover, he pointed out that there is no limit to
the number of management principles that can improve an organization‟s operation.
Activity 2.5
1. Compare and contrast Fayol’s idea of classical organization and Taylor’s idea
of scientific management.
2. Discuss the impact of Fayol's Classical Organizational theory on the
administration of educational organizations.
The Bureaucratic Theory School

Points to reflect
1. How do you define bureaucracy
35
2. What comes to your mind when you hear the term bureaucracy in every
day talk?
3. Do you think that schools are bureaucratic organizations? If your answer
is yes, how?
A contemporary of Taylor and Fayol is a German sociologist called Max Weber. Weber is
known for his idea of bureaucratic theory of organization and management, which has
profoundly influenced modern thinking in these areas.
Weber developed the bureaucratic model of organization which is essentially a universal

model of efficient organizations. Bureaucracy refers to "certain characteristics of
organizational design" Weber viewed bureaucracy as "the most efficient form that could be
used most effectively for complex organization." It is a system of administration by
bureaus & departments each lead by a head.
Bureaucracy is characterized by division of labor and specialization, an impersonal

orientation, a hierarchy of authority, rules and regulations, and a career orientation (Hoy &
Miskel 1987).
CHARACTERSTICS OF THE IDEAL BUREAUCRACY
Division of Labor & Specialization

It refers to assignment/distribution of the regular activities required for the purposes of
bureaucratically governed structure in a fixed way as official duties. As the tasks of most
organizations are too complex to be performed by a single individual, division of labor
among positions is recommended to improve efficiency. Efficiency increases because
division of labor produces specialization which in turn leads to employees who become
knowledgeable and expert at performing their prescribed duties. Such division enables the
organization to employ personnel on the basis of technical qualifications.
36
Impersonal Orientation
Weber argued that the working atmosphere of a bureaucracy should provide the dominance
of a spirit of formalistic impersonality without hatred or passion, and hence without
affection or enthusiasm. The bureaucratic employee is expected to make decisions based on
facts, not feelings. Impersonality results in equality of treatment and facilitates rationality.
Hierarchy of Authority
Offices are arranged hierarchically in bureaucracies; that is each lower office is under the
control and supervision of a higher one. This bureaucratic trait is made manifest in the
organizational chart.
Hierarchy is perhaps the most pervasive characteristic in modern organizations. Almost

without exception, large organizations develop a well-established system of super-
ordination, which attempts to guarantee the disciplined compliance to directives from
superiors that is necessary for coordinating and implementing the various tasks and
functions of an organization.
Rules & Regulations

Weber asserts that every bureaucracy has a consistent & intentionally established system of
rules. The system of rules covers the rights and duties inherent in each position and helps
to coordinate activities in the hierarchy. It also provides continuity of operations when
there are changes in personnel. Rules & regulations thus ensure uniformity and stability of
employee action.
Career Orientation
Since employment in a bureaucratic organization is based on technical qualifications,
employees think of their work as a career. Whenever there is such career orientation,
Weber maintains, "there is a system of promotion according to seniority, achievement, or
both.” Promotion is dependent on the judgments of superiors. To foster loyalty to the
organization, individuals with special skill must be protected from arbitrary dismissal or
37
denial of promotion. Bureaucracies also institutionalize protection through such devices as

civil service & tenure. A guaranteed pension on supernuation as a security for old ages is
also used.
LEARNING ACTIVITIY 2.4

How does Weber’s idea of bureaucracy relate to efficiency?
To Weber, bureaucracy maximizes decision making and administrative efficiency:

"Experience tends to universally show that the purely bureaucratic type of administrative
organization is, from a purely technical point of view, capable of attaining the highest
degree of efficiency. How?
Division of labor and specialization produce experts, and experts with an impersonal
orientation make technically correct, rational decisions based on the facts. Once rational
decisions have been made the hierarchy of authority ensures disciplined compliance to
directives and, along with rules and regulations, a well-coordinated system of
implementation and uniformity and stability in the operation of the organization. Finally, a
career orientation provides the incentive for employees to be loyal to the organization and
to produce that extra effort. These characteristics function to maximize administrative
efficiency because committed experts make rational decisions that are executed and
coordinated in a disciplined way.

Is it really possible to get bureaucracies /organizations satisfying all the
characteristics identified by Weber? Justify your response.
Although Weber's conception of bureaucracy is an ideal type that may or may not be found
in the real world, it does highlight or emphasize basic tendencies of actual organizations.
38
Hence, as an ideal type, it is quite useful for analytic purposes. It may serve as a guide to
help us determine how a formal organization is bureaucratized. Of course some
organizations will be more bureaucratized on one characteristic and lesson another
characteristic. According to Agarwal (1982), bureaucracy is also advantageous in the sense
that it ensures "precision, speed, unambiguity, knowledge of the files, continuity,
discretion, unity, strict subordination & reduction of frictions”.
Activity 2.6
Evaluate school organization and administration in terms of the characteristics of

ideal bureaucracy.
Dysfunctions of Bureaucracy
Each of the characteristics described above can lead to undesirable consequences. Some
of the dysfunctions of bureaucracy in actual circumstances are: rigidity, slow decision
making, over conformity ,communication blocks ,incompatibility with professional
values.
Learning activities
Describe the following words and the concepts they hold
A) rigidity-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B) slow decision making-----------------------------------------------------------------------
C) over conformity------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D) communication blocks----------------------------------------------------------------------
E) incompatibility with professional values------------------------------------------------
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PROFESSIONAL VALUES AND THE
BUREAUCRATIC SYSTEM
PROFESSIONAL VALUES BUREAUCRATIC VALUES
39
Weber's idea of bureaucracy is functional in that application of the principles can promote
efficiency and real attainment. There is, however, the possibility of dysfunctional or
negative consequences of each function. Let us consider each of the above bureaucratic
characteristics or principles in terms of both possible functions and dysfunctions.
.
Describe the negative effects of the characteristics of actual bureaucracy.
Table 2.1: Functions and Dysfunctions of the Bureaucracy

Bureaucratic
Dysfunction Characteristic Function
Boredom Division of labor Expertise
Lack of moral Impersonal orientation Rationality
Communication blocks & Disciplined
indecision Hierarchy of authority compliance &
coordination
Rigidity & goal Continuity & uniformity
displacement Rules and Regulations
Conflict between
achievement & seniority Career Orientation Incentive
40
Learning Activity 2.7
Discuss instances or experiences that explain the function and dysfunction of

bureaucracy in school situation.
learning Activity 2.8
1. Synthesize the major contributions of Classical school to the body of

management knowledge.
2. Point out the shortcomings of classical school of management thought.
Summary
The classical school of thought focused on division of labor , proper lines of
command legitimate power and authority , standardization and explicit rules and
procedures . it was highly rational approach that assumed a maximum of control
over the individual worker . the classical school has been criticized as a fairly
pessimistic or negative view of human nature .people were seen as motivated
only by economic self interest .
HUMAN RELATIONS SCHOOL (1930 -1960)
Points to reflect
1. How do you see the treatment of teachers and students by education
administrators? What is a fair treatment for you? what is unfair
treatment?
2. What conditions does your school facilitate to satisfy the personnel,
social and professional needs of teachers?
The human relations school was developed in reaction to the doctrines and practices of
of scientific management. Three occasions are usually cited as the source to the
development of human relations school. These are studies done in the Hawthorne electric
41
company by Mayo & his associates, the growing strength and militarily of labor unions
and the theory and empirical evidences from social sciences.
Human Relations school is the first school that focused on the human dimensions of
organizations, which had been either ignored or over-simplified by classical theorists.
And its strand of thought is termed as concern for people.
According to this school, motivation to work, morale and productivity are related to
social relations among the workers and between the workers and the supervisors, and not
to the physical conditions at work. Workers, therefore, must be considered & understood
in the context of the work group of which they are a part.
The human relations school began with the Hawthorne experiments in the early 1930's
Elton Mayo and his associates had conducted may experiments to challenge the basic
assumptions of classical theorists especially that of the Taylor's scientific management
theory. The results of the experiments revealed the existence of forces other than
economic & physical conditions associated to increased productivity.
Learning activities 2.7
Can you suggest some factors that are associated with productivity other than
those mentioned by scientific management?
Based on the numerous studies conducted in Hawthorne to disprove the ideas of Taylor,
the following conclusions are summarized:
1. Economic incentive is not the only significant motivator. People are primarily
motivated by social needs and obtain their basic satisfaction from relationships
with other. Social sanctions limit the effectiveness of economic incentives.
2. Workers respond to management as members of an informal group, not as
individuals.
3. Production levels are limited more by the social norms of the informal
organization than by physiological capacities. i.e. informal groups within the work
place exercise strong social controls over the work habits & attitudes of the
42 individual workers.
4. Specialization does not necessarily create the most efficient organization of the
1. Have you recognized the important factor identified by Mayo and his
associates? What is it?
2. Do you think that the human relations schools are good substitutes for
classical views?
Besides the contribution of Hawthorn experiment the emergence of different labor unions
to defend the rights of workers have contributed to the development of human relations
school. What led workers to organize labor unions? The inhuman treatment of classical
theorists led to the growth and militancy of different unions.
The human relation's movement also drew its routes from empirical & theoretical
findings of different social sciences like psychology, group dynamics, sociology, political
science, physiology, and labor economic. Consequently the subject matter of this school
became concepts like motivation, group behavior, influence of groups on their members,
power struggle between groups and individuals, role structures, and conflict resolution.
43
Taking its routes from different sources the human relations school made contributions in
such areas as motivation, organizational theory, norms, conflict resolution strategies,
communication & participation in decision-making.
Activity 2.9
Compare and contrast the positions of classical and human relations school in
terms of the areas mentioned in the table below.
Classical School Areas of contribution Human Relations

School
Motivation
The concept of Organization

Social influence at the work
place
Conflict & its resolution
Communication
Decision-making patterns.
Exercise 2.9
Compare your response to Activity 2.9 with the following descriptions of the
contributions of human relations school to the body of management knowledge.
In which issues are you different?
Motivation. For classical theorists workers are economic units, factors of production,
extensions of machine, motivated by a desire for material gains or physiological needs.
The human relation theorists, however, looked up workers as complete human beings
motivated by not only the satisfaction of physiological needs, but also by social and
psychological desires. Therefore, employers must provide for the satisfaction of social &
44
psychological needs in addition to physiological needs in order to get the most from their
employees.
Exercise 2.10
How can employers or managers satisfy the social and psychological needs of
workers? Suggest possible ways.
Understanding the nature of Organization. The classical school theorists were focusing
on the formal aspect of organizations, the human relation, however, is the first school that
has recognized the existence of informal organizations inseparably with the formal one.
Moreover, the human relations school pointed out that the influence of informal groups in
the work of formal organization.
Exercise 2.11
How do informal groups influence the work of formal organization?
Social determined norms. Norms are unwritten social codes intended to informally
control behavior. The informal organization, according to human relation advocators, has
its own norms, and does not tolerate deviations from them. The Hawthorn experiments
and many other researches revealed that workers respond to group influences rather than
external incentives and management control. They act as a member of a group, not as
individuals. They are subject to group pressure.
The classical school, however, over looked the importance of social or group influences
on the members of informal organizations and groups.
Exercise 2.12
List down some examples of socially determined norms apparent in a school
situation.
45
Conflict. For classical theorists conflict is undesirable because its results were often
disastrous. However, the prominent contributor of human relations school - Follet argued
that conflict was unavailable but might have profitable results to both parties if properly
handled. Follet identified three ways of resolving conflict: domination, compromise and
integration.
Exercise 2.13
First Match the above conflict handling strategies to the descriptions given in the
table below and then determine the most effective strategy with some
justifications.
Conflict handling
Description strategy.
It is the most commonly used strategy of setting controversies.
In this strategy each side gives up a little in order to have peace.
Since neither side gets what it wants the solution remains
unsatisfactory. This method results in a lose-lose situation
It is a victory of one side over the other. It creates winner -
lesser situation. It is seldom successful mainly because in the
long run the side that has lost will simply wait for its chance to
dominate.
It involves finding a third means, which will include the wishes
of both parties. It is a way of solving conflict by which neither
side has to sacrifice anything. It is termed as win- win strategy.
Even though it is a satisfactory strategy, it is seldom easy to
apply.
In general, solving problems by integration is progress because in domination you stay

where you are and in compromise you deal with no now value.
Communication. The classical view conceived of communication mainly as the

transmission of orders and information from top to bottom. It gave little attention to the
necessity of communication between ranks and from lower to higher ranks.
46
The Human Relations School, on the contrary, view communication as the lifeblood of an
organization. Information flows freely up, down & sideways through formal and informal
channels. Communication is conceived as understanding information transmitted plus
accepting it. Human relations also recognized the existence of socio-psychological
factors that could affect communication process in an organization.
Decision-Making. The classical school gives the decision-making responsibilities to

managers. Workers were there to simply implement the plans & decisions made by their
managers. The Human Relations School, however, emphasized on the importance
participating workers in decision-making. By this both management and workers benefit.
Managers benefit by tapping the experience and talents of workers to strengthen the
organization's function. Workers benefit by growing in maturity and responsibility and
achieve a sense of belonging and recognition.
Activity 2.10
1. Discuss the shortcomings of Human Relations School.

2. Discuss the impact of Human Relations School on the administration of
3. Identify specific policy directions in educational management that may
reflect human relations school thinking.
2.1.3 THE BEHAVIORAL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT (1960 to

the present)
LEARNING ACTIVITY 2.14
47
If the classical and human relations schools are concerned about the task and
people respectively what would be the concern of behavioral school?
The behavioral school of management thought is a synthesis of the classical and human
relations schools with some modifications and additional insights. It used the
contributions of the early schools commenting on their shortcomings. For instance
classical and human relations approaches were criticized for ignoring the impact of social
relations and formal structure respectively. Taking its routes from the earlier
perspectives it added ideas drown from such behavioral sciences as sociology,
psychology, political science and Economies. Consequently, its subject matter included
concepts like moral, motivation, human groups, complex organizations, human relations
within complex organizations, communication, productivity, power, authority,
managerial effectiveness, leader behavior, environment of organizations etc. In other
words, the focus of behavioral school is work behavior in formal organization. It
emphasized on the actual work conditions- what is rather than what should be.
Activity 2.11
1. What does it mean by work behavior?
2. What do you think will be the strand of though to behavioral school?
As a synthesis of earlier schools, behavioral school gave equal attention to employees‟

needs & aspirations and organizational goal achievement. It is concerned with both
people and work. Writers of the behavior school are concerned with the description of
actual conditions ,they search for what is rather than what should be .
Many behavioral scientists contributed to the development of this school, Branard,

Simon, Likert, Agiris, Parsons, Etizoni were among the earliest contributors. The
following section is devoted to the contributions of the prominent ones.
48
Barnard provided the original definitions of formal and informal organizations and
cogently demonstrated the inevitable interaction between them. Barnard also made
significant contributions with regard to structural and dynamic concepts. The structural
concepts he considered important were the individual (e.g. Teacher, pupil, clerk etc), the
cooperative system (the working relationship in the form of a team), the formal
organization (defined as a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or
more persons), and the informal organization (i.e. peer groups, friendship cliques, etc).
Barnard also made it clear that

 Focusing exclusively on the formal, official, structural facets of managing
organization was illusionary.
 the recognition of informal organization as inseparable from the formal one by its
own was not complete.
 the effective manager must attend the interaction between the informal and formal
organizations.
His important dynamic concepts were free will, cooperation, communication, authority,
the decision process, and dynamic equilibrium.
Simon, in his Administrative Behavior (1947) publication, extended Barnard's work and
used the concept of organizations equilibrium as a focal point for a formal theory of work
motivation. He viewed an organization as an exchange system in which rewards are
exchanged for work-just as in a school the teachers get salaries or teachers remain in the
organization as long as they perceive the reward as larger than their work contributions.
Simon also criticized the reward systems of classical and human relations schools for
their exclusive focus on Economic and social inducements respectively. For Simon both
approaches are incomplete mainly because one exceeds the other in different situations.
Thus, integrating economic, psychological and social factors as well as considering
individuals choice is vital. This implies the fact that behavioral school of thought has
interdisciplinary nature.
49
Other theoretical formulation in behavioral sciences evolved from the writings of max
Weber. Although many of Weber's views are closer to those espoused by the scientific
mangers than by the behavioral scientists, Weber's discussion of bureaucracy and
authority have provided today's behavioral scientists with a starting point in their
conceptions of organizations as social systems that interact with and are dependent upon
their environments.
Other behaviourists also extended the scope of administrative theory. During earlier
perspectives, administrative theory used to deal exclusively with industrial organizations.
It was the behavioural school theorists who broadened to include every organization such
as public administration, health education, religion, Armies, political organizations etc.
The underlining assumption for broadening its scope was that management's basic
concepts and patterns are common to all organizations regardless of their purpose.
Activity 2.12
1. Explain the features that make behavioural school different from the earlier
schools.
2. Explain the idea that "behavioural perspective is descriptive than prescriptive
in its nature"
3. Analyze school organization and management in the views of behavioural
perspective.
2.2. MODERN SCHOOLS OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT: GENERAL

SYSTEMS AND CONTINGENCY VIEWS
50
GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY
The systems approach to organization and management appeared around 1960, and soon
acquired a dominant position in management literature and practice. Its early
contributors include L.W. Bertalanffy, L.J. Hendreseon, W.G.Scott, D. Katz, R.L. Kahn
W. Buckly, J.D Thomposon and more others. They viewed organization as an organic
and open system, which is composed of interacting and interdependent parts, called
subsystems. To make the notion of the general system thoery more clear let us start by
defining the concept " system".
What is system?
Different authorities have forwarded different definitions to the concept system. For
instance,
 Bertalenffy defined system as a "complexity of elements standing in

interaction"(1968). He also noted that "systems exchange matters with their
environment: i.e. they import from and export to their surroundings."
 For Brown & Moberg (1978) system is " a set of interrelated parts that has some
uniqueness in the environment."
 Kast & Resenzweig (1981) defined system as " an organized, unitary whole
composed of two or more interdependent components or subsystems and
delineated by identifiable boundaries from its environmental supra systems.
Activity 2.13
From the definitions given above describe the major features of a system.
What is a social system?
Marvin Olsen cited in Hoy & Miskel (1987) defines a social system as a model of
organization that possesses a distinctive total unit beyond its component parts; it is
distinguished from its environment by a clearly defined boundary; it is composed of
51
subunits, elements, and subsystems that are at least interrelated within relatively stable
patterns (equilibria) of social order.
The Major Constructs of the General Systems Theory
The above definitions of the concept system contain such significant features as
components, boundary, input, throughput and output, purpose(s), subsystems, system and
suprasystem interdependence. These attributes are the major constructs of the general
systems theory. These constructs are discussed at length in this section. Such features as
a.Components. According to Silver (1983).systems contain sets of components which

interact with each other. Components are "the smallest meaningful elements or units that
interact with each other to fulfil the purpose(s) of a system."
Exercise 2.15
List down the components of a school system.
For Hanson (1985) the components of a school system are individual people (teachers,
principals, officers, students etc) and individual pieces of materials like books,
chalkboards, projectors, buildings etc. The structure of each part-for instance, the role of
each person and the form of each piece of material - determines how the components
interact, and it is the interaction among parts that attains the schools objective of
changing the students in some desirable ways.
b.Boundary. The boundary of a system is the component or part that separates the system
from the environment and filters the inputs to and the outputs from the system.
Boundaries are like the skin of an animal, membrane of a cell, or geographical borders of
a political unit (Knezevich, 1969). Hence boundaries are the 'domains' or the outer limits
of the system.
52
Defining boundaries for social systems is not as easy as that of physical or biological
systems. Supporting this idea, Kast and Rosenzweig (1981) state that, in a physical,
mechanical, or biological systems the boundaries can be identified. On the contrary,
defining boundaries in social organizations is too difficult. They are determined primarily
by the functions and activities of the organization. Social systems are generally
characterized by vaguely formed, highly permeable boundaries. Thus the definition of
boundaries in social systems like organizations is highly dependent on the nature of the
system (Ayalew, 1991).
Activity 2.14
Determine the boundary of a Secondary School System.
Based on the range and rate of inputs that enter the system and the range & rate of
outputs that leave the system, we can classify boundaries as, in relative terms, permeable
and impermeable. Systems, therefore, can be described as relatively open or closed on
the basis of their boundaries‟ permeability.
Exercise 2.16
Are schools open systems or closed? Why?
Open system.
An open system is one with a highly permeable boundary. It imports information, energy
and materials at a higher rate from in environment and makes use of these inputs for the
interaction among components in the production of diverse outputs (Ayalew, 1991).
Open system regulates its existence by importing from and exporting to its environment
(Boulding cited in Ayalew, 1991). The university, for example, receives inputs of
students, financial and other resources, transforms them, and exports educated graduates
and new knowledge.
Activity 2.15
53
Give at least five examples of open systems.
Closed system
A closed system is one with a relatively impermeable boundary. The boundaries of such
systems are very tight and only few elements from the environment can enter through.
One has to note that there are no as such totally open or totally closed systems. A totally
closed system would have an impenetrable boundary, while a totally open system will
have no boundary at all.
Activity2.16
List down some examples of closed systems.
The above discussion purports the fact that organizations are neither open nor closed
systems in an absolute sense. A fully closed system would obtain no human and material
resources for its production system nor distributes a finished product into the
environment, and therefore could not exist. A completely open system on the other hand,
would practice no selection or screening procedures, thus it will not be different from the
environment (Hanson, 1985).
In other would, organizations cannot respond to all possible environmental influences, it

must select the inputs it receive, the transformations it performs and the outputs it
produces. In effect, it must establish a "domain" for its activities and boundaries that
separate it from its external environment (Thompson 1967:25-38) cited in (Ayalew,
1991).
Generally, when organizations became too closed to the environment, they cannot satisfy
their internal needs, when they become too open, however, they are unable to maintain a
favorable balance of operating costs and output values, and eventually they become fused
with the environment (Atchison & Hill 1978 :44) in Ayalew ( 1991).
54
Input,Tthroughput and Output. According to Ayalew (1991), the open system can be
viewed as transformation model. In a dynamic relationship with the environment, it
receives various inputs, transforms the inputs in some way and exports outputs.
What is an input?
Inputs are all the elements that enter the system across its boundaries and cause or enable
the components to interact or affect the ways in which it fulfils the systems purpose.
Inputs are relatively diverse but they can be classified in to two categories as energy and
information inputs (buckley,19678) cited in Ayalew, (1991). The following table
compares the two categories.
Table 2.2 Comparison Of Energy And Information Inputs Of A System.
Energy inputs Information inputs

Nature Are physical materials or forces imported Are signals that enter the
to the system to enable the components system and indicate to the
move & interact physically. components how or when they
are to interact?
Light (e.g. traffic light), sound
Examples Fuel, electricity, air and sunlight, the (e.g. alarm bells), signs,
caloric energy the people bring that enables announcements & printed
them to move and speak. materials and signs
learning activity 2.17

List down the energy and information inputs of a school system.
i)energy inputs----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------
55
ii)information inputs-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hanson (1985:31), on the other hand, categorized inputs of the school system in to three
as presented next.
o Human inputs, such as teachers, students, administrators, and other personnel.
o Material inputs, such as buildings, desks, stationeries, laboratory equipments etc.
o Constraints, such as expectation of parents, requirements of law and policy,
values and social norms.
Activity 2.17
Evaluate the suggestions of Hanson about inputs of a school system in
the eyes of Silver and reflect your preference to the categorization of
inputs with justifications.
Ayalew (1991) notes that, irrespective of differences in classification, inputs are the
resources an organization needs in order to operate. They have two important features:
the quality and quantity of inputs.
On the basis of quantity,Katz and Khan (1978:40)inputs can further be classified inputs
as maintenance inputs and production inputs
 Maintenance inputs are the minimal amount of inputs required simply to sustain
the system and to keep the components in interaction.
 Production inputs are on the other hand those used for growth and goal
attainment.such inputs are required to enable the system to fulfill its purpose es
and at the same time to grow (Silver , 1983).
56
With regard to quality, literature evidences that systems do not absorb all inputs that they
come across. They screen the inputs so that they deal with them more effectively and
attain their goal. For instance,
 Elementary schools set forth certain age requirements for entry in to first grade
entry, thus standardized inputs.
 University also requires graduation from high school with a certain GPA for
admission.
 All organizations setup requirements for hiring employees.
Thus ,systems filter and standardize their inputs.
What is throughput?
Once the necessary inputs are acquired, the system has to change them in some way.
Organizations as throughput processors convert the inputs from the environment in to
products, services or in some other way reorganize the input. According to Jackson,
Morgan & Paolillo,1986:13) cited in Ayalew (1991), the throughput process includes
work done on the input and the internal operations of the organization. for
example,paper going through a printing press, voicegoing through a telephone
system are all examples of system through puts.
learning activity 2.18

What are the throughputs of a school system?
In the school system, the thought put process mainly involves the teaching-learning
process; whereas activities like staff meetings and disciplinary procedures, maintenance
works and management are viewed as supportive of the teaching-learning process
(Hanson, 1985).
What is output? Outputs are the end results (Products or service) actually created by the
system and not simply those hoped for (Knezevich cited in Ayalew, 1991). It includes all
the energy and information that the system sends out to its environment. Outputs may be
intended or unintended. The intended outputs consist primarily of goods and services,
57
valuable by-products and information and data considered valuable by other

organizations and individuals in the environment.
Unintended out puts are the unplanned consequences of production technology such as
waste products or other observable phenomena.
As noted by Jackson, Morgan & Paolillo cited in Ayalew (1991), the survival of a system
depends on the manner in which its outputs are consumed by the environment. In other
words, any organization must produce an intended product or service to remain viable in
the long run.
Activity 2.18
1. Give examples of intended and unintended outputs of a school system.
2. Explain the input-throughput-output cycle of a school system with relevant
examples
The continual relationship among input, throughput and output is demonstrated by the
following figure of the basic open-systems model.
Environment
Inputs Throughputs Out puts
Feedback loops
Figure 2.1. Basic open-system- Model (Source: Hoy & Miskel, 1987: 20)
The input – throughput-output sequence continues to happen as the organization operates.

The cycle clearly shows the need to import the right inputs and produce an output that the
environment wants. Hoy & Miskel (1987) state that the organization‟s capacity for
58
feedback facilitates the repetitive and cyclic pattern of input-throughput-output. Feedback
is information about the system, which enables it to correct itself.
The cycle applies to educational organizations too. For example, universities, just as any
other organization, take in input or raw materials (Students, knowledge, money etc) and
produce an output (educated people, research and community service) that must be kept
in line with the needs and demands of the society (Ayalew 1991). To adjust to the
continuing changes of the society needs & demands, Universities should undertake
formative and summative evaluations of their programs, conduct follow up studies of
graduates, surrey educational needs of the community and society at large. The
information obtained through these mechanisms will serve as a feedback to ensure the
continuity of the cycle by improving the programs & operations of the university or by
improving the standard & amount of inputs entering to the system. Formal
communication structures -PTA and various board or advisory councils and informal
political contacts are established inside and outside the school building to provide
feedback to the school.
Depending on the particular pattern of relationships among their components and filtering
conditions of boundaries open systems may exist in two states: equilibrium and
disequilibrium (Ayalew, 1991)
Equilibrium. Equilibrium is a state of stability or balance that occurs when

 the inputs are processed as they enter the system and
 the components (or subsystems) are providing input to each other (in interaction)
at a rate that enables processing as they are received
When an open system like schools is at equilibrium it is at steady state. The steady state
concept purports the growth and maturity of the system as living entity. In other words,
the inputs are being absorbed at a rate, which allows the organism to grow and to
produce. Morphet et-al cited in Ayalew (1991) note that „ the concept of... steady state
are of great significance to educational administrators because of the consequences of
alternative strategies to the social system.‟
59
Disequilibrium. It is a state of instability or imbalance such that the inputs are being
admitted too rapidly or slowly and with too much or too little diversity to be processed by
the system (Ayalew, 1991). When a system is in a state of disequilibrium, some
components (Subsystems) are overloading others. According to Katz and Kahn cited in
Ayalew (1991), some disequilibrium is necessary for growth and development of
systems, mainly because it forces the components (subsystems) to adapt to changes in the
input. Too much disequilibrium, however, could result in the disintegration or extinction
of system.
Purpose.
Organizations (Social systems) have a variety of goals. For Agarwal (1987), the supreme
goal of an organization is survival. All other goals depend on the achievement of this
goal. Another goal, which is intimately correlated with survival goal, is the goal of
adaptation and integration with environment. Organizations, like other systems, also seek
growth.
According to Hoy & Miskel (1987) organizational goals are future sets of affairs that the
organization is attempting to realize, they are images of desired ends, which
organizational members attempt to achieve thought he performance of their job. In other
words, goals tell us what has to be done and determines the process that has to be
undertaken. Purpose (goal) gives direction to the whole system. It determines the
processes that have to be generated in order to accomplish the goals.
Organizations (Social systems), unlike others, have complex and multiple purposes. Hoy
& Miskel (1987) categorized organizational goals as status goals and actual goals, official
goals and unofficial goals, abstract and concrete goals, individual and organization goals,
and imperative and operational goals. Moreover, goals have different origins and
functions; they are used to direct, to motivate, to evaluate and sometimes to justify
behavior.
60
Exercise 2.19
Describe the goals (purposes) of a school system.
Schools like other social systems may have multiplicity of goals /purposes that include;
socializing children, teaching children a variety of facts, attitudes and skills; providing
employees for business; and fulfilling various needs of staff (Silver cited in Ayalew,
1991).
Systems, Subsystems, and Suprasystems: Interdependence.
System. Systems vary in their degree of complexity. The variation may be attributed to:
o the number and diversity of components they comprise &
o the grouping of elements within them.
The set of elements that compose a system can be chosen at any level of complexity.
Thus, we can conceptualize either an entire organization or small work group as a system.
In each system the components cluster so as fulfill proposes that are related to the
purposes of the system as a whole. Such cluster of components form subsystems that
made up the whole system. Each system the components cluster so as to fulfill purposes
that are related to the purses of the system as a whole. Such cluster of components from
subsystems that made up the whole system. Each system again is part of a larger
aggregation of systems called Suprasystem.
Activity 2.19
Taking a school as a system, specify its subsystems and suprasystem
Subsystem. A subsystem is a part of a larger system. It is a set of components standing in

interaction for a purpose that relates to the purpose of the larger system (Ayalew 1991).
An organization, as a system, is composed of a number of subsystems:
o production/service subsystem o managerial subsystem
o maintenance subsystem o individuals as subsystem
o adaptive subsystem
61
o informal groups as subsystem (Agarwal, 1987)
The interdependent interaction among these subsystems and between subsystems and the
system is displayed in figure 2.2 below.
Production/service subsystem
Maintenance subsystem
Adaptive subsystem
Managerial subsystem
Individuals as subsystem
Informal groups as subsystem

Environment
Figure 2.2. The Interdependent Interaction of Subsystems
In the case of schools, Silver in Ayalew (1991) identified five subsystems:

o Instructions o Maintenance
o Student control o Administration subsystems
o Staff satisfaction
Activity 2.20
1. Compare and contrast the subsystems identified by Agarwal and Silver.

2. Analyze school system in terms of Agarwal’s suggestion of subsystems.
3. Break down the subsystems suggested by Silver to their respective
subsystems.
4. It has been stated that subsystems exist in interrelated manner. What do you
think are the means that make them interact?
62
According to Agarwal (1987), the various subsystems of an organization are interrelated
with one another through its communication network, decisions, authority responsibility
relationships and other dimensions of managerial subsystem, including objectives,
policies, plans, procedures and other aspects of coordinating mechanism.
Suprasystem
A suprasystem is a larger entity or environment of which a particular system is a part. An
organization, as open system, is in an interactional and interdependent relationship with
its environment composed of numerous systems such as society, religious, cultural and
social norms, consumers, government suppliers etc. For example, a school, as a system,
exists within a larger system, a school district; and the school interacts with other schools
to fulfill the purposes of the district as a whole. Thus, the school is a subsystem with
respect to the district and the district is a suprasystem with respect to the school.
Thus, the designation of system, subsystem and supra system depends on once level of
analysis. These levels of analysis are not independent of one another. They rather are
interdependent. That is,
o the behavior of a system depends on its subsystem and its suprasystem
o at the same time, the subsystem and suprasystem are influenced by the system.
Generally, the crux of the systems approach lies in the idea that "Everything depends on
everything else"
The systems approach suggests that we look at more than subunits or individuals acting
in isolation. We must analyze the interdependencies and interrelationships among the
parts in order to gain an accurate view of the whole (Mitchell: 1982)
The systems perspective was a reaction to the unrealistic assumption that organizational
behavior could be isolated from external forces. Competition, resources, and political
pressure of the environment affect the internal workings of the organization. The system
63
approach views organizations as not only influenced by environments but also dependent
on them. Organizations take inputs from the environment, transform them, and produce
outputs.
Generally, the systems perspective is concerned with both structure and process; it is a
dynamic system with both stability and flexibility, with both tight and loose structural
relationships. The organization as an arrangement of roles and relationships is not static.
To survive, the organization must adapt, and to adapt, it must change. The
interdependence of the organization and its environment is critical. Instead of neglecting
the environment, or seeing it as hostile, the open systems perspective stresses the
reciprocal ties that bind and interrelate the organization with those elements that surround
and penetrate it. Indeed, the environment is even seen to be the source of order itself.
(Hoy & Miskel 1987:21)
Criticisms Against Systems Theory
Exercise 2.20
Identify the short comings of systems
perspective based on your
understanding?
According to Agarwal (1987), the conceptual framework, for understanding and

analyzing organizations and management, provided by systems theory is too abstract to
be useful to practicing managers. That is, the concern for the totality of a system may not
be translated in to meaningful specifics for problem analysis. Brown & Moberg cited in
Ayalew (1991) also note that the notion of interdependence explained as "everything
depends on everything "make things difficulty to determined precisely what to do to
affect the system in a particular way.
2.2.2 CONTINGENCY VIEW OF ORGANIZATIONS
64
The abstract nature of systems approach and its other shortcoming reinforce the
emergence of another perspective called contingency approach. This approach is less
abstract than the systems approach in the study of organizations. Yet, contingency theory
is heavily dependent on systems concepts and reflects a search for patterns of
relationships between and among organizational subsystems and its environment. What
managers need to know therefore is how the subsystems of a specific organization are
uniquely related in a given environment and how to deal with a particular problem
(Agrawal 1987).
How does contingency view describe organizations?

Based on the systems perspective, Kast and Rosenzweig (cited in Ayalew, 1991) describe
the contingency view of organizations as follows:
The contingency view of organizations and their management suggests that an

organization is a system composed of subsystems and delineated by identifiable
boundaries from its environmental suprasystem. The contingency view seeks to
understand the interrelationships within and among subsystems as well as between the
organization and its environment and to define patterns of relationships or
configuration of variables.
Activity 2.21
Discuss the similarities and differences between systems and contingency views
to organizations.
As the description given by Kats and Rosenzweing indicates there are more similarities
than differences between contingency and systems approaches. With regard to their
similarities, Brown & Moberg in Ayalew (1991) identified the following
65
1. Both emphasize a view that

- the organization is a system
- the organization is embodied in a larger suprasystem &
- a variety of subsystems exist within the organizational boundaries.
2. Both are concerned with patterns of interrelationships and interdependencies

among system elements, and both emphasize the dual functions of maintenance
and adaptation in managing a system.
The difference, therefore, seems more in usage than definition. The contingency view
emphasizes the multivariate nature of organizations and attempts to understand how
organizations operate under varying conditions and in specific circumstances.
Contingency views are ultimately directed toward suggesting organizational designs and
managerial actions most appropriate for specific situations (Kast & Rosenzweig cited in
Ayalew, 1991).
System concepts are directed toward providing a broad model for understanding all
organizations. Whereas, the contingency view tends to focus on specific relationships
rather on the total organizational system. Each of these relationships is treated as an
interdependent unit, and an effort is made to identify which combination of variables will
elicit the most effectiveness.
Generally, the contingency view suggests that the effectiveness of various managerial
practices, styles, techniques and functions will vary according to particular circumstances
of the situation (Szilagyi cited in Ayalew, 1991). Extending this idea, Agarwal (1987)
stats that, organizational & management systems are not managerial choices, but
contingent upon internal & external environment.
Owens cited in Ayalew (1991) also favors the above idea with emphasis to the possibility
of getting effective method under specific situational contingencies. He notes that,
although there is no one best way to organize and manage people in all circumstances,
66
there are certain designs of organizational structure and desirable management methods
that can be identified as being most effective under specific situational contingencies.
An underlying assumption of the contingency view is that there should be congruence

between the organization and its environment and among the various subsystems. The
primary managerial role is therefore, to maximize this congruence. It underscores that the
appropriate fit between the organization and its environment and the appropriate
internal organizational design will lead to greater effectiveness, efficiency, and
participant satisfaction.
Activity 2.22
1. Discuss the implications of systems & contingency views to practicing school

administrators?
2. Take one school and analyze it from systems & contingency point of view.
UNIT SUMMARY
This unit tried to introduce the major theories of organization and management
classifying them into early and modern schools of thought. The early schools include:
the classical, human-relations and behavioral schools of management thought.
The classical school of management thought is composed of three major theories,

namely, Scientific Management of Taylor, Classical Organizational theory of Fayol, and
Bureaucracy of Weber. The school is known for its concern to productivity and
efficiency of organization. The assumption the school held about people had led it to
emphasize on a fairly rigid, formal, autocratic, highly rational, approaches which would
create regulated environment so as to ensure efficiency and productivity in organizations.
67
The Human-relations school was the first school that focused on the human dimension of
organizations. Its strand of though is, therefore, concern for people. Consequently, it
pointed out the contribution of informal structure, interpersonal relationships, and norms
in the work group to the success of an organization. The theory believes that addressing
the social needs of employees can help to attain productivity. The different studies
conducted in the Hawthorn Company by Elton Mayo and his associates as well as the
development of different theories in many social sciences contributed to the development
of this theory.
Behavioral school is a synthesis of the classical and Human-relations schools. Hence, it is

concerned with both the task and the people. Drawing its routes from early schools and
different behavioral sciences it took its subject matter to be the work behavior of the
organizations.
The modern schools consist of the general systems and contingency theories. The system
approach viewed organizations as open systems, which are more than subunits or
individuals acting in isolation. Managers must analyze the interdependencies and
interrelationships among the parts, the system and the environment in order to get
accurate view of the whole organization. By and large, the crux of theory lies in the idea
that everything depends on everything else.
Contingency view built itself on a systems philosophy. It pointed out the importance of
searching for certain pattern of interactions among and between the subsystems, system
and the environment. The theory advocates that there is no one best way to organize or
mange organizations. Rather, there could exist a particular way that best fits a specific
situation. The theory underscores that the appropriate fit between the organization and its
environment and the appropriate internal organizational design will lead to greater
effectiveness, efficiency, and participant satisfaction. Mangers, therefore should select
their management approaches and styles taking situational factors in to account.
UNIT 3
MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS IN EDUCATION
CONTENTS
3.0 INTRODUCTION
3.1 PLANNING
68
3.2 ORGANIZING
3.3 STAFFING
3.4 LEADING
3.5 CONTROLLING
Objectives:
By the end of this unit you should be able to
 Understand the nature and characteristics of different management functions.
 Evaluate the management practices of school administrators against the features
of management functions.
 Explain the interdependence of management functions.
 Value the importance of management functions for the smooth running of
 Discuss the uses of management functions in educational administration.
 Explain how strategic planning can take place in large organizations
 Reflect on the integration and interdependence of management functions
Resources:
 Ayalew S. (1991). “Approaches to Educational Organization and Management
”. Addis Ababa. (Unpublished)
 Ayalew S. (1991). “Approaches to Educational Organization and Management
3.0 Introduction
”. Addis Ababa. (Unpublished)
Alike managers in other organizations, Educational Administrators have certain basic
 Hoy, W.K and C.G Miskel (1987). Educational Administration: Theory,
functions - planning, organizing, rdstaffing leading and controlling. The scope and nature
Research and Practice. (3 ed) New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
of these functions differ as the level of management varies and from organization to

organizations.
69
This chapter is devoted to the basic notions of management functions and presents them
in the order depicted in the figure below.
Planning Organizing Staffing Leading Controlling
Figure 3.1 The Logical Sequence of Management Functions.
3.1. PLANNING
3.1.1.The place of planning in management functions

Planning is the most fundamental function of management. An educational organization
can succeed in effective utilization of its human, financial and material resources only
when its management decides in advance its objectives, and methods of achieving them.
Without planning; purposive and coordinated effort is not possible, and what results is
chaos, confusion and wastage of resources.
Planning involves determination of objectives, of formulation of programs and courses of

actions for their attainment, development of schedules and timings of action and
assignments of responsibilities for their implementation. Planning thus precedes all
efforts and actions. It lies at the basis of all other managerial functions. In the absence of
planning, it will be impossible to decide
o what activities are required,
o how they should be combined into jobs and departments,
o who will be responsible for what kind of decisions and actions,
o and how various decisions and activities are to be coordinated.
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And, in the absence of organizing involving the above managerial activities, staffing
cannot proceed, and direction cannot be exercised. Planning is also an essential pre-
requisite for the performance or control function, as it provides criteria for evaluating
performance. Planning thus is a primary function that precedes all managerial functions.
3.1.2. The Concept of Planning

Planning is deciding in advance the objectives of the organization in short as well as in
long run, and the means for attaining them. Planning includes the results envisaged, the
line of action to be followed, the stages to go through, and methods to use. It is a kind of
future picture and entails the running of organization activities as foreseen and provided
against over a definite period. Planning thus involves looking into the future, anticipating
it, and attempting to influence it through anticipatory decisions, so that the desired goals
are achieved with maximum possible efficiency and effectiveness. It is an attempt to
determine what must be done and then to take steps that will make it likely to happen. It
includes setting of objectives and goals and the formulation and selection of alternative
strategies and courses of action to reach the goals and objectives.
Learning Activities 3.1

a) Identify and explain the key elements of planning from the above
description.
b) In view of the uncertainty of all future events, why it is important for a
manager to plan?
c) How are planning and evaluating linked? Why it is important for a
manager to keep these two functions of management formally separated?
Planning, according to Agarwal (1987), requires responses to the following queries as its
elements:
1. What will be done- what are the objectives of the organization in the short and
in the long run?
2. What resources will be required - this involves estimation of the available and
potential resources, estimation of resources required for the achievement of
objectives, and filling the gap between the two, if any. 71
3. How it will be done – this involves two things
Exercise 3.1
Compare your response to activity 3.1 with elements of planning suggested by Agarwal.
3.1.3 The Nature of Planning
The essential nature of planning can be understood by focusing on its following aspects:
i) Planning is a continuous process,
ii) Planning concerns all mangers
iii) Plans are arranged in a hierarchy
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iv) Planning commits an organization into the future; and
v) Planning is antithesis of status quo.
Activity 3.2
1. Consult literature in management and explain each aspect of planning listed above.
2. Take a secondary school plan and evaluate it against the elements and aspect of
planning mentioned above.
3.1.4 Types of Planning

Literature in management evidences the existence of different types of planning. They
however, may be classified into three categories on the basis of duration, specificity, and
organizational level (Kinard, 1988).
Based on their duration plans are classified as

o long- range plan covers five years or more.
o medium- range plans last from one to five years.
o short- range plans covers a period of one year or less.
Plans can also be classified according to how general or specific they are. i.e.
1. Single-use plans are predetermined course of action developed for unique non-
recurrent situations.
2. Standing plans are predetermined courses of action developed for repetitive
situations.
Exercise 3.2
Below are the various types of single-use and standing plans. Examine each carefully
and label them as single-use or standing plane.
Budget: It is a plan that commits resources to an activity over a given
period. It may be expressed in monetary terms, working- hours, machine
hours, units of services/ product, or any other numerically measurable
terms.
Objective: An objective or goal is the end toward which organization’s

activities are directed. It is a statement of what the organization seeks to
accomplish. 73
Policy: It is a general guideline that channels the decision
making of subordinates. A policy is narrow enough to provide managers
with a sense of direction but flexible enough to permit considerable
Levels of plans. Perhaps the most useful method for classifying plans is based on where
they are formulated in an organization. In this system of classification, plans are strategic,
administrative and tactical.
Strategic planning
What is strategic plan?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Strategic planning, or top management planning, has a longer time horizon, and concerns
mainly with the future direction of the organization. It focuses on the long-term
development trend of the organization.
Strategic planning deals with matters like service and program diversification,
management development, research and development, expansion of plant intake capacity,
improvement in the quality of services and/or instruction etc. It is also concerned with the
development of overall organization objectives as well as solving long term problems
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associated with external environmental influences that affect operations on a long-term
basis.
Since strategic planning deals with more distant future, it is more uncertain, difficult to
predict and more vulnerable to environmental changes than the tactical plans. For such
nature is has, strategic planning is said to be tentative. Moreover, strategic planning
 calls for greater exercise of judgment in evaluating tends and policies.
 requires more active imagination envisioning new combinations of resources.
 must grow out of creativity in conceiving needs and functions that have not
existed before.
 is pertinent to the whole organization, and is carried out on the corporate level.
 provides a general picture of the anticipated development trend over a period of
time
 establishes the mission (philosophy and purpose) of the organization.
Reflective activities
i) Why strategic planning for an organization?
_____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
ii) What are the formal strategic planning processes?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Administrative planning /Functional planning/

Administrative planning is the process that structures an organization‟s resources to
achieve maximum performance. It includes plans developed by major functional
departments or units of the organization. It is prepared for the achievement of
departmental or functional goals, which form an integral part of the corporate objectives.
It also concentrates on policies dealing with the major functions of the organization.
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Activity 3.3
Present some examples (samples) of Administrative plans of a secondary school
and a university to your classmates.
Tactical planning
It is concerned with the efficient, day-to-day use of resources allocated to a department
manager‟s area of responsibility. These managers typically work with one-year operating
budget. For instance, a mathematics department may be required to develop an
operational plan that would help to undertake its instructional activities in a year.
Planning at this level is directed toward the fulfillment of departmental goals under
budgetary constraints.
Agarwal (1987) also characterized tactical plans as more specific and more formal in
nature. They include programs projects budgets and courses of action for the achievement
of specific objectives at the end of its time period. Tactical plans are integral part of
strategic plans, and implementation of each tactical plan is aimed at contributing to the
achievement of results expected at the end of the strategic plan period. Therefore, tactical
and strategic plans are complementary.
Exercise 3.3
Compare and contrast tactical and strategic planning.
Tactical and Strategic Planning Compared

The distinction between tactical and strategic planning can be confusing because it is
relative rather than absolute. For this reason, decisions that appear to be strategic to one
person may seem tactical to another. Having this in mind we can see the following points
by which tactical planning differs from strategic planning.
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1. Strategic planning is concerned with decisions that have long-lasting effects, and
which are difficult to reverse. Where as, tactical planning is concerned with
shortest worth considering. Both types of planning are essential and
complementary. Like the head and tail of a coin, they can be looked at separately
but cannot be separated.
2. Strategic planning is brad in scope. Technical planning is narrower. A strategic

plan for a department may be a tactical plan from the viewpoint of division. Other
things being equal, planning at the corporate level is generally more strategic than
is planning at any organizational level below it.
3. Tactical planning selects the means to pursue specified goals. A higher level of
management in the organization normally supplies the goals. Strategic planning is
concerned with both determining the goals and selecting the means to attain them.
Thus, strategic planning is concerned with ends as well as means.
Activity 3.4
Collect a copy of tactical and strategic plans of two secondary schools and evaluate them
in terms of the features discussed above.
3.1.5. Steps in planning

Learning activity
.Describe the basic steps in the planning process? why each step[ is
important?
Although different scholars suggest different list of steps involved in the planning
process, in this course we will consider only the most commonly used ones. These are:
1. Situational analysis
This is a stage where manager decide the gap between where their organization is and
where it wants to reach over a period of time. That means, planning at this stage involves
auditing and forecasting.
77
Auditing. By auditing we mean that an assessment is made of the school‟s existing

position in light of certain key criteria of performance effectiveness, efficiency and
employees‟ satisfaction. Depending on the concern of the school, other criteria like
quality, and equity could also be added. As a crucial stage of the planning process, it is
wise to audit both the internal and external environment of the school to determine the
strengths, weakness, opportunity and threats (Cheng, 1996).
The external environment may include social, political, economic, cultural and
technological development of the society, competitions from other schools, expectations
of parents and members of the community, potential student population in the district,
educational innovations, central education authority‟s direction in providing education
services, etc. The internal environment may also be analyzed in terms of human
resources, financial resources, physical resources, student intake, school climate, its
various education program etc. In their checklist for school auditing, Davies and Ellison
(cited in UNSA, 1996) focused on six areas:
1. Philosophy of the school (mission and purpose)

2. Management structure
3. Instructional process of the school
4. Resource: physical, furniture, materials and finance
5. Staff: Teaching and non- teaching and
6. Constituency: governors, parents and community.
Forecasting : Since planning is concerned with objectives to be attained in the future,

and provision of means for their attainment, it is imperative that various dimensions of
the future are explored and estimated. Intelligent and informed estimating or predicating
the future internal and external environment of the school (organization) is called
forecasting. Forecasting predicts or projects what will happen under a given set of
circumstances in the future and brings into light where the organization should be. Even
though forecasting relates to the aforementioned internal and external environments of
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the school, it particularly focuses on general economic, political, social and technological
conditions of the society.
Various kinds of forecasts yield premises, or assumptions which form the basis of
planning.
Forecasts could be made using various techniques. Some of the many techniques are
presented next
a) Trend analysis: - is used to extrapolate (calculating pre-data) future conditions

by using data that have been gathered over a long period of observation in
order to determine progressive change.
b) Scenario (imagined sequence of future events): is an intelligent visualization

of future conditions. It involves constructing a reasonable explanation of the
education situation in the future. E.g. quality of higher education.
It is almost writing the history of the organization before the happening of the
event.
c) Brainstorming: is a massing (collecting) ideas from members, team or

conference spontaneously that contribute to problem resolution.
d) Delphi Technique: is a procedure for obtaining forecasts of future situations

and trends where exact knowledge is not available and decisions have to be
based on rational, well-informed expert opinion. It relies on interaction by
means of questionnaires. i.e. it
o distribute questionnaires to a set of experts
o collects the forecasts & average them
o redistributes the average forecast to experts again to reconsider their
forecasts.
o continues until consensus is reached.
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e) Impact analysis: It is designed to predict the effect of technological

breakthroughs on instructional & other process of the school. It differs from
scenarios in that scenarios depict a procedure for attaining a goal whereas
impact analysis focuses on the effect of technological development.
The auditing and forecasting activities of situational analysis step helps planners/
managers to see the gap between the actual and the desired situation that needs to be
addressed by the organization over a period of time.
Generally, situational analysis involves assessing the existing situation and anticipating
the future. At this stage planning involves evaluating the political, economic, social and
technological environments that will face schools at some time in the future and
determining what changes in learner and school patron needs will be evident in the
projected new educational environment.
2. Determination of Objectives
Based on the identified needs educational goals and objectives are developed at the
corporate level. These goals generally related to survival, growth, efficiency and
productivity, innovation, employee development and social responsibility.
The corporate goals are divided and subdivided into successively smaller components
until each division, department and section of the organization has a definite set of goals
for short as well as long period. These objectives/goals form the basis of developing
plans aimed at their achievement.
3. Specifying means for the attainment of planned goals

Since there are alternative ways or means of achieving a planed goal, all the possible and
worthwhile ones need to be know.
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After the possible means are exhausted, they will be evaluated in terms of their feasibility
and affordability. And finally the worthwhile and most promising means would be
selected.
Means for the attainment of planned objectives consist of strategies, policies, procedures,
schedules, methods, standard, budgets, programs and projects (see page 52). Means
constitute the instruments and content of planning.
4. Determination of Requirement of Resources

Once the plans have been formulated, the next step in the planning process is the
determination of various kinds of resources that would be required for their
implementation. These resources are of four types: i) financial, ii) equipment and
facilities, iii) materials, supplies and services, and iv) manpower.
Sectional, departmental and divisional plans include an estimate of the requirements of

various kinds of resources, their availability, and need for additional resources. Resource
plan at the corporate level incorporate need for various kinds of additional resources,
estimates of resources that can be generating within the organization and acquired from
outside, and the courses of action required for generating them internally and acquiring
them from external sources.
5. Implementation of plans
Plans will not produce any results if not implemented effectively. They are basis for
action, not actions in themselves. Plans only provide direction to effort and chart the path
for accomplishment of desired goals. Strategies, policies, programs, projects and budgets,
constituting the instruments of planning, should be implemented effectively in order to
ensure the maximum utilization of resources for the achievement of predetermined
objectives. The following steps are suggested for effective implementation of plans
1. Communicating plans
2. Participating responsible individuals in the process of preparation
81
3. Reviewing & adjusting the organizational structure: Planning implies redefinition

of objectives, strategies, polices, products, methods of operations and so forth.
This necessitates corresponding changes in the organization's structure.
4. Provision of required resources
5. Assignment of responsibility and delegation of authority for implementing a
specific part of the total plan.
6. Motivating the employees
7. Measurement of performance. Performance of executives should be measured by
the contribution they make to the implementation of the plans. The performance
of managers should also be tied with their advancement to maximize their
motivation. It is, therefore, essential that planned goals and targets should be used
as the criteria of performance, and the system of rewards and punishments tied
with it.
8. Adjustments in plans - Plans are based on premises, or estimates of the future, and
however, accurate these estimates may be, they are never perfect. It is, therefore,
essential that during the process of implementation itself, the plans should be
reviewed and reexamined in the context of the results achieved, difficulties
experienced, problems faced, and changes taking place in the environment.
Continual review, appraisal and readjustment of plans is crucial for its successful
implementation.
9. Leadership for implementation - Leadership for the implementation of plans is by
far the most important ingredient in its success. Employees engaged in the
process of implementation of plans need guidance, help and encouragement from
their superiors. The period of change is always full of difficulties, anxieties and
apprehensions. Effective leadership is needed to create an environment of hope,
confidence, and motivated performance. Effective leadership requires that every
manager should weld his/her subordinates in a cohesive team, with him/her as its
leader. In his/her role of group leader, the manager acts as a guide and facilitator
to his/her subordinates, rather than a boss.
Activity 3.5
82
1. Take a plan of a secondary school and analyze it in terms of steps involved in
planning process.
2. Evaluate the implementation of last year’s plans in three secondary schools &
present it in class.
3. should a manager plan for a relatively short or long time?
3.1.6. Advantages of Planning.

Planning is so important because without planning, organizational decisions and actions
will tend to become random and uncoordinated, which will result in nothing but chaos.
The major advantages of planning include: It
i) provides basis for cooperative and coordinated efforts;
ii) reduces the need for crisis management;
iii) enables the organization to capitalize opportunities and face challenges;
iv) reduces uncertainties
v) promotes efficiency
vi) provides criteria for decisions
vii) facilitates timely execution of complex tasks
viii) releases forces of creativity and innovation;
ix) provides basis for control
Activity 3.6
Consult literature in management & explain each of the above advantages of

planning.
3.1.7. Management by Objectives (MBO)
It has been discussed that corporate goals of an organization can be attained if each
organizational unit and employees were toward that end. Management by objective is
83
therefore, taken as the best way to integrate each worker into the overall organization
strategy.
Management by objective has appeared under several names: result-oriented

management, management by agreement, to name a few. Whatever naming is used it is
widely recognized in virtually every type of organization.
What is management by objective? Management by objective may be defined as a

management process whereby the super-ordinate and subordinates, operating under a
clear definition of common goals and priorities of the organization established by top
management, jointly identify the individual's major areas of responsibility in terms of the
results expected of him/her and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and
assessing the contributions of each of its members.
In other words, MBO focuses on the accomplishment of well-defined objectives rather

than on tasks and activities. MBO involves:
 Identification of organizational, divisional, departmental, group and individual
objectives;
 Formulation of effective managerial strategies, policies and procedures; and
 Measurement of performance in terms of objectives, not tasks & activities.
Kinard (1988) on his part suggests the basic steps involved in MBO to be:
1. Precisely defining the job that needs to be done overall goals are usually set by
top-level management, first level managers usually set more specific
departmental goals
2. Establishing goals supervisors and employees together set attainable, specific
objectives to be achieved over a set period of time
3. Evaluating results. At the end of the time period supervisors evaluate how well
objectives have been met.
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4. Providing feedback to the subordinate. Subordinates are informed of their
progress, and the process of setting objectives brines again.
Activity 3.7
Below are descriptions of an accountant's job. Identify which one is the

description of a goal-oriented employee. Why?
Mr. X, My job is to establish and produce management accounting records of

the university and the preparation of budgets and financial statements in
accordance with the University policies and it's Act.
Mr. Y, My job is to produce management accounting data that will aid decision
making at all the levels of management.
3.2. ORGANIZING
In our previous discussion we have seen planning as a primary function of management

that lays foundation to all the rest. It specifies the objectives to be attained and determines
exactly what to do to attain those objectives. However, plans cannot be implemented by
one person nor one person does every thing necessary to meet the goals set forth in the
plan. Consequently, planning requires organizing the efforts of many people integrating
it with other resources.
What is then organizing? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
85
Different authorities defined organizing in different ways .organizing refers to the process
of classifying and dividing the work into a manageable unit and coordinating of work
(kinard, 1988). Once managers have established objectives and developed plans or
programs to reach them they must design and staff organizations to be able to carry out
those programs successfully. The designing and staffing of organizations refers to the
process of organizing _the way work is arranged and allocated among members of the
organization so that the goals of the organization can be efficiently achieved.
Activity 3.8
Identify the key features of organizing & define it in your own words.
The Purpose of Organizing

From the above definitions what do you suggest about the purpose of organizing?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Your response may include the following: That organizing is aimed at giving each person
a distinct task and to ensure these tasks are coordinated in such a way that the
organization accomplishes its goals.
Agarwal also notes that organizing aims at combining employees and interrelated tasks in
an orderly manner so that organizational work is performed in a coordinated manner, and
all efforts and activities pull together in the direction of organizational goals.
Exercise 3.4
What are the series of actions that managers need to take in the process of
organizing?
86
Organizing process results in a structure of the organization. If comprises organizational
positions, accompanying tasks and responsibilities, and a network of roles and authority
responsibility relation ships.
Stating the logical sequence of organizing process , Ayalew (1991) notes the following
steps in organizing process.
o Departmentalizing
o Choosing span of control
o Line and Staff designation
o Delegation of authority and
o Drawing organizational chart.
3.2.2 Basic steps in the Organizing Process
Departmentation
It is a horizontal differentiation of tasks in an organization. It involves establishing
divisions, branches or units to which groups of related functions, activities or tasks are
assigned. Thus individuals focus their work on specific goals & tasks of each subdivision.
Exercise 3.6
When and how should departementation be exercised in organizations?
87
As suggested by Ayalew (1991), and Koontz & Weihrich (1989), departmentation is

essential when building a new organization, reorganize the existing organization, or an
activity is added to or subtracted from an organization. It could be exercised in different
forms. The most commonly exercised forms include: Departmentation by
- Organization's function - Product or service

- Territory or geography - Time
- Customer or client - Subject matter
- Process - Matrix or grid organization
Activity 3.9
1. Explain each of the above forms of departmentation with examples from

2. Discuss the advantages and limitations of each departmentation form &
determine those that can be applied in educational organizations.
3. Which of the above departmentation forms is the best? Why? What is its
implication to the practicing managers?
4. Take the structure of an educational organization determine the
departementation forms used.
From the activities, you might have observed the following important features of
departmentation.
o Departmentation is not an end in itself but is simply a means or method of

arranging activities to facilitate the accomplishment of objectives.
o Each form of departmentation has its merits and demerits; consequently, the
process of selection involves a consideration of the relative advantages of each
type at each level in the organization structure. Each form yields certain gain and
involves certain costs.
o Therefore, practicing manager should be able to design the organizational
structure most suitable for their particular operations.
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o Generally, a combination of different departmentation forms may be used in an
organization depending on the situation.
The Span of Control

What is span of control?
?_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_
Span of control refers to the number of subordinates that a single manager can
effectively supervise. It is the number of immediate people directly reporting to a single
administrator. The size of span of control determines the total number of managers &
hierarchical levels in an organization. This in turn determines the shape of organizational
structure i.e.
- Large (wider) span of control results in flat structure with less hierarchical levels
and fewer managers. A relatively wider span of control will lead to relatively flat
structure and relatively fewer manager
- Small (narrow) control span results in tall structure with many hierarchical levels
and managers, which is the reverse of the flat structure.
Exercise 3.7
Should the size of span of control be wider or narrow? Is there a specific

recommended number to choose span of control?
There is no magical number for choosing the size of span of control. It varies from on
situation to another. As you might have seen from the structures of different
organizations, there seems some agreement that upper-echelon managers usually have
fewer immediate subordinates than middle managers do. Likewise, middle managers
have narrower span of control than first line managers do. Variations at different
89
organizational levels could also be apparent as a result of complexity and/or diversity of

jobs, the need for personal interaction, leadership philosophies, and a lot of other
variables. Literature in management, suggest "the ideal number of subordinates for all
supervision authorities to be four while at the lower level the number may be eight or
twelve.
Exercise 3.8
What factors determine the choice of control span?
In search for the answer to how many subordinates a manager can effectively manage,
scholars in the field conducted numerous studies and suggest the need for considering the
following factors.
o Time available by the manager for supervisor
o The managers ability and competence
o Geographical dispersion of subordinates/activities
o Complexity of the work
o Subordinates capability, training and experience
o The management philosophy - centralized, decentralized
o The clarity of delegated authority and plans
o Objectivity of standards
o Stability of operation or rate of change taking place in the organization
Activity 3.10
? Explain how each of the above factors affects the choice of control span.
? Is large or span of control advisable for top level managers
Line and staff designation
90
Line and staff relationships are authority relationship of members of an organization that
affect its operation. The word "line" refers to the vertical dimension of authority that
starts or the highest level of management of extends down to the lowest level of
employees. On the other hand, "staff" refers to a horizontal relationship to this direct line
of authority.
Line functions, or offices are those that have direct responsibility & accountability for the
accomplishment of the primary goals of the organization. On the other hand, staff
functions are to help the line persons to work most effectively in accomplishing the
objectives.
Activity 3.11
1. Take the structure of a secondary school and a business organization and

identify the line & staff functions for each.
2. Explain the relationship between line & staff offices
3. Who is more important in school organizations, a staff or line officer? Why?
From your reaction to the above activities, you might have understood clearly that the
line authority gives a superior a line of authority over a subordinate. The line manager
can, therefore, issue order to subordinates down the chain of command. This reminds the
Fayol's scalar chain principle: The clearer the line of authority from the ultimate
management position in an organization to every subordinate position, the clearer will be
the responsibility for decision-making and the more effective organization
communication will be. Line authority is that relationship in which a superior exercises
direct authority over the subordinate whereas the function of people in staff offices is to
investigate, research and give advice to line managers. They have functional but not
direct authority over operating personnel. Functional authority is the right which is
delegated to an individual or a department to control specified processes, practices
policies, or other matters relating to activities undertaken by persons in other
departments.
91
Exercise 3.9
What would be your reference/criteria to classify tasks as staff and line when
organizing?
Delegation of Authority
i) What is authority?
ii) What is delegation of authority?
iii) Why is delegation necessary?
Authority is the right in a position to exercise discretion in making decisions affecting

others. It is the right to make decisions, to direct the work of others and to give orders.
Delegation of authority is thus the pushing down of the authority from superior to
subordinate.
Delegation is necessary for an organization to exist. Organizing departments & jobs

would be impossible without delegation because tasks require authority to accomplish
them. In our study of control span we were referring to the importance of setting limit to
the number of subordinates under the supervision of a manager. This was mainly because
one person neither can do all the task of the organization nor the capacity to regulate what
is going on in the organization. So this limit implies the need to subsequent subordinates,
who will make decisions within the area of their assigned duties.
How is authority delegated?

The process of delegation may involve:
o Determination of outcomes expected from a position
o Assignment of tasks to a position
o Granting of permission/authority for accomplishing the tasks assigned
o The holding subordinates in positions responsible for accomplishment of tasks.
Creation of an obligation on the part each subordinate to the executive for
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satisfactory performance of duties is essential because the executive is
responsible for what he/she delegated.
In practice, it is impossible to split this process, since expecting a person to accomplish

goals without the authority to achieve them is unfair, as is the delegation of authority
without knowing for what end results it will be used. Moreover, since his/her
responsibility /accountability cannot be delegated, a super-ordinate has no practical
alternative but to hold subordinates responsible for completing their assignments.
Activity 3.12
Discuss the likely problems that could occur if the authority vested on a position
is not balanced to the duties assigned.
In order to delegate wisely a manager must decide on

1. What is to be delegated
2. Why are the selected duties being delegated
3. To whom are the duties being delegated
4. What limits should be placed on the authority delegated.
What to delegate?
Decision in what to delegate requires the consideration of the following points.
o Things that cannot be delegated at all because the delegator can do them best
or, for strategic reasons must keep them for himself/herself.
o Things that can be delegated to others in accordance with their availability,
skills and talents
o Things that should be delegated because they are so routine
Why to delegate?
There are different reasons for delegation. Some are
o to reduce the burden of work from managers
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o to develop or change the organization structure. In fact it is possible to

delegate within the existing structure but there are factors like number of
levels, size of the span of control & the balance between line & staff
dimensions that may lead to poor delegation and hence require structural
changes.
o to develop subordinates experience by deliberately adjusting and rotating
responsibilities to them.
o to pass decisions timely decisions made by lower managers is timely than
those made of the top level
To whom should authority be delegated?

The administrator should delegate to those who have the capacity for accomplishment,
the talent & abilities needed and the practical experience of meeting responsibilities.
What limits should be placed on the authority delegated?

In the process of delegation, the manager confers upon a subordinate the right to act in a
specified ways and to decide within limited boundaries. The subordinate who accepts the
authority exercises it in conformity with the intentions of the superior, within the
framework of such controls as that superior sets up.
Delegation outlines the boundaries of what is permissible. Some actions can be classified
as planning, others involve the performance of work operations; still others provide for
the right of organizing, controlling, deciding, coordinating, or further delegating. The
central problems for managers, therefore, is to determine the scope of authority for
subordinates, and so frame their communications with them as to map the range of their
expected and permitted behavior.
The scope of authority delegated to subordinates is inseparably linked with the nature and
number of tasks and duties. With variant forms authority, it is possible to tailor the
delegation to the specific needs of each situation. The scope of authority so delegated
should be adequate for, but not more than adequate for, the successful performance of the
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responsibilities assigned, and the kind of authority should be matched to the nature of
these responsibilities.
Guides for Effective Delegation

The following are five practical guides to make delegation real.
1. Define assignments and delegate authority in the height of results expected.

That is, grant sufficient authority to make possible accomplishment of goal
assignments.
2. Select the person in the light of the job to be done.

Although the good organizer will approach delegation primarily from the standpoint
of the task to be accomplished, in the final analysis, staffing as a part of the total
system of delegation cannot be ignored.
3. Maintain open lines of communication.

Quite evidently, superior can neither delegate all authority nor abdicate
responsibility and since managerial independence does not exist, decentralization
should not lead to seclusion. There should be a free flow of information between
superior and subordinate, furnishing subordinates information with which to make
decisions and to interpret properly authority delegated.
4. Establish proper controls. Because no manager can relinquish responsibility,

delegation should be accompanied by techniques to make sure the authority is
properly used. But if controls are not to interfere with delegation, they must be
relatively broad and designed to show deviations from plans rather than
interfere with routine actions of subordinates.
5. Reward effective delegation and successful assumptions of authority.

Managers should be ever watchful for means of rewarding both effective
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delegation and effective assumption of authority. Although many of these

rewards will be monetary, the granting of greater discretion and prestige both
in a given position and by promotion to a higher position is often even more
of an incentive.
Drawing Organizational Chart

What does an organization chart illustrate?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Organizational chart is the way of depicting an organization. It is the skeleton of the
organization that provides
o the official lines of authority (chain of command)
o the various functional units of the organization
o the established channels of communication
o the title of each managers job
o the line and staff relations.
Activity 3.13
1) Explain the different types of organizational charts.

2) Explain the difference between organizational chart and organizational
structure.
3) Explain the difference between power and authority.
4) By referring the organizational structure of secondary school and conducting
interview with secondary school managers, evaluate
i) the balance between the tasks and authority of the principal.
ii) the balance between the tasks and authority of the department.
5) Discuss the relationship between delegation of authority and decentralization
6) Unlike authority, responsibilities cannot be delegated. Discuss fore or against
this issue.
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3.3. STAFFING
Staffing is a continuous and vital function of management. After the objectives have been
determined, strategies, policies, programs, procedures and rules formulated for their
achievement, activities for the implementation of strategies, programs etc, identified and
grouped in to jobs, the next logical step in the management process is to procure suitable
personnel for managing the jobs, the next logical step in the management process is to
secure suitable personnel for managing the job.
Since the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization significantly depends on the

quality of its personnel, staffing is regarded as function of management aimed at
acquiring and maintaining qualified and trained people to the organization.
3.3.1. What Staffing Is?

According to Koontz and Weihrich (1988), Staffing is defined as filling, and keeping
filled the positions in the organization structure.
Staffing comprises several sub-functions including:

1. Manpower planning involving determination of the number and kind of personnel
required.
2. Recruitment for attracting suitable number of potential employees to seek jobs in
the organization.
3. Selection of most suitable persons for the jobs under consideration.
4. Placement, induction and orientation
5. Appraising and career planning
6. Transfers, promotions, termination and layoff
7. Training and development of employees
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Learning activities
1) What is the advantage of staffing?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2) Suppose there is a shortage of qualified chemistry and physics teachers in your school.
What possible solutions do you suggest for your principal? In what type of activities
should the school get involved?
3) Explain the basic difference of organizing and staffing using your own words and cite
examples in your school situation .
The details of these sub-functions of staffing process will be discussed at length in

chapter five.
3.4. LEADING
As a matter of fact leadership is the heart and soul of management. Leading involves
influencing others in order to accomplish specific objectives. To be effective leaders,
managers need to understand individual and group behavior, techniques of motivation,
and effective styles of leadership. Managers must develop relationships that ensure
adequate communication with their subordinates. Leading also includes managing
personal conflict, helping employees deal with changing conditions, and, in some cases
disciplining employees.
Leading involves developing a climate of individual integrity, corporate honesty, and

high productivity. A climate like this can best be created by making decisions with a
question in mind: What is right, just, and equitable? Effective leadership is built on a
foundation of mutual trust and respect.
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A manager must do a number of things to be an effective leader. For instance, he or she
must make certain that everyone in the unit knows exactly what is expected in terms of
performance. Objectives must be identifiable measurable, and individually attainable.
The manager also must recognize and reward outstanding performance. This involves
setting up an appraisal-reward system that rewards superior performance and does not
reward mediocre. To be effective, managers also must surround themselves with
competent employees and ask their advice when making decisions that affect them. In
other words, a manager should use all the organizational resources available especially
people. Chapter four addresses this topic at length.
Exercise 3.10
1) Define leadership in your own words
2) Discuss what a leader should do to make employees followers.
3) Is leadership an inborn or learned quality ?
3.5 CONTROLLING
3.5.1. What is controlling?

Controlling is the function of ensuring that the divisional, departmental, sectional and
individual performance are consistent with the predetermined objectives and goals.
Making sure that plans are being carried out and taking corrective action when necessary
are the aspects of an administrators' job referred to as controlling. Eventually, control is
concerned with making events conform to plans. Its main purpose is to point out
weakness, deviations, and errors in order to rectify them and prevent recurrence.
The controlling function begins whenever plans are activated. Keeping themselves
apprised of such elements as time, quantity, quality, and cost administrators compare
these elements against yardsticks (standards). Without systematic control, a manager has
no assurance that all elements of the organization will work toward meeting the common
goal.
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Exercise 3.11
Why controlling? When should it be exercised?
3.5.2. Steps in the controlling process
There are essentially four steps involved in the control process.

1. Establishing standards or targets.
2. Measuring actual performance.
3. Comparing performance against standards /identification of deviations.
4. Taking corrective action.
1. Establishing standards
Standards are units of measurement established by administration to serve as benchmarks
for comparing performance levels. Standards can take different forms: For example, they
can be expressed in
o monetary terms or
o measures of acceptable quality.
In many ways, determining a quantity may be difficult; hence, an evaluator must

sometimes make subjective judgments.
In virtually all cases, standards are attainable, minimum level of acceptable performance.
For example, the 2.0 grade point average required for graduation at universities is the
minimum level of achievement established by administrative officials. It is a criterion for
comparing the academic performance of students against a standard established through
reasoned judgment, experience, and tradition.
Three different methods are used for establishing standards:

1) Judgment,
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2) Statistical or historical data, and
3) Observation.
Judgment: An administrator arrives at judgmental standards through personal knowledge,

experience, and intuition. This method may serve when setting standards for clients'
satisfaction, employee attitudes, or social responsibility.
Statistical or historical data: Past performance is used as a benchmark or goal for future
performance. When standards are based on an analysis of past performance, however,
employees have little motivation to do better than they have in the past.
Observation. Workers are observed in action, and standards are set accordingly using
engineering techniques. The major drawback to this method is the employees soon learn
to slowdown the pace when engineers /observers/ with stopwatches and calculators come
around. They realize that they can look better on daily performance reports if; latter on,
they exceed the engineered standards.
Activity 3.14
Give some examples of standards of school determined by
i) Judgment
ii) Statistical or historical data
iii) Observation
Types of standards
There are three types of standards:
1) Performance standards: They deal with quantity, quality, cost and time
2) Corollary standards: such standards support a given level of performance. These
include minimum personnel requirements and adequate physical resources.
3) Standards of conduct: Standards of conduct are moral and ethical criteria that
shape the behavioral climate of the employees.
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Activity 3.15
List down the standards of a secondary school and classify them into
performance,
corollary, or conduct.
2. Measuring Actual Performance

The way that standards are expressed may define how they should be measured. To make
sure that performance level are measured accurately and correctly by any standard,
administrators should pay close attention to the
o timeliness of the information

o appropriateness of the unit of measurement
o reliability of the information- degree of accuracy
o validity of the information- reflect what is intended to measure
o channeling of the information to the proper person.
Activity 3.16
Take the performance measurement experience of two secondary schools and
evaluate it in terms of the above criteria.
3. Comparing Performance Against Standards

Actual output or performance that does not precisely conform to standards may still be
„in control‟. A slight departure from standards is normal and expected; however, gross
departures from standards signal the need to distinguish between acceptable variation and
variation indicating the process is out of control.
The purpose of comparing past performance with planned performance is not only to
determine when an error has been made but also to predict future outcome. A good
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control system, then, will provide quick comparisons so the administrator can detect
possible trouble while the operation is still under control. The administrator cannot
change the past, but the knowledge of the past will help him/her make the right decisions
today that will affect tomorrow.
Activity 3.17
Conduct interview with principals of secondary schools about how they compare
performance against the standards or plans and then evaluate what they are
doing with the feedback of comparison.
4. Taking Corrective Action.

The purpose of comparing actual performance against intended performance is to
determine if corrective action is needed. But the administrator cannot see the total activity
and therefore must carefully avoid two types of errors: taking corrective action when no
action is warranted and failing to take corrective action when it is clearly needed.
5.3.3. Developing a Control system
Administrators must set up a definite system of control in all areas of operation. They
need, essentially, eight kinds of controls that:
1. Standardize performance to increase efficiency and to reduce costs. These

controls include written procedures and inspections.
2. Safeguard organization assets from theft, waste, or misuse, such as a rule for
employees to get written permission for taking equipment home with them.
3. Standardize the outputs’ quality, using quality-control procedures. e.g. quality
assurance agencies
4. Set limits for delegated authority
5. Measure on the job performances of all employees in the organization, including
periodic performance reviews.
6. Control for planning and programming operations, such as output forecasts and
budget sources.
7. Allow top administration to keep the organization's plans and programs in
balance. Included in this category are the master budget and policy manuals.
8. Designed to motivate people to contribute their best efforts. This includes
recognizing people's achievements through promotions, suggestion awards etc.
Generally, to be effective, controls must have accurate and continuous information. They
also must be cost effective; that is, the cost of maintaining control over an activity must
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not exceed the loss that would occur without the control. Controls also should be timely,
objective, and simple. The importance of information technology in the control system
should be taken into account as far as the capacity allows.
Activity 3.18
Make a survey on the types & effectiveness of control system of secondary

schools and present a report to your class.
3.6. THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS
Exercise 3.12
Suppose a department head is discussing work problems with one of his/her
teachers, which of the above management functions has the head carried out?
Why?
Although we discussed administrative functions in a particular sequence - planning,

organizing, staffing, leading and controlling- they are not performed in a sequential order.
Administration is an integral process and it is difficult to put its functions neatly in
separate boxes. Administrative functions tend to coalesce, and it sometimes becomes
difficult to separate one from the other. For example, the case in exercise 3.12 purports
the fact that it is difficult to say whether s/he is leading, developing or communicating,
controlling or doing all these things simultaneously. Such instances rather imply the fact
that administrators often perform more than one function simultaneously. The following
figure shows how administrative functions are networked; they are not performed in a
sequence.
Environment
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Planning
Organizing Staffing
Leading Controlling
Environment
Figure 3.1 Network of Administrative functions (source: Adopted from Agarwal 1987:8)
The above figure also shows that administration performs all these functions in
interaction with its environment comprising economic, social, political, technological,
legal forces etc. As it has been discussed in chapter two, this interactional relationship
between administrative functions and environment occurs because organizations are open
systems.
SUMMARY
Management process in an organization includes the process of planning, organizing

staffing, leading and controlling. Planning is the primary function of management .good
planning enables the managers to improve their coordination, their ability to keep, every
day act in perspectives, their abilities of decision making. Good planning also increases
efficiency and effectiveness of organizations. It also improves confidence and
achievement of managers. Organizing is the second element of management process . it is
the process of arranging an organizations structure and coordinating its managerial
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activities and the use of resources to achieve organizational goals .staffing is concerned
with getting the right people at the right time in the right position. Leading involves
influencing others in order to accomplish specific objectives with out using force.
Leadership is a key process in any organization. We attribute the success or failure of an
organization to its leadership. When a business venture, a university or an athletics team
is success full, it the president or the coach that often receives the credit. When failure
occurs it is usually the same individual at the top that is replaced. Finally we have to
assure the achievement of goals by comparing the preset objectives with the actual
performance via the process of controlling.
UNIT 4
BASIC MANAGERIAL SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING IN
EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
CONTENTS
4.0 INTRODUCTION
4.1 COMMUNICATION
4.2 MOTIVATION
4.3 DECISION-MAKING
4.4 LEADERSHIP
Objectives:
By the end of this unit you will be able to
 Understand the nature and characteristics of different management skills.
 Acquaint yourself with different theories related to management skills.
 Identify the theories relevant to solve management related problems in schools.
 Synthesize the practical implications of different theories of management skills to
the practicing educational administrators.
 Point out the limitations of and differences between different theories of
management skills.
 Evaluate managerial skills of school principals in light of relevant theories.
 Appreciate the contribution of different theories of management skills to the
resolution of managerial problems of educational organizations.
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Resources

 Hoy, W.K and C.G Miskel (1987). Educational Administration: Theory, Research
and Practice. (3rd ed) New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
4.0 INTRODUCTION
Management being a social activity cannot be free from problems. Hence educational
managers need to acquire basic management skills in order to solve different problems of
educational organizations. Some of such skills include communication, motivation,
decision-making and leadership. This chapter deals with these skills at a greater length.
4.1. COMMUNICATION
Communication is one of the administrator's most important tools. When used correctly,
it embodies the speaker's objectives and helps accomplish tasks that require coordination.
In addition to its important social uses, communication has four functions:
o Disseminating information,
o Motivating and persuading,
o Promoting understanding, and
o Aiding in decision making
Such multifaceted nature of communication makes highly significant in the functions of

administration. For this reason superintendents and principals spend 70 percent or more
of their time communicating. The formulation and communication of goals in
organization require communication and result in cooperative efforts. The translation of
goals into units of concrete action and subsequent goal accomplishment depends on
communication. Establishing a communication network and process, therefore becomes
an important task of the organizer and the continuous task of the administrator. As Simon
(cited in Hoy & Miskel, 1987) succinctly stated, without communication there can be no
organization.
What is Communication?
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Activity 4.1
1) When do we say two persons have communicated?
2) What is then communication to you?
Attempts to define communication in terms that are universally applicable have been
frustrated by the multifaceted nature of the process. For our purpose, however, the
definition provided by Lewis Cited in Hoy & Miskel, 1987) is useful. For him
Communication means sharing messages, ideas, or attitudes that produce a degree

of understanding between a sender and receiver.
In everyday usage, communication implies an attempt to share meaning by transmitting

messages among people. Like other organizations, the sharing of messages, ideas or
attitudes occur in school among administrators, teachers, students, parents, and other
interested constituencies. From this perspective the following definition of
communication provides the basic organizational formulation.
Communication is any process whereby decisional premises are transmitted from one
member of an organization to another (Simon cited in Hoy & Miskel, 1987)
Communication Process
What are the elements involved in the communication process?
The communication process involves the exchange of information between a sender and
receiver. Fig 1 shows the key components of the communication process.
Sender messages reciver
Developes
idea_________encodes_______transmit
es_____recives____decodes__acts
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Feed back
To explicate the model further, each portion will be described separately as follows.
Source: The source, or sender, is the originator of a message. The communicator need
not be a person; a newspaper, professional journal, or organizational position, such as the
office of the assistant principal for finances may be the source.
The effectiveness of a message depends in part on the level of credibility that the receiver
attributes to the sender. For example, faculty members who view the principal as
dishonest and manipulative probably will distort all communications from that source.
Idea. The sender must create an idea or choose a fact to communicate. The idea or fact is
the content of the message. The source must have something to say before the content can
be 'said'. This first step is crucial because the succeeding steps are nonsensical without a
message.
Encoding and mental sets. The source initiates a message by encoding a thought, that is,
organizing the ideas into a series of symbols such as words or pictures that he/she feels
will communicate the correct meaning to the intended receiver. These symbols are
arranged for rationality, coherence and compatibility with the method of developing, or
medium.
The mental set of the sender, that is, the person's particular psychological characteristics,
also limits the encoding process. Communication skills, knowledge of the subjects and
motivational needs are traits or mental conditions that combine to limit, screen, or filter
what is encoded and the quality of the message.
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Transmitting: It transforms the encoded message into a signal and places it into a
channel. The symbols that have been ordered inside a person's mind are placed into
physical movement. Transmitting, therefore, involves the message, channel & medium.
Message: Is the idea that an individual hops to communicate to the intended receiver.
The exact form of the message depends to a large extent on the channel and medium that
are used to carry it.
Channel: It is the routing pattern that the message is to follow. One channel is vertical
(up and down the hierarchy of authority), and the other is horizontal. The channel also
can be formal or informal. In any case, the idea becomes physical reality in the channel as
opposed to a psychological reality in the sender's mind.
Medium: The medium is the carrier of message. The content can be transmitted in a
verbal-oral medium as in direct face-to-face speech, or electronically via telephone,
radio, or television. Similarly, the medium can be verbal-written as in memos, letters, and
newspapers. The transmission can also be made through the non-verbal medium as in
body language or gestures and symbolically with things that surround us.
Receiver: Internal processes similar to those in the source also occur in the receiver. The
physical stimulus is taken from the channel by the receiver's sensory organs, ordinarily
the eyes and ears, and is sent to the mental decoder, where the receiver gives meaning to
the message. If the listener is effective and cooperative, he or she attempts to interpret the
message as intended by the sender. However, "meanings" can never be literally
transferred from one individual to another. Stating it differently, Hayakaws (cited in
Hanson, 1985) expressed this fact when he says "The meanings of the words (messages)
are not in the words; they are in us". All that passes between the message sender and
message receiver is a pattern of physical stimuli. If the light and sound waves from a
recognizable symbol, the receiver can then translate the symbol and mentally create some
kind of meaning.
As is the case with the sender, no receiver can totally ignore the psychological
characteristics or mental sets. The receiver has also communication ability, knowledge of
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the subject, interests, values, and motivational needs that combine to limit qualitatively
what is decoded. Consequently, the meaning the receiver applies is not exactly what the
sender intended.
Decoding: it is the translation of received message into a perceived or interpreted
meaning. Because meaning can‟t be transmitted, it can‟t be received.
Acting: it is the final step in the communication process. The receiver can ignore the
communication, store it for later use, or do something else with it. The receiver however
should give feed back to the sender that the message was received and understood.
Feedback: It refers to any response from someone who has received a message. The
feedback process provides two benefits:
o It supplies a clue to how successful the communication process was, and
o The knowledge of results forms a basis for correcting or modifying future or
additional communications.
The response may be either conscious or unconscious.
The feedback loop provides two-way communication. Two-way communication is a

reciprocal process; each participant initiates and receives messages.
Noise: It is any distraction that interferes with sending or receiving the message. The
noise we commonly associate with poor transmission is physical: the temperature of the
room is uncomfortable, the room is too large & the sound does not carry to the back etc.
Personal traits also cause noise in the channel. Prejudices of the sender and receiver
toward sexual, racial, social class, and ethnic groups constitute noise in the
communication process and distort the message.
Situational noise resulting from social factors interacting with the personal factors also
produces more troublesome problems for school communication than physical
interferences. For example, closed organizational climate, punishment-centered
bureaucratic structure, and authoritarian leaders create distracting noise in the
communication process of a school.
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Environment: As schools are open systems, they are engaged in complex mechanisms of
exchanging (e.g. importing, analyzing, consuming, exporting) information with their
environment in order to cope with uncertainty.
Within the open system context, communication can be defined as the exchange of
messages and meaning between an organization and its environment as well as between
its network of interdependent subsystems.
This notion of system purports the impact of the environment in the communication
process. The environment's influence can occur in any of the components in the
communication process. Emphasizing the effects of external environment on
communication Hoy and Miskel (1987) suggest that as the uncertainty and organizational
complexity increases, two factors emerge that require heightened information processing
by individuals, groups and the organization itself.
o In situation of high uncertainty, strategies must be developed to obtain some

degree of predictability. Hence additional information is necessary.
o In conditions of high complexity, elevated levels of communication are received
and must be processed.
From this perspective, organizations such as schools must accurately monitor critical
factors in their external environments, process information to make decisions, and
coordinate and control subunits and members.
In sum the open system model of two-way communication process posits that the meaning
of a message depends on the content itself, the organizational context and the
multivariate social, political, cultural, and economic environments that surround and
permeate every aspect of the communication process.
4.1.3 Communication in Organizational Setting
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The information flow is essential to an organization's effectiveness. In educational
organizations, alike others, information are transmitted through the formal and informal
channels.
Formal channels
Communication in the formal channels usually happens in four directions: downward,
upward, horizontal and diagonal.
Downward communication.
Downward communication occurs when information is transmitted from the higher to
lower levels in an organization. Directives such as faculty and students‟ codes, job
instructions, feedbacks, program guidelines, state and regional policy requirements,
school board decisions and new administrative procedures fall into this category.
Downward formal communication is important direction of information flow through the

line of command the organization. However it is frequently over emphasized and
overused in away that creates an authoritative atmosphere that may hurt employees‟
motivation and normal. Studies have shown the fact that downward flowing of
information is not free from information loss and distortion. This may be a big surprise to
managers who assume that the organizations hierarchy provides a sufficient channel for
sending messages to subordinates. Therefore, it seems unwise to develop too much faith
in downward communication because it may blind the manager to rumors and creates
problems instead of solving them. Upward communication is also vital to successful
communication in an organization.
Exercise 4.1
Describe the characteristics of downward communication.
Upward Communication
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Upward communication is the flow of opinions, ideas, complaints, and other kinds of
information from subordinates up to managers. It is generated by suggestion systems,
grievance procedures, informal and formal meeting, attitude surveys, and exit interviews.
Such communication is often viewed as an instrument of administrative control.
Upward communication is important in the sense that it helps
o managers to know how their subordinates feel about their jobs, work conditions,
policies and procedures.
o managers to get feedback on the workers reactions to policy changes,
development in their department & other matters that affect their attitudes &
performance
o workers to discuss particular job related problems with managers.
Though upward communication is important, it highly suffers from information loss and
distortion compared to that of downward communication. The following summary of
findings on upward communication confirms this fact. Subordinates tend to
1. tell their superiors what they want them to know.
2. distort information upward in a manner that pleases their superiors.
3. their superiors what they think they want to hear.
4. tell their superiors information that reflects favorably on themselves and /or does
not reflect negatively on them selves ( Hanson, 1985)
Exercise 4.2
Compare and contrast upward and downward communications in an
organization.
Horizontal Communication
Horizontal communication refers to the flow of information among workers on the same
organizational level. Horizontal channel can be used for
1. coordinating tasks 3. sharing information
2. solving problems 4. resolving conflicts
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5. developing rapport among
workers.
115
UNIT2- EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT
Since horizontal communication is free from the threat of authority differences among
communicants, it is relatively faster and less distorted compared to that of vertical
communications.
Diagonal communication
It refers to the interchange of messages between two managers located at different levels
of hierarchy and outside the direct chain of command. Although it is least used, diagonal
communication is important in situations when members fail to communicate effectively
through vertical & horizontal channels. It minimizes the time and efforts expanded by the
organization. And may be used to exercise functional authorities in an organization.
Activity 4.2
Evaluate the formal communication channels of a school and compare them in
terms of speed of information flow, kind of information transmitted and degree of
information loss and distortion.
Informal communication channels -The Grapevine
Activity 4.3
Why do workers communicate through the informal channel while they are
provided with the formal one?
Messages that pass through the organizational structure of the school, but are not shown
on the hierarchical chart, are called informal communications. Informal channels,
commonly called " grapevine", exist in all organizations. Information flows through
these channels respecting neither vertical nor horizontal channels. It basically serves as a
by passing mechanism and often faster than the formal channel.
One fact that has been observed repeatedly by researchers and participants in
organizations is that people who are in groups, cliques, or gangs tend to reach an
BAHIR DAR UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL SCIENCES

understanding on things or issues very quickly. They communicate easily and well
among themselves. This need for communication and understanding may be one of the
basic reasons for the existence of small groups.
Facts, opinions, attitudes, suspicions, gossip, rumors, and even directives flow freely
through the grapevine. Studies conducted in the area show that grapevine
o spreads of information rapidly
o is selective in terms of what is transmitted
o fills voids left by the formal channels
o is confined to the workplace.
Similarly Hanson (1985) notes that communication through grapevine is efficient,

accurate, flexible, and involves face-to-face communication. In terms of accuracy,
research confirmed that 75% of the information in the grapevine is accurate.
Scholars also identified four different networks for transmitting information via the
grapevine-the single strand, the group chain, the probability chain, and the cluster chain.
 

  
    
     
     
     
Cluster chain
  
Single strand Probability chain
Gossip chain
chain
FIGURE 4.2 Informal Communication Networks - Grapevine
When we examine the nature of communication in each network, we found that

o In the single strand, with one person communicating with only one another,
information is often distorted.
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o In the gossip chain, every member talks with everyone else, usually about
personal matters.
o Communication is random in the probability chain, which might carry a sum or
about a promotion.
o Massages are transmitted selectively in the cluster chain.
Rumors
Rumors are the unverified, unconfirmed messages traveling through the informal
channels. They are untrue part of the grapevine. Managers should control rumors in the
organization because they have the potential to create instability and turmoil in the
organization.
Exercise 4.3
Compare and contrast formal and informal communication in an organization
4.1.4. Communication Networks
Information flowing within and between organizations or between an organization and

individuals in the surrounding environment is channeled through a network. A network is
composed of a specific body of individuals who are interconnected as links in
communication flow. The common communication networks are:





Chain Wheel Circle All-
channel Y-channel
a b c d e
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FIGURE 4.3. Commonly used communication networks in organizations
a ,b, & e are centralized networks

c & d are decentralized networks
Researchers have studied the effectiveness and efficiency of these common networks
taking variables like amount of time required to solve problem, the error committed, the
number of massages required and the members‟ satisfaction as units of analysis. The
results of these studies are summarized as follows:
1. Centralized networks tend to be faster with few errors for easier problems. But as
the massage volume increases communication overload occurs & delays.
2. Decentralized networks are most efficient for complex problems, because all
participants explore for answer & more directly introduce possible solutions.
3. The decentralized networks are more effective when creative or adaptive thinking
is required.
4. Individuals at the center of information flows are identified as the leaders.
5. Participants in decentralized networks tend to be most satisfied.
Activity 4.3
Take two secondary schools and analyze their communication network
4.1.5 Barriers to Communication

Communication barriers are those factors, which decrease the probability of effective
communication. Communication barriers ranging from complete blockages to minor
distortions can emerge at almost any point in process of communication. Some
communication barriers often found in educational organization include:
1. Information overloading. Centralized power in the hands of the executives often

generates the unintended consequences of flooding the executive office with paper- a
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condition known as information overloading. Some possible consequences of information

overload are:
1. Omission: temporary failure to process some information
2. Error: Processing incorrect information
3. Filtering: not processing certain types of information
4. Queering: delaying responses during congested periods.
5. Generalizing: reducing the level of specificity
6. Escape: turning away from the task
An important function of organizational structure is to restrict & condense information to

the point that senior administrators are not drown in a sea of paper, but at the same time
permit a sufficient enough flow that they are well informed to make their decision
effectively.
2. Information Filtering: is manipulating information so that the information is
perceived as positive by receiver
3. Organizational size: large & complex educational organizations have huge volumes
of paper flowing through them at any given moment. Such conditions result in losing
a message, or synthesizing the material down to few pages which may result in
misunderstanding
4. Selective perception: It occurs when people block out new information, especially
when it conflicts with what they believe. People‟s perception is usually affected by
their special interests, biases, values, political affiliations, occupational orientations
etc. As a result distort or block their communication or affect the complete
understanding.
4. Encoding & Decoding: The process of encoding & decoding messages is always
vulnerable to error and result in communication distortion.
5. Officialeases (language characteristics of the writing of some government officials):
It refers to official & professional language usages like self-contained class, criterion-
referenced testing etc. To outsiders the use of official or professional languages may
result in understanding problems & affect communication.
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7. Noise: Is a communication killer, interference, or distractions that cripple clear
transmission or reception of information.
4.1.6 Principles of Effective Communication
The following are some principles of effective communication.

1. Analyze your own (the sender’s) communication skills
2. Convey message effectively. i.e.
a) Determine the purpose of the message before hand
b) Take the particular circumstances into account
c) Ensure that the form of the message suits the content
d) Ensure that the message can be correctly interpreted and understood.

For this purpose the message should be
o Simple,
o clear and unambiguous,
o sent at the right time,
o presented at the right speed, and
o minimize the use of junk words
3. Make a thorough analysis of the recipient (individual or group)
Activity 4.4
1. How can a communicator overcome the effect of barriers to

communication?
2. Do you think that individual’s communication effectiveness differ across
individuals and situations? Justify your answer.
3. Write a review of the nature of verbal (oral and written) and nonverbal
communication skills as well as listening skills required of an effective
manager.
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4.2. MOTIVATION
Activity 4.5
1) Why we study motivation?
2) What things motivate teachers?
Studies of behavior in organization show that skill, knowledge and effort constitute the
personal determinants of work. If one of these components is missing, the chance for
effective performance is considerably reduced.
Thus administrators attempt to solve problems related to personal determinants of work

in two ways:
o To alleviate problems related to the lack of skill and knowledge, administrators
try to refine the recruitment, selection and training procedures so that they hire &
keep only those people who fit the jobs.
o With regard to lack of effort, they try to motivate people in such a way that their
behavior is consistent with the work of the organization.
Motivation is then one of the management skills and tools that managers need to know
and be skillful in order to address problems related to lack of effort on the part of
employees. Hence responding to questions - what is motivation? And how can managers
approach & achieve it? - seems essential.
4.2.2 What is Motivation?
Scholars in the field used the word in various ways. For this course, however, we define
it as " ... an inner state that energizer, activates or moves and that directs or channels
behavior towards goals." cited in ( Ayalw, 1991)
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As the definition dictates, motivation consists of three basic components that activate,
direct, and sustain human behavior
o Activating forces are assumed to exist within individuals; they lead people to
behave in certain ways.
o Motivation also directs or channels behavior; that is, it provides a goal orientation.
o Individual behavior is directed toward something. In order to maintain and sustain
behavior, the surrounding environment must reinforce the intensity and direction
of individual drives or forces. The following general model of motivation will
clarify the concept further.
4.2.3. A General Model of Motivation
An elaboration of the basic definition can yield a generalized model like the one
presented in Figure 4.4. As it has been mentioned, needs, desires, motives, and
expectancies are activators or energizers of behavior. Deficiencies in what an individual
wants or anticipates create a state of disequilibrium or tension. The individual then
attempts to return to a state of equilibrium by adopting certain behaviors that will lead to
a reduction of disequilibrium. This is the goal orientation component, for the behavior is
intended to produce rewards or goal achievements for the individuals. These outcomes
then serve as information or feedback that modifies the inner state; that is, decreases or
increases the state of disequilibrium. The motivation behavior sequence can begin anew.
A state of disequilibrium
Outcomes
or recognition of Behavior Rewards
incentives
Cues
Goals
Needs
Desires Leads to
Motives
Expectancies
Antecedents
Modification Feedback
Of inner state
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FIGURE 4.4 Generalized cognitive model of motivation (Source: Hoy and Miskel, 19
87: 176)
Exercise 4.4
Give an example if school instances that clarifies the generalized model of

motivation
In school context for example, a faculty member may be asked by an administrator to be

chairperson of an important task force. The request creates disequilibrium for the faculty
member. The teacher can anticipate more responsibility, authority, and social interaction,
but less free time. The individual has a behavioral decision to make. Acceptance means
that action must be initiated to organize and produce for the task force. Refusal means
that the time can be used for other professional or personal activities. The outcomes in the
first instance include praise, respect, and goal accomplishment. In the second case, they
may include administrator disappointment and less time pressures. The outcomes lead to
a modification of the inner state and to a reduction of the disequilibrium. Depending on
the teacher's desires, greater or less satisfaction develops.
The basic postulate of cognitive theorists of motivation is that a major determinant of

human behavior is the beliefs, expectations, and anticipations individuals have about
future events. In other words, individuals have thoughts about events that have happened
to them, expectations about what might happen in the future if they pursue a given course
of action, and, if asked, will probably indicate what they intend to do about some goal.
Hence formulations that view behavior as purposeful, goal directed, and based on
conscious intentions are labeled cognitive theories
Theories of motivation that have been used to explain the different aspects of the general
model can also be classified as content or process approaches. Though the two classes
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overlap to some degree, enough differences exist to allow us to treat them as distinct.
These two sets of approaches will be examined next.
4.2.4. Content Theories of Motivation
Content, or substantive, theories attempt to specify only what things motivate behavior.
They focus on the question of what arouses, energizes or initiates behavior for people to
put forth effort. In terms of the general model of motivation, content theories delineate
specific needs, motives, or expectancies. They believe in the fact that needs, motives or
expectations drive people to behave in a particular manner. That meant, things within us
generate motivation. Of the many content theories, this course treats the most popular
ones including: Need hierarchy, ERG and Motivator- Hygiene theories.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

According to Maslow people in organizations are motivated to perform by a desire to
satisfy a set of internal needs. These needs are related to one another and arranged in a
hierarchy of prepotency as shown in the table below.
Needs Psychological & physiological indicators

Level 5 o Achievement of potential. Maximum self-
Self actualization or self-fulfillment development, creativity and self-expression.
Maximum use of abilities, skills and potential.
Level 4 o Self-respect-achievement, competence, and
Esteem confidence
Level 3 o Satisfaction associations with other
Belonging, Love and social activities o Belonging to groups
o Giving and receiving friendship and affection
Level 2 o Protection against danger and threat
Safety & Security o Freedom from fear, anxiety, and chaos
o Need for structure, order, law, limits and
stability.
o Risk -taking behavior among employees would
be possible after these needs have been treated
satisfactorily
Level 1 Hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and sleep. They are
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Physiological necessary to maintain and reproduce.
For Maslow, the more prepotent a need is, the more it precedes other needs in human
consciousness and demands to be satisfied. This observation has reinforced Maslow to
forward the following assumptions of the theory.
1. Needs or desires influence peopl’s behavior. Only unsatisfied needs can influence behavior.
Satisfied needs are not motivators.
2. Needs are arranged in order of importance (hierarchy) from the most basic to the complex as
shown in the table above.
3. A person advances to the next level of hierarchy only when the lower need is at least
minimally
On the basissatisfied.
of these That is, a satisfaction
assumptions of a lower-level
Maslow theorizes needlevel
that higher decreases
needs its importance
emerge as the and
increases the importance of the next higher need level. This sequence repeats until the
lower-level
highest levelneeds
of theare satisfied.
hierarchy However, if lower -level needs reemerge after having
is reached.
been satisfied, then lower-level needs, will again dominate behavior.
Therefore, Maslow‟s theory purports that individual behavior is motivated by an attempt

to satisfy the need that is most important at that point.
Activity 4.6
1. What is the managerial implication of Maslow's theory?

2. Evaluate your suggestions of factors that motivate teachers (see activity 4.5)
in terms of Maslow's theory.
3. Present a case to the class that shows how Maslow’s theory works in school
situation.
ERG Theory
One of the theorists who criticize Maslow‟s theory as too rigid is Clayton Alderfer. He
developed a theory called ERG that advocates the flexibility of needs arousals and
gratification.
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Clayton Alderfer's ERG theory is, therefore, a contemporary version of a needs
hierarchy. Alderfer postulated three core hierarchical needs -Existence, Relatedness and
Growth (ERG)-by reducing Maslow's five levels to three. The three levels in Alderfer's
hierarchy are defined as follows:
Level 1. Existence Needs: include both physiological & safety needs essential in
sustaining physical well-being
Level 2. Related ness Needs: include a desire for meaningful and satisfying social
relationship.
Level 3: Growth Needs: include self-esteem & self actualization they represent an
intrinsic desire for personal development.
ERG theory is more of flexible than Maslow's needs hierarchy in that it assumes ERG
needs as less fixed to a hierarchical arrangement as all three levels can operate at the same
time to a certain extent.
Moreover, Alderfer also identified a frustration- regression process. That is, if a person
acts to satisfy a higher level needs & fails to do so, s/he will try to get satisfaction in the
achievement of a lower level need. In other words, individuals might cope up with their
frustration by substituting attainable goals.
Activity 4.7
1. Discuss the managerial implications of ERG theory
2. Compare and contrast ERG theory and Maslow's Need hierarchy
3. Provide an experience or case that shows the application of ERG theory in
schools situation.
4. Evaluate your motivation factors suggested at activity 4.5 against ERG theory
Motivation-Hygienic Theory
Frederick Herzberg and his colleagues propose another popular content theory of
motivation. Motivation-hygiene theory is also termed as the two-factor theory, dual-
factor theory, and simply Herzberg's theory. Its basic idea is that one set of rewards
contributes to job satisfaction and a separate set to job dissatisfaction. And it was an
127
important theory, which has related the nature of needs to different aspects of a job in the
organization.
According to Herzberg, job components that can gratify employees' Psychological-

growth needs bring about feelings of satisfaction when sufficiently available. These job
elements are known as motivation factors. Job aspects that can gratify employees' pain-
avoidance needs bring about feelings of dissatisfaction when nonexistent or insufficient.
These job elements are known as hygiene factors.
Motivation Factors.
Characteristically motivation factors may be described as aspects of a job situation that
o can fulfill employees‟ needs for psychological growth when present
o are intrinsic to the work associated with job or they are related to the content of
the job
o leads to feelings of satisfaction when present.
Activity 4.8
Taking the above characteristics into account list down some aspects of a job
which may be regarded as motivators.
Herzberg and his associates had conducted study on industrial employee's motivation
using interview that followed a critical incidents procedure, which essentially asked each
person interviewed to describe events experienced at work that has resulted in either a
marked improvement or a significant reduction in job satisfaction.
The study found that positive events were dominated by references to achievement,
recognition (verbal), the work itself (challenging), responsibility, and advancement
(promotion). These aspects of job are considered to be motivators. Silver (cited in
Ayalew, 1991) also described these motivation factors as follows
Factors Positive presence Negative presence

Achievement: Effective attainment of a job non fulfillment of a job
Recognition Recommendation from an other Criticism from another
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individual individual
Personal acknowledgement by Denial of it
management
Reward directly related to the Punishment in relation to the
work work deficiency
Work itself: the Varied, creative, interesting, Routine, quite boring, or
nature of the challenging or hard simple or light
tasks to be
carried out on the
job
Responsibility Existence of autonomy in Non-existence of autonomy
accomplishing task assignments
Growth in authority over Decline in authority or
others\accountability for; job lack of it
performance
Advancement Change in status within the Absence of change in status
organization as a result of for good performance.
performances.
Promotion Lack of expected promotion
or demotion related to task
accomplishment.
Opportunities to learn Lack of it
Activity 4.9
1. Compare your response to activity 4.8 with the motivation factors suggested
by Silver.
2. Explain the impact of motivation factors on satisfaction or motivation of
employees when they are
i sufficiently present
ii insufficiently present
Hygiene Factors
Hygiene factors are features of a work condition that
o can attain employees' pain avoidance needs when sufficiently present
o are extrinsic to the work itself; i.e. they relate to the environment in which the
work is carried out.
o bring about feelings of dissatisfaction when they are nonexistent or insufficient
in a work condition.
129
Activity 4.10
On the basis of the above features of work condition, list down at least five job
aspects that may result in dissatisfaction on the part of employees when they are
absent in the organization.
The study conducted by Herzberg & his associates also disclosed the negative events
attributed to employees dissatisfaction. These are interpersonal relations with superior,
subordinates and peers, technical supervision, organizational policy and administration,
working conditions, and conflict with personal life. Silver (cited in Ayalew, 1991) has
given descriptions to these factors as indicated in the table below.
Factors Positive Presence Negative presence

Organizational Competence of management. i.e. Inadequate management. i.e.
policy & o adequacy of resources, o lack of resources for the
administration o clarity of communication, task,
o advantageous man power o Problems in communication,
policies such as salary o disadvantageous manpower
increment, promotion policies policies
of fringe benefits
Supervision Capability, correctness and Incapability, wrongness and non-
proficiency of supervisors proficiency of supervisors
Salary:- Wage & Pay increase expectations fulfilled, Unfulfilled pay increase
compensation early or timely salary adjustments, expectation, late salary
features sufficient pay adjustments, insufficient pay
Interpersonal Delightful relations with superior Disagreeable relations with
relations with relevant to job performance, superiors, comfortless relations
superiors, enjoyable relations with subordinates with subordinates and peers
subordinates and/or peers
and peers
Working Proper volume of work, adequate Too much volume of work,
conditions- facilities present, enough space shortage or lack of facilities,
physical illumination ventilation, availability equipment, tools or supplies.
conditions of of tools, equipments tools Congested space, suffocated and
work not illuminated place of work
130
Status: symbols Privileges, staff assistants, office Lack of these things
or all that goes space, size, location and furniture
with holding a
position within
the organization
job security Objective existence of job security Non existence of job security:
such as tenure, organizational organizational instability, threats
stability, grantees to continued to continued employment
employment
Effects on Work time that does not affect Work time not suitable to personal
personal life personal life. life.
Travel, entertainment requirements Travel requirement, entertainment
not affecting personal life. requirement, and place of work
Place of work suitable for personal conflict with personal life.
Activity 4.11
1. Compare your response to activity 4.10 with the hygiene factors suggested by
Silver.
2. Explain the impact of hygiene factors on motivation or satisfaction of
employees when
i) they are sufficiently present
ii) they are insufficiently present
The Major Positions of Motivation-Hygiene Theory

We can group the major positions of Herzberg's theory of motivation in to five as follows
1. The positive presence of motivation factors lead to the satisfaction of employees.

When motivation factors are nonexistent or in a negative direction employees
will not experience feelings of satisfaction.
2. The absence of or negative presence of the hygiene factors tends to make
employees dissatisfied. The positive presence of these factors avoids
dissatisfaction. The favorable modification of hygiene factors does not bring
about satisfaction
3. The absence or negative direction of motivation factors does not lead to
dissatisfaction. The favorable modification of hygiene factors does not bring
about satisfaction
4. The positive presence of motivation factors generates increased effort on the
part of the employees, while the positive presence of hygiene factors can not
bring about such a result
5. The negative presence of motivation factors results in decreased, effort on the
part of employees, while the negative presence of hygiene factors cannot bring
about such a result. 131
The following diagram illustrates the above major positions of Herzberg's motivation
theory.
Motivator continuum
Jobs that offer little Jobs that offer challenge,
challenge, achievement and achievement & advancement
advancement
0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ve
No satisfaction (neutral) Satisfaction, increased effort

decreased effort
Hygiene continuum
Jobs that lack pay, security Jobs that offer good pay, security,
working condition, & benefits work conditions & benefit
-ve ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0
Dissatisfaction, it has nothing to do with the
no dissatisfaction
effort of employees
FIGURE 4.5. Pictorial representation of Motivation-Hygiene theory
Exercise 4.5
1. Explain the managerial implication of Herzberg’s theory of motivation
2. Compare and contrast the three content theories of motivation
4.2.5. The process Theories of Motivation
Process theorists are not concerned as content theorists with explaining the things that
motivate behavior. Rather, they focus on behavioral process- how behavior is started,
sustained, and terminated. For process theorists the things(s) that initiate motivation may
be different for different people, but the process of initiating, channeling, sustaining &
terminating behavior is common to all.
132
Process theorists first attempt to define the major variables that are necessary to explain
choice, effort, and persistence of certain behavior. Then they attempt to specify how the
major variables interact to influence outcomes, such as work effort and job satisfaction.
In the study of behavior in work organizations, Expectancy, Goal, Equity, and
Reinforcement Theories are examples of process approach to motivation. The following
sections discuss these theories at length.
Expectancy Theory
While expectancy models have a long history in psychology, the approach was
popularized and modified during 1960s by Victor Vroom and others. In comparison to
other formulations expectancy theory presents a complex view of individuals in
organizations. The basic assumptions, concepts, and generalizations of expectancy
theory, however, are easily identified and portrayed.
Assumptions. Expectancy theory rests on two fundamental premises:
1) Individuals make decisions about their own behavior in organizations using their
abilities to think, reason and anticipate future events. Motivation is a conscious
process governed by laws. People subjectively evaluate the expected value of
outcomes or personal payoffs resulting from their actions, and then they choose
how to behave.
2) Forces in the individual and the environment combine to determine behavior. For
instance, individual values and attitudes interact with environmental components,
such as role expectations and organizational climate, to influence. This
assumption is not unique to expectancy theory.
Concepts. Expectancy theory builds on these assumptions with concepts of valence

instrumentality, and expectancy.
 Valence (V) refers to the perceived positive or negative value, worth, or

attractiveness that an individual describes to potential goals, outcomes, rewards,
133
or incentives for working in an organization. It is the strength of a person's desire

for a particular reward.
Feelings of competence, autonomy, recognition, accomplishment, and creativity,

for example, represent valued work outcomes for educators.
 Instrumentality (I) refers to the perceived probability that an incentive with a

valence will be forth coming after a given level of performance or achievement.
Instrumentality is high when individuals perceive a strong association between

performance and being rewarded. For example, if teachers think that high student
achievement in their classrooms in likely to result in public recognition of their
teaching ability, then instrumentality is high.
 Expectancy (E) refers to degree of certainty that a given effort will yield a
specified performance level.
In other words, it is the extent to which an individual believes that a given level of
activity will result in a specified level of goal accomplishment.
Mathematically, the probability can range from zero to one. When expectancy
falls to zero, the individual believes that effort is unrelated to performance.
However, when expectancy climbs to one, complete certainty exists that
performance or goal achievement depends on individual effort.
For example, if teachers feel that high probability exists of improving student
achievement by increasing their own efforts, then educators have a high
expectancy level.
In contrast to instrumentality, which is an outcome - outcome (performance -

reward) association, expectancy is an effort - outcome (behavior - performance)
relationship.
134
In general, motivation to behave in a certain way is greatest when the individual
believes that
1) the behavior will lead to rewards (high instrumentality),
2) these outcomes have positive personal values (high valence) &
3) the ability exists to perform at the desired level (high expectancy)
When faced with choice about behavior, the individual goes through a process of
considering questions such as.
" Can I perform at the level if I work hard?"

“If I perform at that level, what will I receive?”
"How do I feel about these outcomes?"
The individual then decides to behave in the way that appears to have the best chance of
producing the desired rewards.
Activity 4.12
1. Discuss the strength and weakness of expectancy theory
2. Give a case or an episode that shows the application of expectancy theory in
school situation.
Goal Theory
As a cognitive process approach of work motivation, goal theory became highly popular
during the 1970s. Although not fully developed, goal theory appears to be a valuable
analytic and practical tool for educational administrators. Goal theory is applied in
several important school practices. For instance, many evaluation systems for teachers
and administrators are modifications of a management by objectives (MBO) technique. A
second example is the widespread use of behavioral objectives to guide decisions on
135
instructional procedures and course content. Therefore, understanding the motivational

qualities of goal setting is important to educators.
In comparison to expectancy theory, goal theory is not complex. A goal is defined simply
as what an individual consciously is trying to do. Goals have two major characteristics-
content and intensity. Content refers to the nature of the activity or desired outcome.
Intensity relates to the level of importance a person assigns to the goal. Both content and
intensity exert directive influence and serve to regulate energy expenditure. Content
directs and influences behavior because deferent goals require varying amounts of effort;
intensity acts in the same fashion because important goals are more likely to be accepted,
to elicit commitment, and thus foster persistent actions.
The basic postulate of the theory is that intentions to achieve a goal constitute the
primary motivating force behind work behavior. Goals direct both mental and
physical actions of individuals.
Two additional assumptions of the theory are that specific goals are superior to
general goals and that difficult goals, when accepted, lead to greater effort than
easy goals.
To explain the cognitive processes that determine these relationships, Locke proposed the
theory illustrated schematically in Figure 4.7. But he cautions that the model outlines
only the major processes that lead to goal setting and task performance.
The components describing the goal-setting process are shown in Figure 4.7. The goal-
setting process begins with the assumption that the individual knows something about the
nature and properties of things that exist in the work environment. This knowledge is
gained through perceptions and, exercise of reason. Because action or behavior is
required to fulfill personal needs, the individual necessarily must judge the elements in
the environment (existents) to determine which actions will enhance the individual's well
136
being. Value judgments are thus the basis for choosing among alternative courses of
action. Using a code of values or set of standards, the individual judges which behaviors
are good or bad, right or wrong, for or against personal interests. This evaluation is made
by estimating the relationship between perceptions of the environment and personal value
standards. Emotions are the form in which an individual experiences value judgments.
Existents
Incentives,
outcomes
Emotional Anticipated Judged instrumentality

reactions outcomes
Goals/intentions
Cognition
Evaluation
against Values
Actions/behavior
Feedback
FIGURE 4.7 Schematic illustration of goal theory (source: Hoy and Miskel, 1987: pp)
based on the alternative that is selected, the individual anticipates new conditions in the
work environment and projects instrumentalities for the anticipated behavior and
satisfaction. As in expectancy theory, instrumentality refers to a probability that a reward
will occur. At this point, the individual is ready to act. With the overall goal in mind, he
or she can set subgoals based on a judgment of the probability of achieving the overall
goal. If achievement of the goal is judged highly probable, anticipated satisfaction is also
high. Feedback is important because knowledge of the results enables an individual to set
new goals. Hence, goal theory postulates that values and goals represent two cognitive
determinants of behavior.
137
Locke goes further and notes that most human action is purposive; behavior is regulated
and maintained by goals and intentions. The most fundamental effect of goals on mental
or physical actions is to direct thoughts and overt behavior to one end rather than another.
Since pursuit of some goals requires greater mental concentration and physical effort than
others, goals, in the process of directing action, also regulate energy expenditure. For
example, if a teacher decides to develop a new set of lesson plans rather than to use
existing guides, this action necessarily requires more effort than using the available plans.
Activity 4.13
1. Compare and contrast expectancy and Goal theories
2. Discuss the application of Goal theory in educational administration.
Comparison of Expectancy and Goal Theories

Expectancy and goal theories, as cognitive process models, resemble each other. Both
hypothesize that behavior begins with cognitive processes in the individual. They also
represent approaches that attempt to specify how a general model of motivation, such as
the one presented in Figure 4.4 can be applied to work settings. As shown in Figure 4.8
three models use similar concepts and practices. The differences are mainly in emphasis
and specificity: cognitive disequilibrium in the general model, internal evaluations of
values or valences and prospects for rewards are stressed in expectancy theory, and
conscious decisions based on values to pursue an intention in goal theory.
I. General cognitive model

Cognitive Behavior Consequences
disequilibrium or feedback
II Expectancy model
Values (V, I, E) Behavior Consequences
of feedback
III. Goal model
Value Emotions Goals or behavior Consequences
& desires intentions or feedback
FIGURE 4.8 Comparisons of three cognitive process models of motivation
138
Equity (Inequity) Theory
The third process theory of motivation is the equity (inequity) theory which involves the
individuals' subjective judgments about the equity or fairness of the reward they got in
relation to the inputs (effort, experience, education & so on) in comparison with other.
Stacy Adams has received a great deal of credit for the formulation of this theory. For
Adams, equity exists whenever the following formula is in balance:
Individual A's outcome Other workers' outcomes

Individual A's input Other workers' input
If one side of the equation is greater than the other, inequity exists and affects motivation
of employees. That is, if people
o feel they are inadequately rewarded, they may be dissatisfied, reduce the
quantity or quality of output, or leave the organization.
o perceive the rewards as equitable, they provably will continue at the same level
of output.
o think that the rewards are greater than what is considered equitable, they may
work harder. It is also possible that some may discount the reward.
The major problem in equity theory is that people may over estimate their own
contributions & the rewards others receive.
Activity 4.14
1. Give some cases or examples from your experience that explains the idea
of equity theory.
2. Discuss the application of equity theory in management.
Reinforcement Theory
139
Reinforcement theory is another process theory proposed by a known psychologist B.F

Skinner. Skinner's reinforcement theory is based on the belief that all human behavior is
shaped by its consequences. That is, a person behaves a certain way because of a
reinforcement or stimulus he or she received in the past for the same behavior. If the
outcome of a particular action is pleasant, positive reinforcement occurs and a person is
likely to behave the same way again. He or she is likely to change the behavior if the
reinforcement is negative.
In other words, if people were rewarded for high performance, they would repeat the
high-level performance because of the knowledge of the rewards that will be offered.
Hence, from the perspective of reinforcement theory, one can say that employee's
improvement in performance is a learned behavior resulting from appropriate
employment of the consequence of performance – reinforcement.
Skinner recognized three distinct types of reinforcement-positive reinforcement, negative

reinforcement, and punishment.
In positive reinforcement, a favorable consequence encourages repetitive behavior. For

example, a worker who is paid on a piece-rate basis may consistently produce at a high
level because pay is a positive reinforce. Prizes and bonuses being offered by some
organizations are positive reinforcers that are encouraging to work hard.
Negative reinforcement of some behavior occurs when unpleasant consequences are

removed. For example, consider a teacher whose principal complains about the fact that
he is always late. If s/he begins getting to work on time, the principal stops complaining.
Eliminating the complaining causes the teacher to arrive on time consistently.
In punishment, behavior is changed because it results in unpleasant consequences.

Punishment involves inflicting physical or emotional pain, or withdrawing a desired
consequence. Its purpose is to modify certain behavior.
What is the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment?
140
Punishment and negative reinforcement are not the same. Negative reinforcement
involves unpleasant outcomes, just as punishment does, but it encourages behavior that
avoids unpleasant consequences. Punishment, on the other hand, does not encourage
action it suppresses action. This is an important distinction. Punishment is used to control
what a person should not do Instead of motivating a person to take some action; it merely
36
conditions him or her to avoid those actions that should not be taken Would strong
performance as a learned behavior stop to occur?
Learned behavior that is not reinforced will ultimately disappear because of the lack of
reinforcement. This is called extinction. The behavior is normally replaced by one that
wins reinforcement. For example, a worker who receives no response for his or her
suggestions on ways to improve efficiency or reduce costs will quit making suggestions
at some point. This behavior will be replaced by one that will result in reinforcement,
such as working longer hours.
How should a manager understand or define a rein forcer or reinforcement.

Most often, a manager thinks his/her rewards are reinforcing employees, but they fail to
gain the desired results. This is because a rein forcer is defined by its effect, not intent. If
a consequence does not have the effect the manager wants, it is not a positive rein forcer
even though it may be pleasant rent. We can't determine what a rein forcer is until we see
its impact.
Activity 4.15
1. Discuss and report the application of Reinforcement theory of motivation in
organizational management.
2. Discuss and report the shortcomings of Reinforcement theory of motivation
4.2.6 Managerial Approach to Motivation
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This section presents the application of motivation theories in organizations. The

applications may be examined from two perspectives: Job design and Behavior
modification.
Activity 4.16
Read Ayalew Shebeshi Material and Present how the job design and behavior
modification approaches are used to motivate employees in organizations.
4.3 DECISION-MAKING
Whether they are personal or occupational we all make decisions in order to achieve an
objective. Decisions can be either explicit or implicit in nature. Formal organizations,
according to some scholars, are basically decision-making structures. On the basis of this
argument, decision-making is a major responsibility of managers.
An organization functions smoothly and efficiently if its managers make sound decisions.
The decisions may include, allocation and utilization of human, material, time and
financial resources to achieve organizational objectives. Authorities in the field generally
agree that decision-making, as a process of management, is present in all the activities of
management such as planning, organizing, staffing, leading or controlling. This is
because every management activity, involves a series of decisions, which relate to the
attainment of organizational objectives. One could, therefore, say that decision-making is
central to all organizational activities.
Since the quality of a decision made at any level of an organization is very vital for the
efficiency and effectiveness of the organization as a whole managers need to be skillful in
making sound decisions.
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4.3.1 Definition of the concept Decision-making
Some scholars in the area argue that the essence of decision-making is simply making
choices among alternatives. For instance,
 Agarwal (1989) defining decision-making as an act of choice by managers from
among two or more possible alternative courses in a given situation.
 Singh (1995) also described decision-making as a judgment made to choose
between two or more alternatives.
These and other similar authorities conceive decision-making in terms of conscious

selections among the alternative and limit the process to:
a) Defining the problem

b) Specifying alternatives
c) Predicting consequences for each alternative; and
d) Selecting from among the alternatives.
However, other scholars described it as a behavior, which is exhibited in selecting and

implementing an alternative course of action. That is, the process of decision-making
usually begins with the definition of the problem and does not stop until the decision has
been implemented. Examples of authorities advocating this conception are Szilagy (1981)
and Silver (1989). According to these authorities,
Decision-making is a process of studying a problem that involves information

gathering, analyzing, selecting the best alternative solution, implementing it and
evaluation to reach at a desired objective.
For such scholars, decision-making is concerned with both the formulation of intention to
act and the implementation of the decision. In other words, decision-making includes
both formulation of intent and implementation. Hence, the above short version procedure
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of decision-making process (listed from a to d) become complete when implementation is

taken as apart of the process.
The experience that a manager has is crucial in undertaking these procedures as well as
to make sound decisions. Thus decision-making skills are skills that one has to learn
through experience, maturation and training.
4.3.2 Types of Decisions and problem in Decision-making
Types
Drucker proposes that there are basically two kinds of decisions. He differentiates
between generic and unique decisions, which are sometimes called routine and
innovative decision.
 Generic or routine decisions deal with operating procedures and are solved by a
thorough knowledge of those rules, regulations and policies which govern an
organization. i.e. one has to be conversant with the established mechanisms and
procedures within an organization in order to make generic decision, eg.
Regulations governing sick leave.
 Unique or innovative decisions deal with new decisions which established
procedures. When a manager has to make unique decision S/he deals with
exceptional problem which require creativity.
Problems
There are two main problems which are related to decision-making: delay in taking
decisions and making unsound decision. These problems arise mainly from:
a) Organizational inadequacy which includes lack of demarcation of functions and
responsibilities,
b) Lack of relevant data & information,
c) Difficulties in problem- specification,
d) Technical incapacity of the decision -maker; and
e) Psychological conditions, e.g. conditions self-confidence and initiative.
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4.3.3 The Process of Decision-making
Many practicing administrators seem to feel that experience and/or intuition are the main
ingredients for effective decisions making. These two factors can provide a useful basis
for decision-making, but they are seldom sufficient (Gorton, 1986). This implies that a
decision maker is required to utilize an analytical process, which is termed as rational
decision making- a process of systematically analyzing a problem to find an optimal
solution.
Decision making as process, involves a series of steps. Although different writers come
up with different lists of steps, most works on the subject as a scientific method of
decision-making involves the following series of logical steps and has cyclic nature.
Identifying and defining the problem
Continual evaluation Gathering and analyzing

the relevant data
Implementing the decision Developing and

evaluating alternatives
Analyzing possible consequences Selecting the best

alternatives
of the decision
Figure 4.9. Decision-making cycle
a) Identifying and defining the problem.
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 In identifying the problem, one has to know first the distinction between the
symptoms and real problem. Because different problems may have similar
symptoms.
 Managers need to look beyond the symptoms and determine the causes and
sources.
 This stage is critical in that it affects all the steps that follow.
b) Gathering and analyzing the relevant data.
 It involves gathering pertinent and sufficient facts helpful to make sound
decisions.
 Then classify and analyze the data and determine those that are relevant to
the problem.
 In such process, it is important to consider the
- time span of the decision.
- the impact of the decision on other functions and
- the uniqueness of the problem .
 The amount of information that should be collected also depends on the
- importance of the problem
- time constraints and
- existing procedures and structure for data collection.
One important issue regarding the facts is that all required facts are not as such available
to the manager due to the above and other similar factors. Therefore, to make a sound
decision, it is essential to know what information is lacking, so that the decision-maker
may know it how much of a risk the decision involves.
d) Developing and evaluating alternatives.
After collecting and analyzing the data relevant to the problem alternative solutions and
probable consequences of each should be set in order to prevent wrong decisions from
being taken. That is, the greater the number of alternative solutions generated the higher
the probability to make the correct decisions. Hence the search for alternatives should be
exhaustive.
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The alternatives should also be feasible with circumstances & that, if selected, are
implemented in a timely fashion. To ascertain this, alternatives must be evaluated by two
criteria:
- How realistic the alternative is in terms of the goals and resources of the
organization , and
- How well the alternative will help to solve the problem.
Evaluating alternatives in the light of the goals & resources of the organizations is an
important fact of decision-making process.
e) Selecting best alternatives
Although there are numerous other factors that affect the selection of best alternatives,
deliberate, rational and reflective decision generally result from employing the following
criteria.
i, Weighing the risk of each course of action /alternative against the expected
gain. Since no action is risk less, weighing the ratio between expected gain to
the anticipated risk through appraisal of risks is important.
ii, Economy of efforts. Checking which of the possible lines of action will give
the greatest results with the least effort.
iii, Limitation of resources: checking the selected alternative can be implemented
with limited human & financial resources of the organization.
iv , Timing ( urgency): if the solution has great urgency, the preferred course of
action should be the quick one.
e, Analyzing possible consequents of the decision.
It is, anticipating the possible problems that may occur when implementing their
decision. E.g. resistance from implementers, financial cost of the solution
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To some extent manages will have already considered the possible outcome of their
decision while evaluating all the alternatives available to them. In this stage, however,
they are examining the risks & benefits of one decision in much greater detail.
f, Implementing the Decision.Implementing a decision involves

1. Programming: translating & interpreting in to specific implementation tasks. The
action that is to be programmed must be appropriate to the abilities of the people
involved, realistic & capable of implementing.
2. Communicating: The decision and its impact on their lives must be
communicated to all involved employees. Assign roles & informing all
individuals involved.
3. Allocating the resources (human, material, financial etc) to implement the
decision
4. Setting up budget or a schedule for the action they have decided up on, so that
they can measure its progress in specific terms.
5. Assigning clear responsibilities necessary to carry out the action.
6. Setting up a procedure for regular periodic report on the progress of action.
g, Evaluation : once the decision has been implemented and communicated the out come
still need to be apprised to determine how successful the decision has been.
4.3.4 Individual and Group Decisions: Advantages & Limitations
Controversies seem to abound in the issue individual and group decision–making. One
area is whether individual decisions are a reality in large organizations or not. For
Griffith (1979) individual decision making in organizations is a myth (imaginary,
fictitious) while for Katz and Kahn (1978) it is a reality.
Another area of controversy is on how managers should use group decision-making. In

this regard Mc Gregor (1960) described different views of managers. According to him:
a) some adherents of participation consider group decisions making as a magic
formula that can eliminate conflict & disagreement and nearly come to solving
all of management's problems.
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b) Others see it as a form of managerial abdication (giving up or loosing authority
or control); and take it as a dangerous idea that will undermine management
prerogative (special rights, privileges of manager) and as wasting time, lowering
efficiency & weakening management's effectiveness.
c) Still other group of managers viewed it as manipulative device for getting people
to do what they want, by creating delusion (misleading) on the part of participants
that they have had a voice in decision making
d) A fourth group of managers makes successful use of participation but they don't
think of it as a magic formula
The other area of controversy revolves around when group decision-making should be
used and the conditions by which subordinates are involved in decision-making.
Having touched up on some controversies around individual and group decision-making,

let us see the advantages and limitations of group decision-making.
Although group decision-making is highly emphasized on numerous grounds, it becomes

more important when the implementing of decision requires the cooperative effort of
others. The following section presents the advantages of limitations of group decision.
The advantages of group/participatory decision-making

a) It provides an opportunity for much knowledge and information to be pulled
together from the groups. At the same time various solutions to a given problem can
emerge from a large group.
b) Group involvement in the decision-making process can enhance the acceptance of
the final decision
c) The decision will be understood better when it is the result of group effort
d) The fear of delegating much authority to a single person can be minimized. A
committee or group can be used to solve problems when top management does not
whish to delegate too much authority to single person.
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e) It serves as a forum for representing group interests. Letting special interest group
participate in finding solution makes it difficult for them to criticize the final
decision.
f) It facilitates coordination of department plans and activities.
g) It enhances democratic rights of individual employees with the organization.
Disadvantages of group decision -making

a) High cost in time and money. Group decision -making is usually costly because it
takes the time of many individuals who are paid for kinds of jobs.
b) Indecision. In group decision -making there is the difficulty of reaching agreement
easily and the possibility of delayed action on urgent issues.
c) Low sense of responsibility. Individual members do not have the same sense of
responsibility as they would if they were personally charged with the same tasks.
d) Tyranny of the majority. In group decision -making the ideas put forward by the
minority are always discarded no matter how useful they may be.
e) Dominance of a few. In group decision-making some people may have stronger
personalities than others. In such conditions few people at the expense of many
members may make the decision.
Activity 4.17
Survey on the decisions of secondary school principals and evaluate them in

terms of the steps involved in scientific decision-making.
4.4 LEADERSHIP
Leadership is an interpersonal as aspect of management skills that is critical and highly

interrelated to all other skills of management. Leadership ability of leaders is essential
and important in realizing effective communication motivation and decision-making
practices. Hence the managers should have the know-how of leadership for successful
handling of organizational tasks & problems.
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What is leadership?
Leadership is the process whereby one person influences individual and group
members towards goal setting and goal achievement with no force or coercions
(UNESA, 1996)
According to this definition leadership is primarily a process involving influence - one in

which the leader changes the attitudes or actions of group members. Various techniques
for exerting influence exist, ranging from coercive - to non-coercive ones- the receiver
(subordinate) can chose to accept or reject the influence offered.
In describing the nature and meaning of leadership, Katz and Kahn identify three major
components of the concept:
 an attribute of an office or position;

 a characteristics of a person; and
 a category of actual behavior
A principal occupies a leadership position. Obviously, school organizations contain

individuals who are not in formal position of authority, yet who possess and wide
influence and power. Conversely, some individuals who occupy leadership positions do
not always exercise their power and influence; others exist in schools who exercise
leadership in one position or situation but not in another.
Leadership also implies followers; there can be no leader without followers. However,
the situations under which different groups and individuals will follow vary considerably.
Thus, the concept of leadership remains elusive because it depends not only on the
position, behavior, and personal characteristics of leader but also on the characteristics of
the situation. This fact will lead as to the factors that affect the leadership style of leaders.
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4.4.2 Factors Affecting leadership style
There are three factors that affect the choice of leadership styles. These are the manager's
management philosophy the followers' maturity level and the situation faced by the
manager. As figure 4.10 indicates, these factors are interrelated.
Followers
Managers Maturity level
Management
Philosophy
Situation faced by the
manager
FIGURE 4.10 Factors affecting the choice of leadership styles.
The mangers management philosophy
The management philosophy of a manager is basically determined by his or her

assumptions about the nature of people. Whether managers are aware of it or not, most of
them have a philosophy that influences their style in working with people.
Here is a description of a teacher's experience with his principal from which you would
suggest the kind of philosophy the principal is holding. The teacher says:
My principal treated us like a bunch of illiterates. For example, the school policy was
discussed in detail at the beginning of each term. How could we ever forget it if he kept
on hammering on it? He also reminded us of the consequences of any offences. The staff
hated him and did the bare minimum, just enough to avoid getting into trouble. There was
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no commitment to teaching and, to be honest, our students suffered because our negative
attitude filtered through to them.
Activity 4.18
1. Can you suggest the kind of understanding the principal had to the teachers
from the above experience?
2. What could be the leadership style of such principals?
Mc Gregor's Theory X and Theory Y is one of the best-known approaches to the study of
management philosophy. He contrasted two sets of assumptions about the nature of
people. A manager's leadership style is affected by the set of assumptions he or she
adheres to. The following include the most significant assumptions of Theory X:
1. The average human being dislikes work and will avoid it if possible.
2. Because of this human trait most people must be coerced, directed or threatened
with punishment to get them to achieve organizational goals.
3. The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility,
has little ambition and seeks security.
Managers who accept the assumptions of theory X are inclined to prefer an autocratic
leadership style.
The basic assumptions of theory Y include the following:

1. The majority of employees will respond as positively to work as they do to play
or rest.
2. People will exercise self-direction and self-control in attaining goals to which
they are committed. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only
means of inducing people to work towards organizational goals.
3. Commitment to organizational objectives is a function of rewards associated with
the attainment of objectives
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4. Avoidance of responsibility, an emphasis on security and limited drive are, for

the most part, consequences of experience, not fundamental characteristics of
human nature.
5. The ability to exercise a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity
when striving to solve and organizational problem is a widely distributed talent
among the population.
6. In an industrial society the intellectual potential of the average employee is only
partially utilized.
Managers who adhere to the Theory Y assumptions will tend to prefer a supportive,
participative leadership style.
Activity 4.19
1. Evaluate your response to activity 4.18 in terms of McGregor's theory X and
theory Y
2. Describe some other factors that influence manager's management
philosophy.
In addition to managers understanding to the nature of workers, several other factors are
found to influence their management philosophy. Some are:
1. the manager's family and early school environment

2. the manager's experience and training in the area of leadership
3. the manager's present working environment, including the type of work and the
general management system in the work place.
Generally, McGregor believed that a manager's leadership style determines staff

behavior. If a manager treated staff as though they were lazy and lacked a sense of
responsibility, they would fulfill those exceptions. On the other hand, if the staff were
treated as though they were mature, responsible people, they would act accordingly.
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McGregor was of the opinion that assumptions held by managers were self-fulfilling
prophecies.
The follower's maturity level
What is meant by "Maturity level" of employ?

Mosley et al (1993:262) define maturity level as the state of a person's drive and need for
achievement. It is the product of his or her experience, education, attitudes, and
willingness as well as ability to accept responsibility. It is important that these maturity
levels should be considered only in relation to a specific task to be performed. The
following formula expresses the maturity concept (Mosley et al 1993):
Maturity = Ability + Willingness
How does maturity level affects the managers’ leadership style?

If staffs are low on maturity, the manager should use a different style from the style he
would use with a mature staff. Take the case of a novice teacher who is given the task of
organizing a parents' evening. This teacher's maturity level will obviously be low and he
or she will need assistance and guidance. Unfortunately some managers fail to take the
maturity level of their experienced staff members into consideration. For example the
principal may fail to involve them in curriculum planning, although they have much to
contribute.
The Situation Faced by the Manager

It is self evident that the situation faced by the manager will have a major influence on
his/her leadership style.
Activity 4.20
1. Read literature in leadership and come up with cases or examples that show
how the situation faced by the manager influences his/her leadership style.
2. What factors have you recognized as determinants of situations faced by
managers?
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In assessing a situation, the nature of the work and the types of assignments must be
considered. Scientists who perform creative jobs, for example, require more freedom to
function than staff who perform repetitive work. When considering the different tasks
that have to be performed at schools, it is possible to identify more complex tasks, such
as teaching new content in a multicultural classroom, and other repetitive tasks, like
collecting school fees in classrooms.
A manager's choices of style will also be influenced by the way his or her organization
(unit) is functioning. For example, if the secondary school had low matriculation results
for two consecutive years, the leadership style would differ from the style adopted at a
school, which has had outstanding results for two years.
Researchers in the area sought to identify distinctive characteristics of the setting to

which the leaders access could be attributed; they attempted to isolate specific proper tics
of the situation that had relevance for leader behavior and performance. Based on their
findings they suggest the following variables as situational determinants of leadership
style:
1. Structural properties of the organization (size, hierarchical structure,

formalization)
2. Organizational climate (openness, participative ness, group atmosphere)
3. Role characteristic (position power, type and difficulty of task, procedural rules)
4. Subordinate characteristics (knowledge and experience, tolerance for ambiguity,
responsibility, power)
4.4.3. Approaches to Leadership
Leadership is a complex process. It involves intricate social relationships and mutual

influence between leaders and followers. Many researchers have focused an attempting to
understand the intricacies of leadership with the intension of finding out what makeup
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effective leadership. Three approaches the trait theory, behavioral approaches and
consequence theories are presented here.
4.4.3.1 The Trait Theory
In management literature there are some disagreements among scholars in understanding

the "trait" and "grit man" approaches some authorities like Hoy & Miskel (1987) regard
the two as similar ideas while others like Gray (1984) treat them differently. In this
material we will discuss the great man approach as a base for the development of the
"trait theory".
Activity 4.21
Think of three people whom you consider as exemplars of outstanding leaders.
They may be contemporary or historical. Write down their leadership qualities.
Classify the qualities as inborn or obtained from training.
In remote past, the simplest view of leadership was the "great man" approach. The
approach is aptly named, since it assumed that men and women of great vision,
personality, and competence rose to positions of prominence and influenced the course of
actions Gray (1984).
Advocators of this approach believe that great men/women can be found in certain
families with unusual frequencies and there may be a genetic reason for it.
Although there are many individuals still favoring this approach it is subject for many
criticisms when viewed from organizational perspective. Some of the criticisms include:
 If the argument is accepted that leadership ability is inherited, favoritism in
promotions is bound to occur as relatives of previously successful leaders enter
the organization.
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 The selection process becomes very crucial for organizations, since the great man
approach leans heavily toward the position that "leaders are born not made" It
seems, therefore, important to fill the organization with born leaders which is
practically impossible.
 Organization that accepts the great man approach will put less emphasis on
management development programs. Here the reason is very simple that if leaders
are born there is no need to develop or train them.
In sum, although the great man approach is an interesting preach to leadership, the in
depth analysis of a few exceptional individuals does not give us systematic insights into
what is required for successful leadership.
Exercise 4.6
1. Which of the qualities of leaders you outlined in activity 4.20 go in line with the
idea of "greater men/women approach?
2. What is the main idea of the great men/women approach?
The trait approach is based on the "great man" theory but it is more sophisticated and
systematic in its analysis of leaders. As its forefather, the trait approach assumes that the
leader's personal attributes are the key to leadership success. However as opposed to the
great man approach, trait theorists do not necessarily assume that leaders are born with
these traits, only certain traits (whether inherited or developed) are necessary for
leadership success Gray (1984).
On the basis of this assumption, different researches conducted studies to determine the
traits that have strong relationship with leadership effectiveness. The results were, how
ever, mixed and inconsistent. For instance, the review of trait studies conducted between
1904 and 1947 reveals the following categories of personal factors associated with
leadership:
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1. Capacity (intelligence, alertness, verbal facility, originality, judgment)
2. Achievement (scholarship, knowledge, athletic accomplishment)
3. Responsibility (dependability, initiative, persistence, aggressiveness, self-
confidence, desire to excel)
4. Participation (activity, sociability, cooperation, adaptability, humor).
5. Status (socioeconomic position, popularity)
Adding some more factors, scholars like Gray (1994) also identified three categories of
personal qualities associated with leadership.
1. Intellectual traits decisiveness, judgmental ability, knowledge & verbal ability

2. Personality traits (alertness, originality, personal integrity, self-confidence,
creativity, emotional balance, non-conformity & diplomacy.
3. Physical traits: age, height, charisma, and appearance.
Later review of 125 leadership studies that had generated 750 findings about personality
traits of leaders come up with confusing results. Many of the traits tentatively isolated as
crucial in one study were found to be unimportant in others. Thus in some groups,
effective leaders were assertive and aggressive, in others, mild mannered and restrained;
in some, quick and decisive, in others, reflective and diplomatic.
These studies are also limited because the relationships of some of the personality traits
differed depending on the type of measuring technique employed.
Although Stogdill tentatively identified above-average ability in intelligence, scholarship,

dependability, participation and status as qualities enhancing leadership, he hastens to
add, "A person does not become a leader by virtue of the possession of some combination
of traits. The pattern of personal characteristics of the leader must bear some relevant
relationships to the characteristics, activates, and goals of the followers."
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In brief, the early searches for personality traits to distinguish leaders from non-leaders
(followers) were remarkably unsuccessful, leaders with one set of traits are successful in
one situation but not in others. Moreover, leaders with different combination of traits can
be successful in the same or similar situations.
Notwithstanding the lack of success in identifying general leadership traits, such studies
have persisted. More recent trait studies, however, shifted the emphasis from comparison
of leaders to non-leaders to the relationship of leader traits to leader effectiveness i.e.
Predicting who will become leader and predicting who will be more effective are quite
different tasks. Hence, the current trait studies explore the relationship between traits and
leadership effectiveness of administrators.
This second generation of studies has produced a more consistence set of findings.
Reviewing recent findings Durbin & Ireland (cited in UNESA 1996) grouped the traits of
leaders under three categories - cognitive, personality and characteristics and
relationship with subordinates.
Cognitive Skills
Effective leaders should have cognitive skills, or mental abilities and knowledge. Three
cognitive skills may be identified:
1. Problem-solving skills. They anticipate problems before they occur and persevere
until problems are solved. During the process they demonstrate creativity,
imagination and a willingness to experiment.
2. Insight into people and situations. Effective leaders have the ability to "read"
people and situations. This quality is essential when assigning work to staff and
selecting applicants.
3. Technical and professional competence. It is difficult for leaders to establish
rapport with staff when they do not understand the technical details of the work
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done by their staff. A leader‟s technical skills should command the respect of the
staff; otherwise he or she could easily be bluffed by technical arguments.
Personal traits and characteristics
Personal traits and characteristics have an important influence on leadership, although

they are difficult to measure. Traits and characteristics vary with the situation. For
example, warmth may be more important for a teacher than for a mechanic.
The following personality traits and characteristics may be identified as attributes to

effective leadership
1. Self-confidence. A realistic degree of self-confidence enhances leadership
effectiveness. Leaders who are confident with out being overbearing inspire
confidence in their staff. Who wants to follow a person who is uncertain about
himself or herself? How convincing could such a person be?
2. Need for achievement. This trait or characteristic refers to a strong desire to get
things done, simply for the sake of doing so. A need for achievement is often
accompanied by a strong sense of time urgency.
3. Sense of humor. Humor relieves tension and boredom and defuses hostility. The
right amount of humor therefore contributes to leadership effectiveness.
4. Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is desirable in most situations because staff responds

positively to it. Enthusiasm also helps to build good relationships with staff. It is
possible for an educational leader to express enthusiasm verbally ("I like the way
you use teaching media. It's the way to go, Mrs. X".) Or nonverbally by means of
gestures and handshakes.
5. Assertiveness. Effective leaders are capable of expressing their demands,

opinions, feelings and attitudes. Assertiveness helps leaders to perform many
tasks and achieve goals. It includes confronting staff about mistakes and
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demanding higher performance. In contrast, leaders are aggressive when they

express their demands in an overly pushy, obnoxious and abrasive manner.
Relationship with subordinates
Some traits possessed by leaders are closely linked to behavior involving relationships
with staff members. Some of the important traits are described next.
1. Interpersonal skills. One of the key managerial skills is the ability to work
effectively with people.
2. Leading by example. An effective way to influence others is to lead by example,

or to act as a role model. Behaviors of effective leaders in this regard include
honesty, effective work habits and concern for quality.
3. Sensitivity and tact. Morale can be built if leaders are sensitive to staff members'
feelings and use tact in their encounters. Insensitivity, which is characterized by
an abrasive, intimidating, bullying style, is counter productive. Leadership
sensitivity would include responding to cultural diversity; for example, not asking
a staff member to work on a religious holiday that is significant to him or her.
4. Supportiveness. Leadership effectiveness is enhanced when staff members are

given emotional support. Encouragement and praise can boost staff morale and
often increase performance too.
5. Maintaining high expect ions. Maintaining high expectations for staff members
often raises their levels of performance. This works because people develop self-
confidence when they perceive that their superiors have confidence in them.
After reviewing a number of trait studies, Stodgily also pointed out the following factors
associated with effective leadership when he says:
The leader is characterized by a strong drive for responsibility and task

completion, vigor and persistence in pursuit of goals, venturesome and
originally in problem solving, drive to exercise initiative in social situations,
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self-confidence and sense of personal identity, willingness to accept
consequences of decision and actions readiness to absorb interpersonal stress,
willingness to tolerate frustrations and delay, ability to influence other
persons‟ behavior and capacity to structure interactions a systems to the
purpose at hand.
Exercise 4.7
1. Compare and contrast the leadership traits identified by Durbin & Ireland, and
Stodgily.
2. Compare your suggestion of traits in activity 4.20 with those outlined by
scholars for effective leaders.
Generally, all the above evidences show that personality is an important factor in
leadership does not represent a return to the original "great men" assumption that "
leaders are born, not made" rather, it is more sensible and balanced view that
acknowledges the influence of traits along other factors such as situation.
4.4.3.2. Behavioral Approaches.
"The inability to strike "gold" in the trait mines led researchers to look at the behaviors
that specific leaders exhibited.” Robbins (1980). In other words, behavioral approach to
leadership attempts to establish what a leader does, where as the trait theory focuses on
what a leader is.
The behavioral approach was searching for something unique in the way that effective
leaders have. For instance, do leaders be more democratic than autocratic? By the same
token, it was anticipated that the behavioral approach would give more specific responses
to the nature of leadership but it would have practical implications quite different from
trait approach. That is, behavioral approach was concerned with determinants of
leadership to train people to be leaders Behavioral theorists contend that leaders are best
classified by behavioral patterns or styles than traits
By observing and recording leadership behavior in a variety of settings, researchers found

it possible to identify certain patterns of behavior, based on relative frequency or intensity
163
of different behaviors carried out by leaders. For example, some leaders frequently
consulted their groups when making decisions, other never did. Some leaders spend lot of
time organizing work; others spent much of their time on dealing with employee's
problems. The patterns or styles of leadership that emerged became object of study in
them generally; three patterns or styles of leader behaviors are presented next:
Distribution of decision influence: Authoritarian, Democratic and laissez-

fairleader ship
This classification is based on the locus of decision making in the group. And there are
three styles
Autocratic: In this style the leader makes all the decisions and allows the staff little
influences in the decision-making process.
Exercise 4.8
Writ the advantages and disadvantages of autocratic leadership style.
Compare your answers with the following advantages identified by Bennett (cited in
UNESA 1996)
 Management takes the initiative in coordinating work

 Tasks, situations and relationships are clearly defined.
 Decision-making is fast, with management at the center of operations.
 Staff receives direct and immediate assistance towards achieving their goals
Bennett also offers the following disadvantages

 The knowledge, skills and expense of the staff are not fully used
 It suppresses staff members' initiative.
164
 Employees cannot develop to their maximum potential
 Absence of the leader my mean that important work is not completed
Autocratic leadership often results in
1. Low staff morale and
2. Staff adhering to leader directions even if they know the directions are wrong.
However, some people who prefer a safe and secure work environment in which they do
not have to take any responsibility may find an autocratic leader very satisfactory. This
fact reminds as the theory X assumptions discussed elsewhere.
Democratic: Leaders consult their staff on appropriate matters an allow them some
influences in the decision making process
Exercise 4.9
Describe the advantages & disadvantages of democratic leadership style.
Your response may include the following

Advantages
 Improved staff oral
 Job satisfaction of staff may be increased.
 Knowledge and problem solving skills of members of staff are utilized
 Only reasonable and attainable goals are set because people who have to affair
them are involved.
Disadvantages include:
 Decision Making may be time-consuming
 Disagreements can occur and staff may not wish to become involved in a tug-of
war.
 Lack of positive and clear direction may hinder the attainment of objectives
 There might be some members of staff who are not capable of working without
close supervision.
165
Laissez-faire: In this style managers allow their staff complete autonomy. Individual
behavior is left up to the individual and the leader in essence abdicates his or her role.
The leaders do no supervise directly, so the staff make all the decisions them selves.
Exercise 4.10
1. When does laissez-fair leadership work best?

2. Of the styles discussed so far which style of leadership would be best for
secondary schools?
Task and social behavior of leaders.
The task and social behaviors of leaders are reflected in two polarized statements.
1. The leader can decide what to do and tell followers to do it.
2. The leader can permit followers to function freely within limits directed by things
over which he/she has no control.
Exercise 4.11
Classify the above statements in terms of theory X and theorem Y?
These two leadership styles can be distinguished as either task-oriented or people-

oriented behavior.
Activity 4.22
166
What type of behavior would you associate with task oriented and people-
oriented leadership styles?
Task-oriented behavior devotes primary attention to the work performed and concerns
planning, organizing, establishing goals, checking on performance, giving instructions
etc. Such leaders tend to apply force, reward, and legitimate power to influence the
behaviors and performance of followers. They regard concern to people as significant but
as a luxury that a leader cannot always afford.
People-oriented behavior primarily focuses up on the development of effective group

work or interpersonal relation ships and is interested in individual staff member and their
personal needs, encouraging two-way communication, developing supportive personal
relationships with staff members and avoiding punitive behavior.
The leadership style evidenced by specific leaders is a combination of task-oriented and

people-oriented behavior. Some leaders are very task-oriented whereas others are more
concerned about interpersonal relationship.
The Ohio state university studies propose two similar leadership behavior dimensions
called consideration and initiating structure
 Consideration - refers to the leader behavior of showing concern for individual

and group members and satisfying their needs.
 Initiating structure-refers to the leader behavior of structuring the work of group

members and directing the group towards goal attainment.
Activity 4.23
167
Directions: The following items describe aspects of leadership behavior. Respond to each
item according to the way you would behave if you were the leader of a group. Circle the
letter indicating how frequently you would behave in the way described: always (A),
frequently (F), occasionally (O), seldom (S), or never (N):
AFOSN 1. Allow members complete freedom in their work.

AFOSN 2. I would stress being ahead of competing groups.
AFOSN 3. I would turn members loose on the job and let them go to it.
AFOSN 4. I would decide what should be done and when it should be done.
AFOSN 5. I would be willing to make change.
AFOSN 6. I would ask the members to work harder.
AFOSN 7. I would trust group members to exercise good judgment.
AFOSN 8. I would schedule the work to be done.
AFOSN 9. I would consult my group before acting.
AFOSN 10. I would urge the group to beat its previous record.
Scoring: Count the number of always (A) or frequently (F) responses for the odd
questions (1,3,5,7). Multiply this number by two and call it your P score. P = ....... Now
count the number of always (A) or frequently (F) for the even questions (2,4,6,8,10)
multiply this number by two and call it your T score. T=...........
Plot your scores from the questionnaire on the scale provided in figure 4.11 Note that the
P score equates roughly with consideration or concern for people and the T score
corresponds with initiating structure or concern for the task on hand
10
168
High
6
4
Concern for People
Consideration
P
SCORE
2
2 4 6 8 10
Law
FIGURE 4.11 Dimensions of leader behavior: Consideration and initiating structure

(Umstot and Owens cited in UNASA 1991)
Have you realized that some managers emphasize consideration for people while others
Lowstructure?
tend to emphasize initiating initiating Structure High concern for
people
Concern for task
The question usually arises: Does it matter whether a leader emphasizes one or the other
T SCORE
of these behavioral dimensions? If it matters, what would be the most effective mix in
leadership behavior?
Seeking answers to the above equations led to more research. The findings of research
were that leadership behavior might be understood as matrix consisting of four readership
styles or patterns of manager‟s behavior.
 High structure and low consideration
169
 High structure and high consideration

 Law structure and high consideration
 Low structure and low consideration
Exercise 4.12
Relate the above leader behaviors with the leadership styles –autocratic,
democratic and laissez-fair.
Leadership (Management) Grid

It is developed by Blake and Mouton and their theory is based on the assumption that
every leader should have two concerns:
 achieving results (production)
 concern for people
The model is designed to help managers first to arrive at a realistic perception of their
current leadership style and then to develop the most desirable style.
The five basic management styles identified by Blake & Mouton are
High 9 1, 9,9 - Authority-Obedience (9,1)- also called

task management, primary focus on task
9
CONCERN FOR
efficiency, little concern for

subordinates.
PEOPLE
8
7 - Country Club Management (1,9) focuses
on being supportive and 'I considerate of
6 employees, little concern for production.
5 5,5 - Team Management (9,9)- combines a
Low
high degree of concern for people with a
high degree of concern for production.
- Impoverished Management (1,1)-exerts

170 only minimum effort to get work done.
- Middle of the road Management (5,5)

4
3
2
1 1, 9,1
1
1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2
Low High
CONCERN FOR PRODUCTION
FIGURE.4.12Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid

Which of the Blake and Mouton’s Leadership styles is the most effective?
If you identified team management (9,9) as the most effective style of management you
are correct.
According to Blake and Mouton the most effective management style is team
management (9,9) as example, and their conclusion is that team management (9,9) leader
is using ideal style.
4.4.3.3. Contingency Theory
The contemporary of leadership is referred to as the contingency Approach. Contingency

theories maintain that leadership effectiveness depends upon the fit between personality
characteristics and behavior of the leader (leadership style) and situational variables such
as task structure, position power and subordinates skills and attitudes. Thus, there is no
one best leadership style. The contingency approach attempts to predict which types of
leaders will be effective in different types of situations. There are different contingency
theories the four most widely cited are Fielder‟s contingency model, Path-Goal theory,
life cycle theory and Transformational/ Transactional leadership.
Fiedler's Contingency Model
171
The basic postulates of Fiedler's Model are:

1) Leadership style is determined by the motivational system of the leader. That is,
the leader may either be a "relationship motivated" or a "task motivated"
individual.
2) Group effectiveness is a joint function of the leader's style and the situation's
favorableness; that is group performance is contingent upon the leader's control
and influence in the situation.
The theory views the leadership situation as an arena in which the leader seeks both to
satisfy personal need and to accomplish organizational goal.
Leadership style: Fiedler carefully and clearly distinguishes between the terms "leader
ship behavior" and "leadership style" For him, Leadership behavior denotes the specific
acts of a leader in directing and coordinating the work of group members. For instance,
the leader can commend, make helpful suggestion, and show consideration for the well
being of group members.
Leadership style refers to the underlying need structure of the leader that motivates
behavior in various interpersonal situations. In essence, leadership style is a personality
characteristics; it does not describe a consistent type of leader behavior.
Fiedler underscores this critical distinction between leadership style and leadership
behavior for understanding his theory as follows: "... important leadership behaviors of
the same individual differ from situation to situation, while the need - structure which
motivates these behaviors [leadership style] may be seen as constant." The leader has
either a "relationship motivated" or "a" task- motivated "leadership style.
To identify leadership styles, Fiedler developed a simple personality measure called the
least preferred co-worker (LPC) scale. The LPC score is the sum of the item scores of
sixteen items included in the scale (see page)
172
A person scoring high on the LPC describes the least preferred co-worker positively. The
least preferred co-worker is seen as being pleasant, friendly, efficient, cheerful, and so
forth. Thus, even a person with whom it is difficult to work might also be seen as an
individual who otherwise has some acceptable, if not the PLC describes the least
preferred co-worker negatively such worker is viewed as being unpleasant, unfriendly,
inefficient, gloomy and so forth. The person who rates a least preferred co-worker
negatively states a strong rejection of people with whom he or she cannot work.
LPC score is taken as an indicator of motivations to leader. According to Fiedler, task-

oriented leaders score low on the LPC and are motivated by (drive satisfaction from)
successful task accomplishment. Conversely, relationship-oriented leaders score high on
the LPC and receive satisfaction from successful interpersonal interactions.
In interpreting LPC, Fiedler emphasizes that the LPC relates to different goal priorities,
not differences in leader behavior. The accomplishment of task for example, might well
call for considerate and pleasant interpersonal behavior, while the maintenance of close
interpersonal relations might be possible only by driving the group to success. In this
latter case the relationship motivated leader might be quite single-minded about task
accomplishment. In general, however, uncertain and stressful situations tend to make the
law LPC leaders focus on the task, while leaders with a high score concentrate on their
relationships with subordinates. The converse is the case when conditions give the leader
security and control. This lead us to another variable to leadership effectiveness
leadership situations tend to make the law LPC leaders focus on the task, while leaders
with a high score concentrate on their relationships with subordinates. The converse is the
case when conditions give the leader security and control. This leads us to another
variable of leadership effectiveness- leadership situation.
Situation. An underlying assumption of the Contingency Approach is that different types

of situations require different types of leadership; therefore, a second major component of
the theory is the situation. To what extent does the situation itself enable the leader to
173
exert influence? Fiedler identifies three major factors that determine the favorableness of
the group situation: position power of the leader, task structure, and leader-member
relations.
Position power is the degree to which the position itself enables the leader to get
subordinates to comply with directives. In organizations, power is formal -authority is
vested in the leader's office. Position power determines the extent to which a leader can
reward and punish members, whether the group can depose the leader, whether the leader
enjoys special or official rank or status that sets him or her apart from group members,
and the like.' Position power tends to make the job of the leader easier, although it does
not inherently guarantee better group performance. To a large extent the power a position
carries is determined by the organization.
Task structure is the extent to which the task is clearly specified, verified, and
programmed in a step-by-step manner. With highly structured tasks, the leader and group
know exactly what to do and how to do it. Unstructured tasks with ambiguous goals, no
clear-cut solutions, and a multiplicity of approaches make definitive action by the leader
and group difficult. Thus, in terms of directing and controlling groups, the more
structured the task, the more favorable the situation for the leader.
Leader-member relation is the extent to which the leader is accepted and respected by the
group members. Two factors are important with respect to leader-member relations: the
quality of interpersonal relations between the leader and subordinates, and the level of
informal authority granted to the leader. In contrast to position power and task structure,
which are determined in large part by the organization, the quality of leader-member
relations is determined primarily by the leader's personality and behavior. Evidence to
date indicates that the quality of leader-member relations is the most important factor in
determining the leader's influence over the group members, followed by task structure
and position power.' Therefore, the leader has more control' and influence when
(1) the group is supportive,
(2) the leader knows exactly what to do and how to do it, and
174
(3) the organization gives the leader means to reward and punish the group
members,
Fiedler uses these three factors to form eight situations ordered in terms of their
favorableness. Each of the three factors are dichotomized into good or bad leader-
member relations, structured or unstructured tasks, and high or low position power. The
eight combinations or octants map the range of situations from highly favorable to highly
unfavorable. The next table contains two portrayals of the eight situations. For example,
Octant I is the most favorable situation with good relations, structured task, and high
position power. Octants IV and V are" moderate. Good group relations, the most
Table: Two Formulation of Fiedler's Classification of Situational Favorableness

Formulation
A Degree of Leader-member Task Structure Position power
favorableness Relations of the leader
Octant I Very Favorable Good Structured High
Octant II Good Structured Low
Octant III Good Unstructured High
Octant IV Moderate Good Unstructured Low
Octant V Moderate Poor Structured High
Octant VI Poor Structured Low.
Octant VII Poor Unstructured High
Octant VIII Unfavorable Poor Unstructured Low
Formulation B
Leader member
relations good poor
Task Structure High Low High low
Position power strong week strong week strong week strong week
I II III IV V VI VII VIII
Octants
(situation) Favorable Moderate Unfavorable
important component, combines with two negative factors to form octant IV, and poor-
good relations combines with two positive factors to form octant V, Finally, octant VIII is
most unfavorable with all three components being negative.
175
Leader effectiveness. The concept of effectiveness is complex and has been defined
numerous ways. Typical indicators of effectiveness include group output, group morale,
and satisfaction of group members. Fiedler, however, proposes a simple and
straightforward criterion of effectiveness, namely, the extent to which the group
accomplishes its primary task. Even though the group's output is not entirely a function
of the leader's skills, the leader‟s effectiveness is judged on how well the group achieves
its task. According to Fiedler, turnover rate, job satisfaction, morale, and personal
adjustment may contribute to group performance, but they are not in themselves criteria
of performance. In many of Fiedler's studies, objective measures of group effectiveness
are used-net profit, cost per unit, percentage of wins, number of problems solved. But in
all cases, leader effectiveness is determined by the degree to which the task is achieved.
The match: stile and situation. The question still remains: Which style of leadership is
most effective in which type of situation? Using data that he collected from a wide
variety of group situations over more than ten years, Fiedler categorized the type of
situation (one of eight octants), determined the style of the leader, and determined which
groups performed their tasks successfully or unsuccessfully. Then for each group,
effectiveness of the group performance was correlated with leadership style. Next these
correlations were plotted separately for each of the eight situations presented as octants in
previous Table.
High LPC
Relationship 1.00-
motivated
0.80-
0.60-
edian correlations b/n
leadership style and
Effectiveness
176
0.40- Relationship
motivated
0.20- style- most
effective
0.00--------------------------------------------------------------
Task-motivated
-0.20- Task Motivated style –most
style- most effective
-0.40- effective
-0.60-
Low LPC
Task -0.80-
motivated
-1.00-
Favorable I II III IV V VI VII VIII Un favorable for
for leader Leader
Leader-member
relations Good Good Good Good Poor Poor Poor Poor
Task structure Str. Str. Unstr. Unstr. Str. Str. Unstr. Unstr.
Leader position
power Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak
FIGURE 4.13 A summary of Fiedler's contingency model research
If the median correlations for each situation are plotted and graphed, a curve shaped like
that in Figure 4.13 is produced. The shape suggests that the appropriateness of the
leadership style for maximizing group performance is indeed contingent on the
favorableness of the situation. From the data, Fiedler develops three major propositions
of his Contingency Theory:
1. In favorable situations, task-oriented leaders are more effective than relationship-

oriented leaders.
2. In moderately favorable situations, relationship-oriented leaders are mole
effective than task-oriented leaders.
3. In unfavorable situations, task-oriented leaders are more effective than
relationship-oriented leaders.
The basic explanation for effectiveness emerging from Fiedler's research is that
favorableness of the situation elicits leader behavior that is consistent with the
motivational system of the leader. The primary motivational pattern of leaders appears in
177
situations in which the individual is threatened; leaders pursue their secondary goals in
situations in which primary goals are either satisfied or appear secure. Hence,
 high LPC leaders will concern themselves with relationships in unfavorable
situations but with the task in favorable situations.
 low LPC leaders will concern themselves with the task in unfavorable situations,
but in favorable situations, they will be concerned with having good interpersonal
reactions.
According to the theory, leaders with low LPC scores who concentrate on task
accomplishment are more effective in the unfavorable situations because the situation
triggers directing and controlling behavior that is most likely to get the job done- Anxious
concern with interpersonal relations does not produce effectiveness.
In favorable situations, leaders with low LPC are also the more effective but for different
reasons. In a highly favorable setting, the leaders can focus on secondary goals because
their primary goal is being met. Consequently, the task-oriented leader (with a low LPC
score) displays considerate behavior; the relations-oriented leader (with a high LPC
score) exhibits task-relevant behaviors. Since task-relevant behaviors are redundant in
highly favorable situations (which are characterized by low task ambiguity, high position
power, and good leader-member relations), the leader with a low LPC score is more
effective than the high LPC scorer in favorable situations.
In situations of medium favorability, research has shown that relations oriented leaders
(with high LPC scores) are more effective, though it is not clear why. One possible
explanation is that such leaders experience less stress than task-oriented leaders (with low
LPC scores) in response to the same levels of situational unfavorable ness. The evidence
suggests that the two kinds of leaders respond to stress differently. For example, low LPC
scorers in stressful conditions become more assertive, task oriented, directive, and
controlling. Such behaviors suggest that they become more rigid and exhibit less
variability in behavior than high-scoring leaders, given the same level of unfavorable
ness. It is possible that under moderate situational favorability behavioral flexibility on
178
the part of leaders is required. If low-scoring leaders experience stress in this type of
situation, then it is doubtful that they should be able to exhibit the flexibility needed for
group effectiveness. In contrast, leaders with high LPC scores experiencing less stress
would be more flexible and adapt as the situation demands. Thus, the differential
perception and response to stress provides an explanation for the high performance of
leaders with high LPC scores under conditions of medium situational favorability.
Activity 4.24
Write the implications of each leadership theory to the management of schools.
SUMMARY
Management being a social activity cannot be free from problems. Hence educational
managers need to acquire basic management skills in order to solve different problems of
educational organizations. Some of such skills include communication, motivation,
decision-making and leadership.
Communication is an important management skill pervasive in all management activities

and functions. For this reason managers took 70% or more of their time to communicate
with others. In order to achieve the goals of their organization managers need to
communicate effectively. Communication in an organization could happen through
formal and informal channels. Information flowing through these channels varies in their
degree of ton, accuracy, frequency, and speed. Information flowing within and between
organizations or between an organization and individuals in the surrounding environment
is channeled through a network. The most commonly used networks are chain, wheel,
circle, all-channel, and Y-channel. Some of these networks are centralized and the others
are not. Whatever channel or network is employed in an organization, communication
usually encounters some barriers that may distort or completely block the process.
Motivation is another management skill used to solve problems related to lack of effort
on the part of employees. Motivation is therefore concerned with activating, directing and
sustaining human behavior towards goals. The question is how can managers approach
and achieve motivation? In order to answer this question different models and theories
have been developed. The theories are classified in to content and process theories. The
content theories deal with things that drive people behavior. Maslow‟s Need Hierarchy,
Alderfer‟s ERG theory and Herzberg‟s Two-Factor theory are some examples in this
category. Un like content theories, the process theories are concerned with behavioral
process. They believe that things that initiate motivation may be different to different
people, but the process of initiating, directing, sustaining and terminating behavior is
common to all. The most commonly cited process theories are expectancy, goal, equity,
and reinforcement theories.
179
Leadership is an interpersonal aspect of management skill that is critical and highly

interrelated to all other management skills. It refers to the skill of influencing individuals
and group members towards goal setting and achievement with enthusiasm. Success in
leadership is a function of factors like mangers‟ philosophy, followers‟ maturity level,
and situational factors. The efforts made to understand the intricacies of leadership
resulted in the development of numerous theories, which can be categorized under three
main approaches - the trait, behavioral and contingency.
The trait approach assumes that leader‟s personal attributes are the key to leadership
success. The behavioral approach is concerned with the behavior patterns or styles that
are related to leadership effectiveness. The patterns or styles of leader behavior are
examined in terms of authority distribution between the leader and followers, and
leader‟s concern to the task and people in the leadership process. Contingency approach
is a contemporary of leadership theories. It examines the link between personal traits and
situational variables. For instance Fiedler‟s model of leadership effectiveness explores
the relationship between leadership styles and situational variables such as task structure,
position power and leader-member relations. His theory generalizes that leader
effectiveness is contingent on the leadership style of the leader and the favorableness of
the situation. House‟s Path-goal theory focuses not on leadership style, defined in terms
of leader traits, but on leader behavior. Like Fiedler, House also looks at situational
factors that affect leader effectiveness, but he defines effectiveness not in terms of task
accomplishment but in terms of subordinates‟ psychological states. For House, leaders
are effective when their behavior provides subordinates with the guidance and rewards
necessary for satisfaction and performance. Another most popular contingency theory is
the Hersey and Blanchard‟s life cycle theory of leadership. Their theory include maturity
of followers an important factor in the leader behavior in addition to task and relationship
behaviors. Taking these variables in account they have developed four basic leadership
styles and situations appropriate to each. Finally, transformational and transactional
leaderships are also treated in the unit as the most recent views of leadership.
UNIT 5
MANAGING CHANGE IN EDUCATION
180
CONTENTS:
 The Meaning and Nature of Educational Change----------------181
 Sources of Change------------------------------------------------186
 Types of Change---------------------------------------------------190
 Strategies of innovation in Education-----------------------------205
Objectives:
After learning this unit you will be able to:
 define concepts of change, innovation and reform
 identify major forces/causes/ and types of educational changes
 Analyse the major factors involved in the process of planned changeappreciate the
merits and potential, use and limitation of change strategies in /varied
organizational and social relation to their education system.
 Explain the major causes and mechanisms to reduce, resistance to, change in
education
Introduction
The management of change is characterized by tensions: tensions between desired change
and imposed; between systematic planning and evolutionary change. It can always be
guaranteed to cause serious upset and disturbance in school system. This is not always a
bad thing if it is well managed, but what is the best way to manage change? Is there, in
fact ,One best way or should it depend on our circumstances? Where do we begin?
According to Gassett (1997) we need to start by attempting to understand as much as
possible about the process of change in order to have a fair chance of managing it
effectively.
The purpose of this unit is to help you begin developing your understanding about the
key aspects of change, then it presents the factors involved in the process of planned
change, and followed by the available strategies (option) and mechanisms of reducing
resistance to change that can be used in the successful management of change.
181
5.1 The Meaning and Nature of Educational Change

Activity 5.1
How do you define educational change? Compare your definition with the definition
given below.
5.1 The meaning of Change

In everyday usage the words change and innovation are often used interchangeably.
Identifying their differences would perhaps be the best beginning point for this
discussion.
"Change" in its ordinary dictionary meaning means the "action or an instance of making
or becoming different several authorities have also defined "changed" in the technical
context. Havelock and Huberman (1977:32) state that:
Change is any event or action, which alters the level of completeness or
equilibrium with it may be the action moving towards equilibrium or it
may be building or destroying .
Huberman (1975) further indicates that "When educators write of 'change', they mean
simply that something has happened between some original time. T1 and some later time
T2 in the structure of the school system, in any of its processes or in its goals or
purposes."
Thus change may be understood to mean any alteration or variation (possitive or
negative) in something between two points of time.
Innovation, on the other hand, is seen as being something which is essentially new rather
than reordering of something which already exists into a new pattern. while t he terms
change and innovation are used synonymously every change should not be regarded as
innovation and therefore, it would be incorrect to regard every change as an innovation.
This implies that an innovation must be directed to an improvement towards a
predetermined objective and always presupposes one or more qualitative criteria.
Although the definitions given to "innovation" are varied and sometimes conflicting,
there seems to be consensus on three aspects. that:
- It is fundamental in nature
182
- It is deliberate and planned; and
- There is the intention of improvement
Any major innovation implies a change in the culture of the school so
that authority relationships. Communication networks, status groupings, and
even friendship cliques are forced to change if the innovation is to survive
Miles (1964:14) emphasizes 'deliberate planning' and improvement of performance' as
characteristics of innovation when he wrote
... it seems useful to define an innovation as a deliberate, novel,
specific change which is thought to be more efficacious in
accomplishing the goals of a system...
The emphasis on the qualitative aspect of innovation implies that an innovation is not
introduced simply for its own sake and this point is made explicitly in another definition.
By innovation we mean any change in one component of the education system which is
not made simply for the sake of change but with the intention of promoting
improvements in the aspect concerned and having regard to the close interdependence of
all such aspects- the system as a whole (Noel, 1974:29)
There is a debate on whether innovation is necessarily new thing or merely a
rearrangement of old constituent parts .Regarding this debate Rogers and
Shoemaker(1971) wrote that:
An innovation is an idea, practice ,or object perceived as new by an
individual. It matters little so far as human behavior is concerned, whether
or not an idea is 'objectively' new as measured by the lapse of time since
its first use or discovery. It is the perceived or subjective newness of the
idea for the individual that determines his reaction to it. If the idea seems
new to the individual, it is an innovation.
This observation is about innovation in all fields, but it is particularly relevant to
educational innovations which frequently require teachers to change attitudes,
relationships and roles. In most cases shortage of educational innovations does not seem
to be a problem. The difficulties arise mostly in the implementation rather than the
creation and this will depend on the experience o the individuals concerned.
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If we bring together the elements of the definitions above we can arrive at the following
conclusions regarding innovation:
* an innovation is an idea, object or practice perceived as new by an individual or
individuals.
* It is intended to bring about improvement in relation. to desired objectives
* It is deliberate, willed and planned rather than occurring spontaneously.
* It is a purposeful process and in most cases a one-shot operation
Activity 5.2
Consider the following changes that took place in Ethiopian Education System.
Discuss whether each of them can be categorized as innovation or reform, and
why?
a) The self - contained classroom teaching
b) Use of activity learning method
c) Teacher Education System overhaul
At this point it would be useful to make a distinction between two concepts often
confused in the literature on educational change: innovation and reform. We have seen
the various definitions of innovation. How does it differ from reform?
Reform is a particular type of change, a form which implies a planned strategy for the
alteration of some aspects of the educational system of a country according to a set of
specified needs, planned outcomes and ways and means for attaining them. This
phenomenon which Occurs in very different settings, and can have equally different
objectives and processes for achieving them. For these reasons: any definition of
educational reforms is bound to be rather broad in scope.
Simons (in Paulston, 1976: 1) states that educational reforms are:
Those changes in educational policy which cause major changes in either educational
budget, the slope of the pyramid of school environment, or the effect of education
investment on individual and social development.
Kluchnikov (1977:29) suggest that educational reform is
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an integral part of the social transformation and comprise major
changes in educational policies,' involving the major changes in a
nation's educational' objectives, normative and structures.
These definitions suggest that educational reform~ is a state-wide phenomena which may
very well have repercussions beyond the educational system itself. The idea of
educational reform, tends to be linked to broader ideas of societal change or, at least, of
better systems maintenance at a societal level
As discussed above, reform is to be understood in the context of the entire educational

system. Furthermore, it is generally initiated from the decision -making center of the
educational system. On the other hand, educational innovations are seen in a more limited
context as more isolated attempts at improving or changing selected aspect of the
educational process. One of the more revealing and interesting indicators of the
distinction between educational reform and innovation is to be found in the literature on
the two subjects. At theoretical level, educational reform is linked with abundant
references to general social and economic theories which are often well integrated into
the theory and presentation and educational reforms.
.
For instance, in most of the cases, the major criteria for initiating and, or evaluating an
educational reform are stated in economic (rate of. return, human capital, or resource
development) or social (reduction of inequalities, cultural development, improving the
link between schooling and the world of 'work) terms. In other words, the concepts used
in explaining educational reforms take very large account of factors external to the
educational system and processes. In fact some writers indicate that educational reform is
almost always tied up with reforms in the political, sociological and economic
reorientation of the wider society
In the literature on educational innovation the emphases are placed more narrowly within
the confines of the sphere of the innovation itself. The systems analysis framework is
mostly used for the development of models for the understanding and evaluation of
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innovations. The studies on educational innovation are more concerned with factors
within the educational system.
This strengthens the idea that the basic distinguishing traits between educational reforms
and innovations lie in their respective terms of reference. Reforms tend to be achieved,
elaborated and discussed in a context that largely overflows that of the educational
system itself. Innovations tend to be much more limited in scope:
Reform is a system-wide effort at creating change whose need and
impact are often broader than. the confines of the educational system
itself' innovations are much more isolated attempts at changing or
improving some-particular component of the educational system
without , affecting its entirety.
5.2. . Sources of Change
Activity 5.3
List down the possible causes of change in education.
The nature of educational change must first be understood in terms of its sources. In their
attempt to identify the sources of change various writers have used different approaches.
In his endeavor to classify the sources of change Huberman (1975) borrows from
anthropologists the notions of 'creative motive' and 'deficit motive' to change.
By creative motives to change is meant a voluntary and self-imposed desire to
- reduce the gap between the desired and actual practice of the system.
- redefine problems,
- recognize new problems and to create new ways of dealing with them
Deficit motives to change, on the other hand, are brought about by crisis, competition or
conflict. Among such incidences could be cited:-
- Student or teacher Strikes
- Dissatisfaction of Citizens at large or of national officials
- Internal Conflicts between and among administrators and Teachers
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- Shortage of teachers or facilities etc.
In addition to creative and deficit motives to change Huberman (1975) lists other
preconditions that may predispose educational system to change. These include:
- Increasing public concern for quality education
- Increasing interest in technological advances
- Emphasis on research and development greater affluence
- Growth of the educational system itself.
- Rising educational qualifications of parents and graduates
- Growing proportion of the gross national product devoted to education, etc.
Fullan (1991) asserts that in pluralistic societies there will always be pressures for
educational change and he identifies three broad ways in which pressures for educational
policy change may arise:
1. Through natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, famines and the like
2. Through external factors such as imported technology and values, and
immigration, and
3. Through internal contradictions, such as when indigenous changes in technology
lead to new social patterns and needs, or when one or more group in a society
perceive a discrepancy between educational values and outcomes affecting
themselves or other in whom they have an interest
Activity 5.4
Identify and discuss the major factors (sources) of educational policy change in
1994 in Ethiopia.
After examining several cases, Fullan (1991) concludes that change is generated through
a mixture of political and educational motives. He further states that politically motivated
change is accompanied by greater commitment of leaders, the power of new ideas, and
additional resource but it also produces overload, unrealistic time-lines, uncoordinated
demands, simplistic solutions, misdirected efforts, inconsistencies, and underestimation
of what it takes to bring about reform.
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Conley (1997) examines broader trends which have influenced the thinking of policy
makers and educators in their consideration of change in education. He has organized
these trends into three broad categories: economic forces, social forces and technological
forces. A brief summary of these forces is presented below:
Economic Forces
The economic system is transforming in ways that have implications for all social
constitutions including schools. Some of the elements of the transformation that have the
greatest potential impact upon schools include the following:
The continuing transition from a work force composed predominantly of low-skilled

workers and a small,' highly educated managerial elite who made decisions, to a work
force in which front-line workers are key decision-makers
 Increased economic competition in the world that has led to an accelerated rate of
change in the business world is Less access to job for school leavers
 More racial/ ethnic/gender diversity in the work place and concomitant equal
employment provisions for hiring that require employers to show a link between
the perspective employee's knowledge and skills and the hiring decision.
 A Global economy where companies function through out the world, workers
may have to travel or live out side their country.
 Development of authority i.e, which resulted in responsibility for decision-making
being pushed downward, requiring workers who are more able to think and
managers who are more able to adapt; continued layoffs in large cooperation
undergo retraining or develop skills in mid career.
Social Forces
Some of the important social forces operating to produce change that will have an impact
on schools include the following:
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 The changing structure of the family in the era of the " Post-nuclear
family," the increase in single-parent families, the concomitant
disintegration of extended support networks for families, the tendency
for any crises to throw a family off balance for an extended period
unless some sort of external assistance is available
 The increase in the number of children who are living in poverty.
 The failure of schools as vehicles for desegregation or for equal
education performance for minority students
 A decreasing sense of civic responsibility, of social tolerance, of a
social contract among citizens for the benefit of all; a lack of
understanding of democratic rule by majority
Technological Forces
Technological forces include a broad array of new techniques for organizing,
communicating, and disseminating information that arise of the following Issues:
 Schools are neither organized nor funded in a way that enables them to
keep up with changes in knowledge or changes in technology used to
store and present such knowledge
 Text books are an obsolete technology, yet they continue to be central to
the way schools conceive of teaching and learning
 Knowledge is becoming more accessible to more of the population.
Therefore, the teacher's role as subject matter expert must change.
 The structure of knowledge is rapidly evolving. The division of academic
disciplines is no longer appropriate for understanding or solving the
problems that exist in the world, yet schools cling to this one structure to
the exclusion of other possibilities.
 Schools are not moving to integrate technology, nor are the keeping up
with latest developments; in fact, they are falling farther and farther
behind technological advancement.
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Conely (1997) stresses that these economic, social and technological forces press the
educational system to introduce and/or adapt to change accordingly.
Nicholls (1983) addresses the issue from a different perspective. He focuses on the
specific source of change and Innovation. These specific sources seem to vary from
country to country
To generalize, the sources of change are approached in different ways by different
writers. Some focus on the forces that pressurize change while others look at specific
factors source of change.
5.3 Types of Change

The changes that take place can be classified in different ways.
i) Spontaneous and Planned Changes
This classification belongs to the theories of social change~ in particular. Social
change may occur "spontaneously" as the result of the operation of general
forces or tendencies that are more or less outside the realm of human control.
Three different varieties of theories of spontaneous change are usually
identified:
a) Evolutionary Theories:
Evolutionary changes are piecemeal and slow. It emphasizes the idea of stages
that human society inevitably encounters, but has been criticized for an alleged
misunderstanding of the contrast between "primitive" and "modern" societies.
b) Cyclical Theory
This theory indicates that change is not a straight line progression from some
primitive to some advanced stage, but history reveals a fluctuation between one
and another basic social form.
c) Factor Theories
These theories of change emphasize the contingent rather than the inevitable character of
change. Only if certain change- inducing factors are present will change occur. The basic
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division among proponents of this approach involves the question of whether social
change can profitably be viewed as the result of change in a single factor, or whether
change has to be explained in terms of multiplicity of factors that must be favorable for
change to occur.
Social change may also be the result of human intention and deliberate planning. This is
called planned change. Planned changes are systematic and scientific. But it is not
without difficulties. Two examples -efforts to induces change in educational practices in
school systems, and efforts to bring about "Modernization" of a country can be used to
illustrate the difficulties of social planning, involving often unanticipated consequences
and resistances on the part of those people negatively affected by planned changes.
ii) Reactive and Pro-active Changes

Reactive change occurs when some forces make it necessary for a change to be
implemented. It is passive compliance to the demands. Pro-active change takes place
when some forces to change lead an organization to conclude that a particular change is
desirable and goes about in initiating the change in a planned manner.
Reactive change involves a limited part of the system whereas proactive change
coordinates the parts of the system as a whole.
iii) Degree and Kind of changes

Havelock (1971) classifies change on the basis of degree (i.e. how much change is
required) and the kind of changes involved. He divides the first category into four types
a) Change in size and scope of operations -requiring outlays of capital, labor space
and equipment
b) Acquiring new skills as in retaining teachers for new curricula, team teaching or
the utilization of language laboratories
c) Changing goals as in the introduction of self-instructional materials, where the
teacher becomes a non-directive help rather than an authoritative conveyer of
information.
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d) Changing values or orientation -where many of the adopters long help principles
are at stake, as in the elimination of examinations, school desegregation or the
abandonment of religious induction.
The second category, involving the type of change required for adoption or adaptation,
may be of six sorts:
a) Substitution- probably the most common and most reality accepted innovation, in
which one item is substituted for another previously in use ( a new textbook, new
equipment in a science laboratory or, somewhat more complex, a replacement for
a teacher or administrator).
b) Alteration -involving changes in existing structures, rather than a complete
substitution of parts or elements. Addition without changing old elements or
patterns -those which can be added to an existing programme without seriously
disturbing other parts of it (audio-visual aids, workshops, diagnostic tests).
c) Restructuring -seem either as a national rearrangement of work space (changing
the composition and size of classes), rearrangements in the curriculum (e.g.
introducing a new language course) or as a revision of instructional method (team
teaching, par-professional teaching aids, non graded schools).
d) Eliminating Old Behavior -as, for example changing from a simple textbook or
method of discussion in class or human relations training for reducing mutual
suspicion or hostility
e) Reinforcing old Behavior -Where it is a question of transmitting or adopting
knowledge which reinforces what is already practiced.
iv) Hardware, Software and Role Changes

Focusing specifically on changes that take place in the school system .This can be
divided them into three sorts:
Hardware changes are additions to school equipment, such as new classrooms, teaching
machines, books or play ground
a) Software changes -refer to the content and range of the curriculum or to the
methods of delivery and reception
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b) Role changes:- consist of the interpersonal relations between teachers and
students, between teachers and administrators or teachers and teachers.
Changes can thus be classified into different types depending on ones point of analysis.
What process does these changes follow? Would be a subject of discussion in the next
unit.
Activity 5.5
To which of the above categories of types of change do you classify the changes
in Ethiopian Education?
5.3.1. The process of planned change:

A theory of innovation
Any process of innovation involves the following four major factors
The Change Agent, the innovator, the person or group (e.g. the headmaster, or individual
teacher, or local authority, or national government) that decides upon and initiates the
innovation or educational change.
1. The Innovation or change itself, e.g. an integrated approach to learning-teaching; or
'new' mathematics in place of .the old
2. The User system -the person or group at which the innovation is directed or targeted.
These threekey factors answer the simple question:
who (the change agent)
what (the innovation)
to whom (the user).
To ignore or underestimate the importance of anyone of these key factors would be
courting trouble. It is important to bear in mind, too, that these three factors interact with,
change and are changed by each other during the process of innovation.
4. Time: Innovation is essentially a social process and so takes place over a period of
time.
The change agent system
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Any change agent or innovator will obviously be involved with:

the Process of Innovation,
the Planning of Innovation,
Strategies of Innovation.
Considering these under the change agent system does not imply that the user system is
not involved. It sometimes happens that the change agent and the user are in opposition.
But for any innovation to succeed the two must co-operate and collaborate. So, while
considering what the change agent does, one must remember that, ideally, the user will
also be closely involved in the change agent's activities.
The process of innovation

Most innovations go through something approaching these logical phases.
Havelock and Huberman point out34a that many innovations fail because innovators fail
to appreciate the process of innovation, because they pay little attention to the lessons
that can be learnt from the process, particularly the fact that innovation is a matter of
system
change and system building within a social context. On the other hand they show how
careful diagnosis of needs, specificity of objectives, detailed organizational planning and
development of competencies and materials, can be instrumental in the success of
innovative projects. The process of innovation involves the following steps:
1. The problem:Before any innovation process begins there must be some problem,
some situation, which is causing dissatisfaction and which it is hoped that some
innovation will solve or at least minimize it. Otherwise, why introduce~ any
innovation?
The difficulty is often to identify the real problem, i.e. the one that is the root-cause of
the dissatisfaction.
If youth unemployment is the cause of concern, the real problem may have nothing to do
with education and with what goes on in the schools, but rather lie in the economic and
political spheres. Unless there are jobs available, changing the education system won't
solve the basic problem. Only providing jobs will reduce unemployment.
194
The job of the change agent is to assist in identifying the real problem.
2.The solution : Having identified the real problem, the next phase involves
considering possible solutions, bearing in mind the economic, social and cultural
limitations. The examination system often provides constraints on innovation. Parents,
too, can shackle new ideas and
solutions. Some parents think diplomas and certificates have magical powers: no 'child-
centered', 'play-way' methods for their children. The change agent must constantly keep
in mind the context in which the solution, the innovation, the educational change, will be
applied. He must consider the peculiarities of the user system and its likely response to
any innovation. An innovation is a deliberate intrusion into the fabric of a culture. Often
this entails a change in the existing order of things. Any solutions, innovations, preferred
must not only be feasible in terms of costs, etc. but must also be compatible with existing
values.
3. The innovation: From the possible solutions the change agent (e.g. a Government
planning unit, a Ministry, a Headmaster, etc.) will select that solution, innovation,
educational change, that it considers will best achieve the desired results with the greatest
effectiveness and at reasonable cost.
4 The next task of the change agent is to develop:and introduce this innovation, this
optimum solution, into the client/user system on a trial basis. This will involve promoting
awareness and interest in the innovation, adjusting internal organizational procedures and
arrangements, locating and arranging appropriate resources, providing training courses
(and possibly incentives), setting up monitoring and feedback procedures to assess the
relevance and effectiveness of the innovation.
5. Implementation: For effective planning and execution of an innovation, the

implementation phase should be regarded as a distinct process from the earlier 'trial'
phase. It is not merely an extension of the earlier 'trial' or 'development' phase;
implementation entails new and distinctive issues and problems that call for new and
distinctive approaches. Initial acceptance of an innovation, even enthusiasm, is not
195
enough to ensure implementation. Innovation requires continuous and complex

negotiation between people involved in establishing new ideas and practices. Most
innovations require considerable change in the usual pattern of teacher behaviour. To
break away from old modes of behaviour and begin to act in an entirely different way is
far from easy and takes time.
6 .Institutionalization.
The final task for the manager (change agent) of an innovation process, assuming a
decision to proceed with the innovation has been taken, is to take steps to stabilize or
institutionalize the innovation, that is, get it absorbed and structurally integrated into the
system. To do this he must make provision for continuing maintenance of the innovation,
and for ensuring that the innovation can be adapted to meeting changing needs. This is
where many literacy programmes failed -there was no follow-up, there was no provision
for maintaining and increasing the skills already acquired
The planning of innovation
The problems of innovation are very complex and nowadays can no longer be solved by
mere intuitive judgment or educated guesses. If innovation is not to be a hit or miss affair
it must be planned. Evidence shows that careful planning is resorted to far less than is
imagined. This results in waste of scarce resources, stress, disenchantment and ultimately
failure of the innovation.
For effective planning of innovation Adams and Chen enumerate eleven elements which
must be considered at each of the six stages of any innovation process. These elements
concern 'who does what, with what, to whom, where, when, in what manner and why and
with what effect'.
These elements are:
1 .The personnel to be employed (who).
At all stages of an innovation process there must be people available all along the line
who have the expertise and capacity to carry out their allotted tasks. As we shall see in
196
Chapter 16, no one with experience of teaching by correspondence was involved in the
original planning of teaching by this method and so there was a lack of awareness of the
problems that might -and did -arise.
2. The specification of what the actual task is (what);
i.e. what has to be done, what the innovation in action will consist of, its size and its
scope, the role of teachers, of researchers etc. Whether the specifications are detailed or
more open depends on the capabilities of those who are to carry out the tasks. Where the
teaching force is largely unqualified the curriculum materials and tasks are made as
'teacher proof' as possible. The purpose of task specification is to provide a sufficient
basis for getting into the action of innovation.
3. The method -the strategy or procedure to undertake the task I(how);
 .is the change to be effected by a formal, legislative approach, requiring individuals to
act in accordance with new regulations?
 or is change to be effected by a more natural approach, relying on the new idea
diffusing and gradually catching on, the process being helped along by advisers,
community developers, publicity etc?
Between these two extremes there are other approaches or strategies which are mentioned
presently.
4. The equipment needed (with what).
5. The plant, buildings or environment (where).
There is usually a 'critical mass' of equipment and plant needed to enable a new project to
function. Too little equipment hinders action; too much may stultify (as research in the
USA has shown). The trick is to determine how much is just enough. When equipment
and plant are part and parcel of an innovation then, means must be found for producing
and delivering them.
6 . The cost entailed.

Often planning is based more on aspirations than on realistic analyses of available
resources. One must face up to the costs, not only of initial trials, but also the full
implementation costs of any innovation. When one has little money or time or manpower
197
one has to cut one's innovation coat according to one's cloth, even if that turns out to be
far from elegant.
7 Other people or rather other social contexts on which the innovation impinges. It is
wise and, perhaps, essential to gain the cooperation, or at least acquiescence, of interested
parties, especially if they are powerful, who might otherwise regard their territory or
prerogatives as being violated or threatened. Failure to involve, or at least, inform
interested sections can prove an innovation's undoing. Murphy's law states that 'if
something can go wrong, it will'. It is here, at the interface between 'interest' groups, that
things often go wrong. Whilst, as Adams and Chen say, 'it is not necessary to contact all
of the people all of the time', it is necessary to identify the interest groups and to enter
into mutual dialogue and negotiation with them.
8. The time involved (when and for how long).

Innovations take time. People and social systems are generally slow to welcome changes,
which they often regard with suspicion. Beware of making haste too quickly. And
remember Harrary's flippant law: 'no matter how long you think it will take, it will take
twice as long'.
9 The scheduling or sequencing or co-coordinating of activities (in what manner).
Time spent in planning the sequencing and co-coordinating of events is time well spent.
The more precise the co-ordination, the faster the process of innovation.
10. The rationale for undertaking the innovation (why).
 i.e. what are the justifications for the particular approaches used in the operational
phase.
11. The evaluation of the consequences or effects resulting (with what effects).
This is the 'moment of truth' when either a 'thumbs up' or a 'thumbs down' decision has to
be taken on whether or not to go ahead with the innovation. Whether an innovation is
implemented on a wide scale depends on at least three factors:
i) the political climate, in a national sense and in an institutional or local sense;
198
ii) whether there is sufficient 'energy' in the form of material and human
resources to sustain it (any proposal that adds to costs is generally vie,y.led
unfavorably);
iii) its place in the general array of priorities.
Activity 5.6
Describe the relationship among the three basic components of innovation: The
innovation, the change agent,& the user system.
1. The Innovation System

In the first part this unit, you have been introduced to the major factors (causes) for
educational change /innovation/. In this sub-section, you will study the innovation
system-from where innovation ideas /change/ generate. According to Havrlock (1969)
innovation may be derived from four types of knowledge:
 basic knowledge
 applied research and development knowledge.
 Practice generated knowledge
 user feedback knowledge.
Other writers, like Hull et.al (1973) state that innovations come in three broad forms:
information documents, training materials and an installable system. Many of the
innovation according to Brham (1981) generated at the user level come up in the form of
untested and often vaguely formulated ideas. Although an innovation is usually aimed at
a particular target system, it must be noted that this may differ from the user system
which actually takes it up.
In addition to the way in which innovations are developed and disseminated certain
characteristics are important factors in determining the extent to which they are adapted
and implemented. Rogers and Schomakes (1971) identify five characteristics of
innovations. They argue, that it is the potential users' perceptions of these characteristics
rather than the experts' perception/ change agents that affects the fate of the innovations.
199
These characteristics include:
1) Relative advantage is the extent to which an innovation is seen to be better than

the idea or practice it supersets. The advantage may be in terms of cost
reeducation, saving time or effort, usually in education the concern is for
improvement in pupils' learning
2) Compatibility - This is the extent to which a change is perceived by potential
users as being consistent with the existing values and past experiences and present
needs. An idea that is not compatible with the significant characteristics of the
user system is less likely to be accepted and adapted. This may consequently
demands the change agent to be aware of the educational philosophy and ability
of those involved.
3) Complexity - is defined as the degree to which an innovation is perceived as
relatively difficult to understand and use. Some innovations have clear meaning to
the users and some have not.
The complexity of the innovation as perceived by the members of the social
system is negatively related to its rate of adoption.
4) Triability - i.e. the extent to which it can be experimented within a limited basis. it
is suggested that innovations that can be tried out on a limited scale are likely to
be accepted more readily, since the try-out minimizes risk
5) Observability- the degree to which others can observe it in action or observe its
results and ideas. This refers to that the results of some ideas /changes are easily
observed and communicated to others while some innovations are difficult to
describe. In summary observability is positively related to the adoption of an
innovation
3. The User System

The User System; where the 'action' is. This is the target of all the change agent's
planning -the system which is trialling and possibly adopting an innovation.
200
The readiness of the 'school culture' (the readiness of the community, the managerial
group, the teachers and students) is more essential than the product
The best of intentions are likely to be frustrated if too much attention is paid to the nature
of a proposed innovation, whilst too little attention is given to the nature of the
innovator(s) and to the nature of the social system in which they work.
Because 'centre-periphery' or 'top-down' strategies have tended to have little impact on

innovations, attention is now increasingly being paid to the user system's view of the
innovation process and the accompanying problems.
4 Conditions for success of innovations
Potential users of an innovation will be more predisposed to accepting it if:
1. it is relevant to them. This depends on several other factors, e.g.
2. if the innovation is seen to have some relative advantage over their existing practices,
i.e. if it compares favourably or better with other practices, activities, keeping in mind
the question of resources;
3. if the innovation is feasible in their particular organizational context;
4. if it is compatible with the practices, values, characteristics of the user system.
Compatibility ensures greater security and less risk to the user and makes the
innovation more meaningful to him;
5. if it is seen as posing little or no threat to the user group -to its identity, integrity,
territory. Hence the importance of dialogue and negotiations with interested groups.
The innovation must be shown as benign or tolerable, not anti. Hence, too, the
importance of providing adequate information;
6. if benefits, material or non-material, attach to the innovation; e.g. a sense of intrinsic

satisfaction in the innovation, increased learning and knowledge, a gain in status and
social worth, career opportunities etc.
7. if it is flexible and adaptable -if it can be re-interpreted, 'creatively' adapted, if it is
able to exploit to advantage any situations that arise, then the greater the likelihood
that the innovation wilt persist.
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Most studies of innovation refer to the readiness with which individuals revert back to
their former habits and practices. In the traditional role the teacher knew he was
transmitting knowledge successfully in an easily testable way -by examinations. He was
in close contact with a class of children at regular intervals in a secure, closed class-room.
This was the way he had been trained; this was the way he had taught for years; and this
was what parents expected of him -no 'playing around' with education. The innovative
role, on the other hand, is not so secure; the new content is strange; the new and
unfamiliar techniques like team-teaching and integrated studies leave him uncertain, even
vulnerable; the enquiry methods are too time-consuming; the assessment of work is
difficult. The pressures on teachers involved in innovation, often with futures that are
somewhat uncertain, to revert back to their old, secure, traditional habits is strong.
Having launched an educational innovation and seen it safely into orbit, the change agent
must then ensure that it remains in orbit. The innovation must persisting enough to
become established, institutionalized.
5 The failure of innovations

'To recognize the problems in advance is to decrease the likelihood of failure. '
Study of the literature of innovations, both in developed and in developing countries,
(bishop) shows that they can be characterized by these features:
(i) innovations usually fail; That time

(ii) barriers to innovation invariably emerge;
(iii) resistance to change seems universal;
(iv) change, if any, is usually transitory;
(v) willingness to change appears related to conditions in society;
(vi) change mayor may not be rational.
The sad fact about educational innovations, indeed, about any innovations, is that most of
them fail.
6. The time dimension
202
Innovation is a dynamic, social process which occurs over a period of time during which
it may be modified as a result of that social ", process.
Bollam analyses the time dimension of change in terms of three major stages:
(i) The antecedent (prior) stage. At this stage the three innovation systems -
change agent, innovation and user -exist separately of each other though each
will probably have some relationship with the other. As Bolam points out, it is
vital to have a clear understanding of the situation and of the characteristics
and peculiarities of the change agent, innovation and user, before any
innovation process begins.
(ii) The interactive stage. This is the time from the beginning of a project to its
completion, during which period the three systems interact with each other.
(iii) The consequent (after) stage: -when the innovation process is over, when the
three systems separate again and some assessment can be made of the
interactive experience on all three systems.
During the interactive and consequent stages the user system will .respond to the
innovation in a variety of ways: it may reject the innovation for one or more reasons, it
may resist it, it may adapt it (sometimes to the dismay of the change agent) or it may
accept it fully and the innovation becomes institutionalized as a fully integrated part of
the user system.
Bolam's conceptual framework for innovation provides a way of thinking about the
process of change, and an indication of how to go about doing it. It distinguishes between
four major factors: the change agent the innovation, the user system and the process of
innovation over time. These four factors are presented (in Figure as a two dimensional
conceptual framework.
Dimension 1: The three major Systems
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Time 1: Before
The change The Innovation The user
antecedent stage agent
Dimension 2: The process of Innovation overtime

Time 2: During
the interactive The user
The change
stage agent
The Innovation
Time 3: After The change The Innovation The user

The consequent agent
stage
A conceptual framework for the study of Innovation. (Bolam, 1975:274-75)

5.4 Strategies of innovation in Education
By strategy is meant all the available procedures and techniques used by individuals and
groups at different levels of the educational system to attain desired objectives. A strategy
is a deliberate attempt to engineer innovation
Amalgamating the categories of Havelock and of Chin and Benne Bishop, has come up
with six strategies of change (innovation)
:Strategies based on systematic research-oriented and evaluation-controlled approaches,
such as Havelock's Research, Development and Diffusion (R, D and D) and to some
extent Chin and Benne's rational-empirical approach.
1. Strategies emphasizing communication and diffusion of innovations through various
channels and inter-personal networks, such as Havelock's Social Interaction
perspective and to some extent Chin and Benne's rational-empirical approach.
2. Strategies involving locally participative problem-solving and self-help, including
those of Chin and Benne's normative re-educative model.
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3. Strategies which emphasise inside-outside (or user-change agent) co-operation and
dialogue by planned linkage.
4. Power-coercive strategies, based on power, authority, administrative and legalistic
directives.
5. Open input strategies which emphasise openness to all ideas, These strategies are now
considered in some detail.
1. The Research, Development and Diffusion Model
This strategy is effective where innovations have to be introduced on a large, macro

scale, where ideas have to reach geographically dispersed and isolated users and where
those who will be implementing the changes (usually the teachers) are often lacking in
knowledge and expertise. This is the situation in many developing countries and hence
the model has been used extensively in introducing innovations in these countries.
The Research, Development and Diffusion approach is a highly organized, systematic

and rational approach to innovation, founded on the following logical sequence of
activities:
1. Basic research (as in industry) by a central team which plans and develops the
innovation;
2. Trials of the innovation in the field;
3. Planned mass dissemination or diffusion of the innovation, by conferences,
workshops, courses, etc.;
4. Implementation of the innovation by the users.
Characteristic of the R, D and D approach is that a development agency at the centre

which produces packaged solutions for the users at the periphery (schools and teachers).
Hence, this approach is also known as the 'centre-periphery' or 'top-down' approach. ,
205
One advantage of such a strategy is that the more talented and experienced teachers and
experts are more likely to be found at the 'centre' of an educational system, and this
expertise can then be utilised for the benefit of the whole system.
Among the disadvantages are:

(i) Users (e.g. teachers) are involved in the development process only to a limited
extent; they are the passive recipients of changes proposed for them by some
distant agency.
(ii) Because of the high degree of centralization, local needs and variations are
often neglected.
However, by involving users more closely in the development of the innovation they
need not be left to feel that they are dancers to a tune composed and played by people
remote from their problems. When others invent solutions we are less committed to
implement them.
The introduction of the 'modular instruction' innovation by Indonesia mentioned a few

pages earlier is an example of the R, D and D approach.
2. The Social Interaction/Diffusion Model
Social interaction is the usual way by which ideas and practices are diffused through
society -by informal contacts between interested individuals and groups. This strategy
usually takes the form of convincing people of the value and usefulness of an innovation
and then enabling them to see for themselves the innovation in action. This is how
'extension agents', especially in agriculture, carry technical knowledge to the consumer.
This 'extension agent' approach is used in many developing countries, for example in
India with its village-level workers.This method is being used in Ethiopia in agriculture
and health sectors to promote development of the programs
through informal,and personal contacts.
206
A great advantage of this strategy is that it is a 'natural' process. One disadvantage is that
the process can be unsystematic and unplanned (even though the original source of the
innovation may be research-based). Also, the process being informal, can be slow. But
any unplanned approach can be made more systematic by structuring and coordinating
the contacts between groups and individuals interested in the innovation. This can be
done by courses and conferences, by visits to schools, by setting up special agencies to
stimulate diffusion.
3. Participative Problem-Solving Strategy
This strategy is essentially a user-centred one. People have within themselves most if not
all the ideas, resources and energy to bring about change. Innovators at the periphery set
about solving their own problems. The problem-solving process of innovation is carried
out within the user or client system, be it a school, a community or an individual. The
user identifies a need, the need is translated into a problem statement which is then
diagnosed; this diagnosis leads to a search for a satisfactory solution; possible
solutions/innovations are considered and the best alternative selected; this optimum.
solution is tried and evaluated for its effectiveness; if satisfactory, the innovation is
adopted and implemented. This strategy is similar to the problem-solving systems
analysis process and may be represented as follows:
Need Diagnosis the best alternative Try out and evaluate the innovation
Implement the innovation
Whereas in the R, D and D approach the initiative for innovation comes from the 'centre'
or 'top', in the participative problem-solving model the initiative comes from the
'periphery', from the user system. In contrast to the 'top-down' approach, this is a 'bottom-
up' approach, grass roots innovations developing as a result of local initiatives. Local
initiative, local responsibility, collaboration and self-help, reliance on local resources to
the fullest extent, these are the driving forces behind innovation. The role of the outsider
is essentially consultative, providing ideas, guidance and perhaps temporary inputs of aid.
207
The problem-solving approach offers Head teachers and teachers themselves the means
to improve the organisational health and self-renewing capacities of their own schools.
Using what is termed organization development, staff members themselves carry out the
assessment, diagnosis and transformation of their own schools and so help to enhance the
creativity of the schools, that is, their 'capacity to adopt, adapt, generate or reject
innovations'
4 . The Planned Linkage Strategy
This strategy combines aspects of the three earlier strategies by using linkage procedures
and agencies intermediate between the centres of educational change and the users. These
agencies mediate and link together all the parties involved in the innovation process.
These linkage agencies could be teachers' centres, regional resource centres, institutes of
education, etc. which provide linkage by giving support and advice, providing resources,
running in-service courses, seminars, workshops, visits, by providing support to trial
schools after the main innovation development team has withdrawn, by suggesting
innovations tried and tested elsewhere to users with similar or related problems. These
agencies can also provide valuable feedback, thus helping to improve project
administration, materials etc., and also serve to strengthen the sense of collaboration
between change agent and user
5. Power - Coercive Strategy

These are strategies used by persons or groups who have power to enforce innovations,
e.g. governments, national or local education authorities, inspectors, headmasters,
teachers, that is, people who have political, legal, administrative and economic power and
resources to impose innovation. Such action is sometimes necessary, as for example,
when it is necessary to co-ordinate effort, or when it is necessary to overcome inertia, or
just on the grounds of greater efficiency
Whilst most countries use these strategies to bring about changes in the fundamental aims
and structure of their educational systems, many are now doubting the effectiveness of
such 'top-down' approaches for changing curriculum, methods of teaching, teachers'
attitudes etc. One can take a horse to water but one cannot make it drink. One must take
account of the individuality of members of the user system; the relationship between
208
change agents and users must be characterised by respect and co-operation rather than by
coercion and compliance. To instruct the staff of a school to change to a new and
unfamiliar method of teaching often results only in a limited 'mechanical' or 'superficial'
conformity with the directive, only in compliance with the 'letter of the law'; at worst it
can invite teachers to ignore the directive altogether or even defy it. Planned change is
more readily accepted when a policy of assent rather than compliance is adopted. Power-
coercive strategies have a propensity to stir up a divine discontent.
If innovations are to be genuinely institutionalized at school and classroom level then
much more consideration has to be given to the needs and problems of the users -teachers
and schools. There must be more 'power equalization', the users must be allowed to
participate more in the decision-making relating to any innovation.
In passing, one might note that coercion can take many subtle forms, ranging from
brainwashing and manipulation to 'hidden persuaders' and payola. When persons in
authority have the power to withhold or withdraw incentives, this is a form of coercive
sanction. When an inspector offers 'advice' to a young probationer in such a way that the
latter is left in no doubt that he is not free to ignore it, such non-rejectable advice is
coercion. In New Zealand a new design of school building was introduced to 'coerce'
teachers into accepting a more 'open-plan' form of teaching.
Among the advantages of power strategies are:
(i) they are effective when there are time constraints; quick and dramatic results
can be achieved more quickly by such strategies;
(ii) they are perhaps the easiest and cheapest to apply, but are not necessarily the
best in the long run.
The disadvantages are that they can be less cost effective and less lasting, if based on
coercion which generates resistance and hostility.
With 'participative' approaches, change may be effected more slowly, but resistance will
be less than an 'authoritarian' -'Here it is, use it' -approach. Strategies based on
'persuasion' are generally longer lasting.
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6 . Open Input Strategy
Havelock, in a more recent study, identifies yet another strategy of innovation, which he
calls the open input strategy. It is a very wide open, flexible, pragmatic and even
opportunistic approach to innovation. The underlying philosophy seems to be 'let's try
anything and everything, being as open and pragmatic as possible, using power and the
law where need be, and informal influence and persuasion where they can be used'. The
model is an 'all strategies' approach. However, as Havelock and Huberman point out,
while flexibility may be the best way to counteract the mire of bureaucracy, more
anchoring is needed if an innovation is to have solid and lasting accomplishments.
Mixed Strategies
Rarely are the strategies mentioned used in their pure form. Often the distinction between
the various strategies of innovaton is not quite as clear-cut as indicated; they often merge
into one another. Often several different strategies are used effectively at the same time.
What strategy or strategies are used depends on the varying circumstances. Often 'control'
strategies (like power-coercive) are combined with 'influence' strategies to 'sweeten the
pill', to gain the I‟s assent of users. Rather than sanctions, incentives in the way of pay
increases, promotion, enhanced status, are offered to the users. At a 'pilot' or 'trial' stage
of an innovation the change agent will not be able to include everyone. If these people are
not to feel 'left out' he must develop suitable strategies to somehow give them a feeling of
participation. Developing countries often don't have the time to await detailed research
findings before mass implementation of an innovation. They resort to action research and
'rolling reform' as the innovation proceeds.
Havelock and Huberman indicate how mixed strategies can be used most effectively. It is
important for innovators to pursue a planned strategy which takes full account of what is
known about the innovation process. This includes being open and flexible, being
oriented towards the user's problem-solving process and needs, making judicious use of
power where it is necessary and reasonable to do so, and taking full advantage of research
on the diffusion of innovations in social systems. The optimum strategy takes account of
210
all these elements and orchestrates them, retaining a continuing awareness of what is
happening in the user system, making an effort to maintain two-way communication and,
above all, remaining sensitive to the people the project is trying to help.
Whatever strategy a change agent uses he should make use of all the resources available
to him e.g. the spoken word, print, radio and television for communication; micro-
teaching and other techniques for training; observation, evaluative research etc. for
feedback. It is these that often decide the fate of an innovation. (Bishop,)
Resistance to Change
Pressures on school organizations to change are presently accruing and demand some
response from members, But many of the problems associated with change concern the
forces resisting it- that is the forces for maintaining the status quo or equilibrium. Two
major issues concern the resistance to change: the causes of resistance and ways of
reducing resistance
4.1. Causes of Resistance to change

Activity 5.7
Think of any change that took place in your school and explain any resistance to the
change as well as the causes of the resistance & how it was resolved.
working in organization s develop their established ways of working, interpersonal

relationships, attitudes, norms and values. They also develop their abilities to make sense
of their work environment and to predict the outcome of their efforts and behaviour. They
exist and function in a state of their own contrived equilibrium. When a change disrupts
their established task and social relationships they tend to resist it.
The effects of resistance may be overt or covert. Overt resistance may take. the form of
employees deliberately failing to do the things for successful change or simply being
unenthusiastic about the change. Covert resistance is implicit i.e. hidden. The absence of
overt resistance does not mean that resistance is not present, as resistance may be hidden
211
from direct observation. Covert resistance can be more detrimental to change than open
resistance because it is harder to identify and eliminate.
Lumenburg and Orastein, (1991 ) dwell on the causes of resistance to change and come
up with nine common causes. These include interference with need fulfillment, fear of
the unknown, threats to power and influence, knowledge and skill obsolescence,
organizational structure, lack of incentive, lack of understanding and difference of
opinion. A brief description of each one of these is in order:
1. Interference with Need Fulfillment:- Changes that interfere with a person's

economic, social esteem, or other needs are likely to meet with resistance.
People usually resist changes that could lower their income or job status, such
as termination or a demotion. Besides the fulfillment of economic and esteem
needs, people work for social reasons. The social relationships that develop in
the organization are often more important to its members than is commonly
realized. For example, even such seemingly minor changes relocating
employees within the same building or school district may affect social-status
relationships and result in resistance.
2. Fear of the Unknown:- People like stability. They may have invested a great
deal of time and effort in the current system. They have established a normal
routine in performing their jobs. They have learned what their range of duties
are and what their supervisor's expectations are for performing these duties.
They have some idea of the routine problems that may surface in the
performance of their jobs. That is, they have learned how to perforQ1 their
jobs successfully, how to get good '" performance ratings from their
supervisors, how to interact ,with their work group, and so on. Put another
way, the present system has a high degree of certainty.
Changes in established work routines or job duties create some potential unknowns. For
example, employees may fear that they will not be able to perform up to their previous
standards.
212
They may have to learn a new job. They may have to learn to adjust to a new supervisor'
expectations. They may have to adjust to a new work group. They may have to make new
friends. When a change occurs, the normal routine is disrupted, and the employee must
begin to find new and different ways to function within the environment.
2. Threats to Power and Influence:- Resistance can also occur because the proposed
changes may reduce one's power and influence in the organization. One source of
power in organizations is the control of something that other people need, such as
information or resources. Individuals or groups who have established a power
position in an organization will resist changes that are felt to reduce their power and
influence. For example a woreda education officer whose district is threatened with
consolidation with another. district will resist the merger in order to maintain his
current position.
3. Knowledge and Skill Obsolescence:- Somewhat related to threats to power and
influence is knowledge and skill obsolescence. While the former usually applies to
management, the latter can apply to any member of the organization's hierarchy.
Employees will resist organizational changes that make their knowledge and skills
obsolete. For example, consider the school bookkeeper who has mastered a
complex accounting system over a long period of time. The Education office
announces the implementation of a new computerized accounting system that is
reputed to be easier and more efficient. The bookkeeper is threatened by a change to
a new computerized system and will likely resist the change because his identity is
the mastery of the old and more complex accounting system.
4. Organizational Structure:- Like all modem organizations, schools have many of the
characteristics of an ideal bureaucracy -a hierarchy of authority, a division of labor
and specialization, rules and regulations, impersonality in interpersonal
relationships, and a career orientation. In fact, the very meaning of organization
implies that some degree of structure must be given to groups so that they can fulfill
the organization's goals. However, this legitimate need for structure can be
dysfunctional to the organization and serve as a major resistance to change. For
example, schools typically have narrowly defined roles; clearly spelled out lines of
213
authority, responsibility, and accountability; and limited flows of information from

the top to the bottom of the hierarchy.
An emphasis on the hierarchy of authority causes employees to feed back only positive
information to superiors concerning their jobs. The avoidance of negative feedback by
subordinates hampers school administrators from identifying subordinates' concerns and
needed changes in the organization. The taller the organizational structure is, the more
numerous the levels Through which a message must travel. This increases the probability
that any new idea will be filtered as it travels upward through the hierarchy because it
violates the status quo in the school or school district.
Limited Resources:- Change requires resources: capital and people with the appropriate
skills and time. A school district may have identified a number of innovations that could
improve the effectiveness of the district operation. However, the district may have to
abandon the desired changes because of inadequate resource. We are certain that you can
identify a number of local school district innovations, as well as those initiated by the
federal and state governments, that have been deferred or completely abandoned due to
resource limitations.
5. The lack of incentive:- Change can be a difficult and frustrating experience for the
individuals or groups involved. Although the administrator may be personally
convinced of the benefits which will accrue if a proposed change is adopted, he can
seldom guarantee those benefits or other incentive (monitory or otherwise) to
persuade others to adapt the innovation. As a result, he is dependent upon his own
ability to Influence others to adopt a proposed change for which there may be high
personal costs in terms of time and frustration, and no immediate gain.
6. Lack of understanding:: People may resist a proposed change because they don't
possess an adequate or accurate understanding of it. Their deficiency may be caused
by a failure on their part to pay close attention tat the time that the proposed change
was explained, or , on the other hand, information about the change may have been
poorly or inaccurately communicated. In any respect, a lack of understanding of a
proposed change can act as a significant deterrent to its successful implementation.
7. A difference of opinion:- A proposed change may be resisted because of an honest
difference of opinion about whether it is needed, or whether it will accomplish all
214
that its proponents claim. The difference in opinion may be based on conflicting
philosophies and values of education in regard to teaching and learning, or it may
result from variant assessments of how much improvement would actually occur if
the proposed change were implemented.
Forces may originate in the internal or external environment of the organization or in the
behavior of the change agent. Educational administrators must play an active role in
initiating change and in attempting to reduce resistance to change. Educational
administrators can think of the current condition in an organization as an equilibrium that
is the result of driving forces and resisting forces working against each other. Change
agents must assess the change potential and resistance and attempt to change the balance
of forces so that there will be movement toward a desired condition. There are three ways
of doing this: increasing the driving forces, reducing the resisting forces, or considering
new driving forces.
Lewin points out that increasing one set of forces without decreasing the other set of
forces will increase tension and conflict in the organization. While increasing driving
forces is sometimes effective, it is usually better to reduce the resisting forces because
increasing driving forces often tends to be offset by increased resistance. Put another
way, when we push people, they are; likely to push back. Figure I illustrates the two sets
of forces pressures for change and resistance to change. This is the type of situation that
educational administrators face and must work with on a daily basis when attempting to
effect change.
As the following figure shows, change results when an imbalance occurs between the
ratio of driving forces and resisting forces. Such an imbalance alters the existing
condition-hopefully in the direction planned by the administrator into a new and desired
condition. Once the new, desired condition is reached, the opposing forces are again
brought into equilibrium. An imbalance may occur through a change in the velocity of
any force, a change in the direction of a force, or the introduction of a new force.
215
Pressure for change Current Condition Desired Condition
Resistance to change
Interference with Need

Fulfillment
Government Intervention Fear of the Unknown
Society's Values Changing Threats to Power and
Influence
Technology and Knowledge Knowledge and Skill
Explosion Obsolescence
Organizational Structure
Administrative Process and Limited Resources
Fulfillment of Collective Bargaining
Agreements
Employees' Need
Driving Force equilibrium Resistance Force

Figure indicating Pressures for Change and Resistance to change.
Moreover, change involves a sequence of organizational processes that occurs over time.
Lewin suggests this process typically requires three steps: unfreezing; moving and
refreezing..
1. Unfreezing. this step usually means reducing the forces acting to keep the
organization in its current condition. Unfreezing might be accomplished by
introducing new information that points out inadequacies in the current state or by
decreasing the strength of current values, attitudes, and behaviors. Crises often
stimulate unfreezing. Examples of crises are significant increases in the student
dropout rate, dramatic enrollment declines, shifts in population within a school
district, a sudden increase in teacher or middle-management turnover, a costly
lawsuit, and an unexpected teacher strike. Unfreezing may occur without crises as
well. Climate surveys, financial data, and enrolment projections can be used to
determine problem areas in a school district and initial change to alleviate problems
before crises erupt.
216
2. Moving Once the organization is unfrozen it can be changed. This step usually
involves the development of new values, attitude and behaviors through
internalization, identification, or change in structure. Some changes may be minor
and involve a few members-such as changes in recruitment and selection
procedures-and others may be major, involving many participants. Ex-members of
the latter include a new evaluation system, restructuring of jobs and duties
performed by employees, or restructuring the school district, which necessitates
relocating faculty to different school sites with the system
3. Refreezing. The final step in the change process involves stabilizing the change at
quasi-stationary equilibrium. Changes in organizational culture, changes in group
norms, changes in organizational policy or modifications in organizational structure
often accomplish this.
. School administrators can use six specific methods to reduce resistance to change:
Participation, communication, support, rewards, planning and coercion.
(i). Participation: One of the best methods for reducing resistance to change is to involve
those who will be affected by the change to .participate in planning, design, and
implementation. That are at least three explanations for the effect of participation in
reducing resistance to change:
(1) As those affected by the change plan, design, and implement it, new ideas and
information can be generated. The increased information is likely to result in a more
effective change;
(2) participation builds ownership for the change, thus leading to a commitment to see
the change successfully implemented; and
(3) by providing information about the nature and consequences of the change, anxiety
about the unknown is reduced, and rumors are stifled.
(ii) Communication. Another method for reducing resistance to change involves
communicating and explaining to employees the nature of and need for the change.
In explaining the need, administrators are advised to explain the effects the change
will have on employees. This too will lessen employees' fear of the unknown.
Employees who are informed about the logic behind administrative decisions are
more likely. to support new ideas. "
217
(iii) Support . Effective implementation of a change requires support from top-Level

administrators such as the educational officers and his cabinet. Support from the
educational officers usually means that administrators lower in the organization's
hierarchy, such as supervisors, will be committed to the change. It is particularly
important for supervisors to manifest supportive and considerate leadership
behaviors when change is being implemented. This type of leader behavior includes
listening to subordinates' ideas, being approachable, and using employee ideas that
have merit. Supportive leaders go out of their way to make the work environment
more pleasant and enjoyable. For example, difficult changes may require training to
acquire new skills necessary to implement the change. Administrators need to
provide such training. In short, when procedures are established to implement
changes smoothly, less resistance is likely to be encountered.
(iv). Rewards. When change is imminent, most people say, "What's in it for me?"
Subordinates are less likely to resist changes that will benefit them directly/ For
example, during collective bargaining between the board of education and the
teachers' union, certain concessions can be given to teachers in exchange for
support of a new program desired by management. Such concessions may include
salary increases, bonuses, " or more union representation in decision making. also
use standard rewards such as recognition, increased responsibility, praise, and status
symbols. Thus, building in rewards may help reduce subordinates' resistance to a
change.
(v). Planning. Prospective changes should be well planned in advance. Change inevitably
leads to subordinate anxiety about new expectations and fear of the unknown. The
proposed change may require new performance levels. Therefore, performance levels
need to be given careful consideration by administrators when planning a change.
Performance levels that are set too low can negatively affect performance. On the
contrary, performance levels that are set too high can result in frustration and low
performance Moreover, introducing change incrementally can lessen the impact of
change on subordinates and allow them time to adjust to new expectations and
conditions.
218
(vi). Coercion. When other methods have failed, coercion can be used as a last resort.
Some changes require immediate implementation. And top-level administrators may
have considerable power. Such instances lend themselves more readily to
administrators using coercion to gain compliance to changes. Subordinates can be
threatened with job loss, decreased promotional opportJ.1nities, no salary increases or
a job transfer to achieve compliance with a change. There are, however, negative
effects of using coercion, including frustration, fear, revenge, and alienation. This in
turn may lead to poor performance dissatisfaction
UNIT-6
6.RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN SCHOOLS
Contents.
 Human resource management in education-------------------------------222
 Change aspects----------------------------------------------------------------225
 Staffing ,Recruitment, and selection-----------------------------------------226
 Financial management in education----------------------------------------231
 Cost characteristics of education--------------------------------------------237
 Economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in financial management--------240
 Management of information system----------------------------------------247
Objectives
At the end of this chapter the students will be able to:
o Understand the concepts of resource management.
o State the steps in human resource management
o Appreciate the practices of financial resource management in
education.
o Explain the characteristics of various types of costs in
education.
Resources
219
Agarwal, R.D (1982). Organization and Management. (3rd ed.) New Delhi: Tata
. 6.1:HUMANRESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN SCHOOLS

What is Human Resource Management?
Monday and Noe cited in Hailesilassie (1999) define human resource management
(HRM) as "utilization of the firm's human resources to achieve organizational objectives.
The concepts personnel management and human resource management have been used
interchangeably by some writers in the literature. However, recently a distinction has
been made between the two and many writers prefer to use the term human resource
management. The reasons for their preference include that personnel management is
work force centered and therefore, directs itself to employees, while HRM is resource
centered and concerns itself with the overall human resource needs of the organization.
HRM could be described as an approach to rather than as an alternative to traditional

personnel management. When comparing between HRM and personnel management,
more similarities emerge than differences. However, concepts such as strategic
integration, culture managements, commitment, total quality, and investing in human
capital together with a unitary philosophy the interest of management and employees
coincide) are essential part of the HRM model. Many management writers believe that
this model fits the way in which organizations have to do their functions and manage
their resources in the environment in which they now exist. The term HRM is
increasingly being used in business as an alternative to personnel management. This is
because more and more people feel that it is in tune with the realities of organizational
life.
220
The overall purpose of human resource management is to ensure that the organization is
able to achieve success through people. Specifically HRM aims to:
 Provide a range of service which support the achievement of organization objectives
as part of the process of running the organization.
 enable the organization to attain and retain the skilled, committed and well motivated
workforce it needs;
 enhance and develop the inherent capacities of people their contribution, potential and
employability - by providing learning and continuous development opportunities.
 Create a climate in which productive and harmonious relationships can be maintained
between management and employees and in which feelings of mutual trust can be
developed.
 Develop an environment in which teamwork and flexibility can flourish: help the
organization to balance ad adapt to the needs of its stakeholders (government,
community, parents, teachers, pupils, etc)
 ensure that people are valued and rewarded for what they do and achieve;
 manage a diverse workforce taking into account individual and group differences in
employment needs, work style and aspirations;
 ensure that equal opportunities are available to all;
 adapt an ethical approach to managing employees which is based on concern for
people, fairness and transparency:
 maintain and improve the physical and mental well-being of employees (Armstrong,
1995)
Summarizing different views about HRM. forwarded by writers in the field, Armstrong
(1999) has come up with a set of characteristics of HRM. and that it focuses on:
 strategic fit (integration) between goals and human resource strategies

 coherence - the need to adapt a coherent approach to the prevision of mutually
suporting and integrated. HR policies and practices
 Commitment - the need to gain the commitment of people in the organizations
mission and values
221
 treating people as assets or human capital to be invested in through training -

this involves aligning skills to organizational needs and knowledge
management
 Organizational culture - the need for a strong organizational (cooperate)
culture expressed in mission and value statements and reinforced by
communications, training an performance management processes.
 Unitary employee relations - an approach based on the belief that people in
the organizations share the same goals and look as members of one team
 management responsibility - the belief that HRM is an activity driven by top
managementan the performance and delivery of WRM is the business of like
management. (Armstrong, 1999 : 9)
1.Human Resource Management in Education

1.1. Introduction
One of the quickest ways of introducing an important improvement at any school is to
make intelligent use of the selection process (Webb et a11994: 151). The right teacher
could motivate students to learn and could exhibit a set of professional behaviours that
serve as ~ role model for colleagues. A poorly planned or hasty selection can lead to
endless personnel problems.
A vital part of the functioning of any organization , including any school, is ensuring that
the best available person is appointed to a vacant position. This management function is
called staffing, and consists of various transactions. Staff induction or orientation has as
its objective, enabling various categories of new staff members to adjust effectively to
their new work environment with the minimum disruption and as quickly as possible, so
that the organization‟s functioning can proceed as effectively as possible.
1.2 STAFFING
Staffing comprises the following transactions relating to the filling of posts: position
analysis, staff recruitment, staff selection and staff appointments.
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1.2.1 POSITION ANALYSIS
From a strategic human resource point of view, it is important that the person responsible
for making employment decisions is familiar with the position to be filled (Webb et al
1994:152).
A position analysis includes a description of the position in relation to other aspects of
the organization (Webb et all994:153). The selection of explicit criteria will provide
same- assurance that the person selected will possess the knowledge, skills experience
and ability to work with others to attain the set objectives in the subunit and organization.
Besides the obvious use in human resource planning, position analysis has a number of
important uses (Longenecker & Prtgle 1984:317):
(1) It serves as the basis for recruitment advertisements in the media.

(2) It helps interviewers match applicants to job openings.
(3) It is used in orienting and training new staff members.
(4) It serves as a basis for staff evaluation.
1.1.1.1. Strategic nature of the position

A position analysis of a school Vacancy would include the mission statement of the
school; the strategic objectives of the subunit; a description of the organizational ?
structure of the subunit and a general statement on what is expected of the incumbent of
the position.
Mission of the school
The school addresses the questions (in not more than 100 words) of what, who and how
(Webb et aI1994:154). Specifically, what client needs are met by the school's products
and services? For whom are they provided? How will the school go about providing the
products and services?
Strategic objectives, which are concerned with long-term targets, focus on the allocation
of the school's time, energy and material resources.
Strategic objectives of the subunit
223
The strategic objectives of-the subunit (eg the senior primary phase in a primary school)
seeking to fill a vacancy should be included in the position analysis (Webb et
aI1994:154). If for example a subunit should decide to improve the level of mathematics
as a strategic objective it is important to identify the strategies that would be needed to
achieve this. The recruitment and selection of teachers with strength in this area would be
one method by which the subunit could attain its goal.
Organizational structure of the subunit

The description of the organizational structure should include the general form of
operation and the of supervision (Webb et aI1994:155).
Expectations
General written expectations for the person filling a vacancy should cover both tasks to
be performed at the workplace and interaction with other members of the subunit (Webb
et aI1994:155). In the immediate work setting, expectations relate to work load,
involvement in decision making and planning, and other expectations specific to the tasks
which go to make up the job.
In the area of relationships with members of the subunit, the person filling the vacancy
would be expected to work with peers, subordinates and superiors (Webb et aI1994:155).
He or she would also have to take responsibility for, relationships with external groups,
agencies and professional organizations.
1.2.1.2. Changing aspects of the position
Educational institutions are not immune to the influences of our changing society
(Webbet all994:156). Such dynamic considerations should be examined and~ when
relevant, be included as important elements of the position analysis. The following topics
should be considered in the analysis.
The beginning of the assignment
224
Important questions can be raised here: What important conditions or changes might have
immediate impact on the position? If the government were to change the existing funding
model, what would the effect be on the new staff member?
Anticipated changes
Certain changes require new appointees to have different skills if they are to be effective
in their posts after the changes have been introduced (Webb et al 1994:156). If for
example the Department of Education has agreed on a new syllabus for a subject and the
implementation date has been set for within six months, this should be taken into
consideration.
1.2.2. Behaviours
The expected behaviours of applicants should be considered. Evidence of behaviours
must be supported by testimonials regarding the applicant's past record if an applicant is
to be considered for the position (Webb et aI1994:157). Behaviours should be described
according to one or more of the following: (1) at the workplace; (2) in relation to
colleagues; and (3) in relation to outside groups and individuals. For a teaching position,
the description of behaviours might list interaction with students, fellow teachers, parents
and resource personnel.
1.2.3 Screening and selection criteria
It is important to translate behaviors into criteria which include skills, abilities,

knowledge educational background and experience (Webb et al1994:157). Once criteria
have been identified they must clearly be defined. Each criterion can be weighted to
emphasize required considerations or deemphasize those that are desirable but perhaps
not essential.
In the past many duties and responsibilities of staff were taken for granted. Currently the
recommended practice (which is almost compulsory) is to have job descriptions for all
staff members. This activity was an opportunity to draw up a job description. However,
the job descriptions will differ according to post levels years of f experience, and so on.
225
This is not the issue. What is more important is that you should understand the need to
compile a -job description comprising all 'the important components.
1.2.3 -STAFF RECRLIUITEMENT AND SELECTION
Exercise 6.1
What is the difference between recruitment and selection?
List as much criteria for employees selection as possible.
The recruitment of teachers entails all those activities designed to attract the right number
of properly qualified staff to the education system so as to fill specific vacancies. It is not
an isolated activity, intimately link with other activities such as the selection, placement
and training of teachers. Staff recruitment is a vital task which must be performed on an
ongoing basis and according to plan in order to meet the teaching needs of a particular
school.
Once management has determined the number and types of positions to be filled over a
span of time, the process of recruiting qualified applicants to fill the positions begins
(Longenecker & Pringle 1984:317).
What factors would you bear in mind when recruiting and appointing teachers?
According to Frase (1992:2-13) there are a few basic rules .that will greatly increase the
likelihood that the school will hire the teachers It really wants.
1.2.3.1. Cast a wide net
Casting a wide net for candidates means that the school will attract a larger number of
high-quality applicants, thereby increasing the odds of finding and employing a highly
competent teacher. It is important to be aware of the kind of training programmes offered
226
at the various universities throughout the country and select those that seem to be the best
(Frase 1992:3). Only a small percentage of trainees from any university can be truly
"good", so the goal is to attract graduates from many universities.
1.2.3.2. Focus selection criteria on teaching
Establish teaching effectiveness as the primary criterion for teacher selection." Teachers
are so often hired for reasons other than their ability to teach (Frase 1992:4). Secondary
school teachers are frequently selected because of their ability to coach or to participate
in extracurricular activities. Coaching and extracurricular activities are important but they
are only secondary to teaching. ,
The most reliable means of assessing a candidate's teaching is by observing the candidate
in the classroom. Lessons should be evaluated according to the teacher evaluation
instrument used in the school. Interviews, recommendations and other traditional
techniques are unfortunately not a direct reflection of the teacher's actual teaching ability.
.
1.2.3.3. PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW
It is crucial to set the correct tone for the interview. Frase (1992:5) distinguishes
1.2.3.4. COMPILE A SHORT LIST OF CANDIDATES
It is advisable that this should be done by the principal, together with other people
involved in the selection process (Unwin 1993:104). How many candidates would be
invited to the interview?
A part from interviews, there are a number of other selection instruments.
(1) The application form. An application form contains various details about the
person, for example the name, sex, age, date of birth, marital status, address etc.
(2) Enquiries into the applicant's background. Particular information provided in the
application form can be verified and supplemented This enables the selector or
selection committee to gain a more complete information of the applicant.
(3) The medical examination. Two categories of medical information are important
here and are set out in the form of questions: is the candidate capable of teaching,
and does the candidate comply with the minimal medical requirements so as to
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qualify for the group and medical schemes which are applicable to permanent
appointments
1.2.4 . STAFF APPOINTMENT
The final step in staffing is the appointment of the chosen candidate to a particular
position and in a particular capacity. This appointment may be temporary or permanent.
The letter of appointment which is given to a successful candidate should provide
necessary information on conditions of service so that the candidate can decide whether
or not to accept the appointment
Only after a position has been filled should all candidates be notified that the position has
been offered to and accepted by another candidate (Webb et al 1994:179). The reasons
for doing this are: candidates may want to follow up on other job opportunities as quickly
as possible and it is important to maintain good relationships with candidates who are the
pool of qualified persons for future consideration.
1.3. STAFF INDUCTION
An organization can recruit, select and appoint staff, but one cannot expect new members
of staff to produce their best work and achieve the objectives of the organization until
they have completely adjusted to the work they have to do, the environment in which
they are to work, and the colleagues they have to work with.
Staff induction is defined by Castetter (1992:186) as:
a systematic organizational effort to assist personnel to adjust readily and
effectively to new assignments so that they can contribute maximally to
work of the system while realizing personal and position satisfaction.
This definition relates not only to novices in the profession, but also to staff from other
organisations who take up promotion or equivalent posts in the new organisation, staff in
promotion posts in their existing organisation, staff who have been allocated new
responsibilities, and experienced staff who return to teaching after interruption of service.
228
Because new staff joining an organisation are always a varied group, it is to be expected
that their needs will differ. In order to determine what these needs may be, it is important
to consider the various categories of new staff members so that the induction programme
can be designed and implemented accordingly.
Qn What purposes do you think staff induction serves? List two of them
WHAT is PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT?

Personnel development in education has many facets, as is evident from the
numerous terms found in the literature{Webb etal 1994:234). Such terms
include in-service training; professional growth, continuing education, on the job
training, human resource development and staff improvement
. Despite any possible inadequacies, it is important that personnel development should be
proactive (Webb et aI1994:234), The emphasis should be on development and on the
ongoing development of the-individual. Personnel development therefore places more
emphasis on the extension of personal strengths than on the remediation of personal
weaknesses. Furthermore, personnel development is self-development in that growth
begins with a personal need and individuals develop by taking responsibility for their
own growth.
According to Guthrie and Reed (1991:346)/ the terms personnel development and in-
service training are frequently used interchangeably. But in their view there is a logical
distinction
2.3 THE AIMS OF PERS0NNEL DEVELOPMENT
What do you consider to be the goals of personnel development?
Personnel development has a number of goals
However, The following could possibly be regarded as the principal goals of personnel
development (Castetter 1986:291; Webb et al 1994:235):
1. to improve employees' performance in their present positions
2. to create opportunities for personal fulfillment and institutional effectiveness in
order to enhance creativity and facilitate changes to the system
3. to serve the primary aims of the education system -the promotion and attainment of
quality teaching and learning (educative teaching)
229
4. the institution of acceptable, meaningful programmes to enable staff members to

cooperate in order to achieve their personal aims and those of the system
5. To develop the skills of important selected staff members so that anticipated
vacancies can be filled.
6. to provide a meaningful programme in which the strengths and talents of
IJ each individual in the system can be utilised
Personnel development at school level can ensure the development of individual teachers,
the broadening of the outlook, the heightening of their professionalism and, last but not
least, the improvement of their effectiveness (Hodge & Martin 1984:193).
If personnel development programmes are really going to meet the needs of teachers, it is
important to identify those needs.
Guidelines for the effective implementation of personnel development programmes

guidelines for the effective implementation of personnel development programmes
(1) Teachers are of the opinion that practical advice is of the utmost importance for
the personnel development programme; in other words, the provision of
suggestions for handling the recurring problems which confront them in the
classroom.
(2) Personnel development is viewed more positively if consideration is given to the
contributions of participants in deciding on the contents of the programme at the
planning stage.
(3) The length of personnel members' experience has a definite effect, on what they
want in a programme. Staff with less than four or more than eight years'
experience usually take more interest in personnel development.
(4) Staff prefer a personnel development programme which is ongoing rather than a
one-off learning experience. Personnel development is directed at the promotion
of long-term professional growth rather than isolated courses which are not
related.-to one another.
(5) Participants in personnel development want to be actively involved in learning;
"... teachers do not want to be talked at" (Daresh 1987:22).
230
(6) The results .of personnel development programmes which allow participants to
achieve certain personal objectives will be implemented with less resistance and
for a longer time.
(7) Staff prefers their peers to present personnel development programmes. When
programmes are prepared by staff, there is less resistance than when they are the
exclusive preserve of top management. The principal should be the facilitator, not
the controller. Research shows that "... teachers resist when personnel
development is designed as something that is done to teachers, and not as
something that teachers do for themselves" (Daresh 1987:23).
6.2. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN EDUCATION
The study of the financing of education is not an exercise in statistical analogies or a

problem of data storage. The school financing policies of a country are the reflection of
its value choices, its order of priorities in the allocation of its resources and its political
philosophy (Mussasi, 1982)
Budgeting, fiscal accounting and building management are all functions of the principal
ship. When the budget issues from the needs of the instructional program, when
accounting procedures withstand audit, when the building is well equipped and
maintained great things can happen in the school. Although usually it will not be the
principal who determines the monetary needs of all the instructional units, or who
personally keeps in the book, etc, it is the principal who is ultimately is responsible for all
these things occurring in a timely and efficient manner. (ubben and Hughes, 1997)
A good manager, thinking about what he is doing, needs a secure theoretical framework.
The theory helps him to have a mental model of the operation he is managing.
For our clear understanding about the where from, and the how of conversion of the
financial resource in a school system, we have chosen a systems model for school
financial management (Knight, 1998 ). Using a systems model for schools financial
management, he elaborates
231
1. The input of financial resources derived from outside the system from central or
local government funds raised by taxation, or by fund raising and income
generation and where appropriate school fees, which includes capital assets,
funded from similar sources, but built up over previous years.
2. The human and physical resources
3. Unit of Time use (resource Hours)
4. The Educational process - combinations of managed arrangements for learning
with support arrangements which is the core of school.
5. The outcomes (encompasses the outputs and benefits to society and individuals)
emerging from the system
6.2.1. THE CONTEXT FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

School financial management in greatly affected by its context..
1) In strongly untrained systems those responsible for managing schools, though
they are said managers do not know much what their schools costs are and are in
no position to manage them. They will tend to see finance for their schools as
coming from some external source and so they give it no attention. Such
managers will often accept blizzards situation as normal so strong is the effect of
dependency. However, it must be noted that there are school systems that appear
to be very effective (eg. Japan and Germany) are still administered centrally
2) Other context for financial management is where substantial delegation occurs.
Delegation schemes however, vary worldwide. Some are driven by
a) managerial efficiency - delegating divisions to the lower levels to increase
local accountability and create flexibility to respond to local needs.
b) empowerment -letting teachers parents and the community to run then
schools. Here financial delegation could be only part of more general
restructuring.
c) Others may be based upon the creation of a market economy for schools
based on the belief that free markets deliver efficiently to consumers, and
provide them with choice. This situation prepares the school to be
232
concerned to that students and the funding that follows then and so lay
more on marketing, public relations and
6.2.2 THE BUDGETING AND PLANNING PROCESS

There are four sequential steps to the budget development process: Program planning and
tentative allocation of resources by category; analysis and adoption of a final budget;
administration and coordination of the budget including record keeping; and review and
appraisal of budget implementation with regard to the instructional goals of the school
program.
 The budget process is continuous and cyclical
What is a Budget?
There are many definitions of the term budget. Some scholars have defined budget as a
total annual estimate of revenue and expenditure. The estimates are usually based on the
income accruing to the organization, institution or government. Therefore, the estimated
expenditure is always determined by the expected revenue.
For our purpose, we can define budget as a financial plan through which educational
objectives are implemented and translated into reality. It is a reflection of past
performance including both successes and failures. The preparation of a budget tackes
time and involves the following functions.
Simikins and Lancaster (cited in Gold and Evans (1998) Summarize the functions of
budgets are:
- planning and forecasting
- communicating and coordinating
- authorizing
- motivating
- evaluating and controlling
These functions can be subdivided as strategic activities (planning, choice and

evaluation) and operational activities (acquisition allocation, spending, and control)
233
As far as financial decisions making is concerned it is important that the role and
responsibility of the governing body and staff and management are clearly spelt out. The
role of the governing body is to have a strategic review of the school budget and its
relationship to school development plan. The school head and senior management are
responsible for monitoring day to day spending and ensuring that systems are in place to
do this. They are also responsible for preparing spending plans and budgets and
presenting these to governing builds for their consideration. a clear working out of all
estimated revenue and expenditure, item by item.
6.2.3. THE BUDGETING PROCESS

Exercise 6.2
Read Mussai PP:208-211 and describe the terms :asset, revenue, expense, audit, petty
cash, and recurrent cost
Budgeting is thus, more than just managing the money; it involves a whole range of more
strategic decisions about the aims and objectives of the school
The principal may be required to give certain
details concerning school finance. This information is usually needed to be incorporated
in the budget of the Region Education Bureau/MOE. It is important to know that the
school budget becomes a medium where by educational policies are translated into
reality. In this sense a budget becomes
- an economic plan
- a reflection of resource allocation and
- decision strategy with program objectives structured by the amount of resources
available.
The budget statement of any organization, including schools should include.
 a broad statement of goals and objectives of the school
 a brief statement of the history of the school, its achievements, existing
educational programs, and the proposed programs for the consent fiscal year
234
 a summary of the proposed expenditures and receipts, These proposed
expenditures and receipts must be broken down in a detailed manner
 this breakdown should be followed by a comparative analysis to show
increases and decreases with, a focuses, brief explanations. A closer look to
financial planning is in order
6.2.4. APPROACHES TO BUDGETING (PLANNING)

A working definition for costs is: resources foregone to acquire other human or physical
resources to achieve an objective. It needs some elaboration. The resources foregone need
not be financial. They could be a diversion of people, premises or other resources from
one purpose to another (for example, switching the duties of a secretary from
administration to support for teaching staff, or converting a cloakroom to store). They
could be greater wear-and-tear on buildings and equipment (although ultimately this
would be translated into maintenance and so need financial resources). The resources
could be time, either within the school day or personal time. At the extreme are the
intangible resources like morale, health, motivation and energy of teachers, students and
others.Often costs can involve both financial and non-financial elements.
Within the definition above, 'foregone' includes both deliberate allocation by the default-
for example by using staff inefficiently or incurring unnecessary energy costs. 'Achieve
an objective includes the incuring of cost for intangible purposes, such as enhancement of
a school's image or improvement of staff morale
The inclusion of both financial and non-financial elements within costs creates problems,
because it is obviously desirable to cost non-financial resources in financial terms - the
process of costing. This is far from straightforward, as john fielden, formerly partner in
peal Marwick in kenigh has explained
Costing is the art of measuring the consumption of resources in financial terms. Contrary
to most perceptions there can be a large element of subjectivity in costing exercises.
There are often no easy ways of measuring resource use or of converting it into money
terms, and the person carrying out the costing will therefore have to make assumptions or
value judgments.
235
There is a convincing accountancy theory that costs should be measured at the point
where they are ultimately consumed, not where they are first committed. This leads to
full cost accounting - the reallocation of central overheads to operational activities.
For school activities we could reallocate school administrative and premises costs, school
board cost, and even central/state government costs when appropriate. Although this
reallocation may be on a crudely proportionate basis, it still has considerable value
 Costs become transparent. There are no hidden costs and no 'free lunches'.
 It highlights the cost of overheads
 It enables the 'customer' - the teacher, department or school - to assess
whether these are reasonable value.
 It may lead to actual recharging for central services, and even provision of
these on a full cost recovery basis.
However, full coast accounting can lead to wildly fictions allocations. And recharging is
not always appropriate - it can undermine the resourcing of valuable services (e.g. If
schools choose not to 'buy the school library service).
Opportunity costs
Every expenditure and transfer of resources has its opportunity cost the next-best
alternative use for these resources.
If money or time is spent in one area which could be productive in another area ,the
income or benefit that has been lost is the opportunity cost of going ahead with the
activities
If the opportunity forgone appears of greater value than the opportunity accepted, then
the expenditure is misconceived. Education services world wide have been riddled with
examples of this separate pocket' mentality.
With greater delegation to schools, this kind of opportunity cost has reduced, but many
examples still lurk unseen. For example, schools are quick to see that the opporunity cost
of his fuel bills is the books they would have liked to buty, but slower to see that the
traditional way they have deployed teacher can often mask substantial opportunity costs
for meeting students' learning needs in other ways.
236
Cost classification
cost information is like any other data. It needs to be organised into a pattern before
significance can be read into it. The cost data of a school can be arranged in numerous
ways to bring out different features.
The main types of cost in schools include:
-Direct cost -Fixed cost
-Indirect cost -Variable cost
-Mariginal cost
Activity 6.1
Read Kinight. B (1993) Financial Management for schools and describe the different
types of school costs
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each of the approaches.
6.2.5. COST CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHOOLS

P.H. Coombs and J. Hallak in Managing Educational Costs (1972) drew on extensive
UNESCO experience of schools world wide. They pointed out that the behavior of costs
is strikingly similar in all educational systems, overriding differences of development or
regime. A number of features characteristic of school systems in many countries can be
identified.
1. Most schools are non-profit' making organizations. In maintained schools the profit
motive is largely absent - and, more important, the profit measure. In a profit oriented
organization, profit provides a single measure of efficiency of performance, it relates
benefits (expressed in income and profit. it assists comparisons of efficiency between
different centres and different types of activities. Non-profit organisations, lacking the
profit measure, have inherent problems in performance measurement:
a. There is no single objective criterion to use in measuring or comparing
performance, or in assessing alternatives.
b. There is no easy way of estimating the relationship between inputs and
outputs,. or judging the effect of particular expenditure.
237
c. A realistic pricing policy is not necessary, nor the discipline of cost

control that goes with it.
Some independent schools are profit-orientated, making profits for their proprietors. The
majority are not profit-seeking in that sense, but they do have to adopt a realistic pricing
policy and avoid making a loss. They are profit-conscious, although not profit-orientated.
2. Schools are service giving organizations and perform a social as well as an economic
function. This makes measurement and costing of their output difficult. We can
estimate the cost of teaching pupils mastery of skills in metalwork, or the
achievement of an examination pass in physics. But it is quite impossible to cost the
school's efforts in promoting good citizenship or desirable social qualities. Given the
very variable nature of the human material schools deal with, it is very difficult to
cost many of their 'outputs'. Measuring productivity, and improving it, is very
difficult. And services cannot be stored another obstacle to efficient organisation.
3. School cost structures are very stable. This reflects primarily the stability of
educational technologies and practices. Technological change in education is very
slow. It also reflects the stability of assumptions on which schools are based.
Education is the only industry where all employees and all customers (parents) have
had their assumptions moulded by prolonged first-hand involvement in the process.
So schools are very conservative institutions.
4. Schools work within a very slow cycle. They are geared to an annual rhythm. Once
the school year begins, the costs for the institution are more or less committed, apart
from unforeseen changes because of inflation, etc. Indeed any attempt to reduce costs
during the school year causes alot of disruption, and often creates damage out of
proportion to the savings made. Beyond that, students usually spend several years ill a
particular school, and many changes have to be introduced slowly and phased over
along perilxi so that education is not damaged. Schools Cannot be amalgamated or
closed like factories without ignoring students' long-term needs. So introducing
substantial changes in schools is a little like turning an oil-tanker -it can be done, but
it takes a long time.
238
5. School unit costs tend to rise when education becomes more technical and science-
centered, when it deals with older students, and when there is greater concern for
quality. So in most countries of the world school unit cost rising in real terms
6. Schools are very labour-intensive. For example, the Chartered Institute of Public
Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Education Statistics 1990-91 Estimates records
nearly two-thirds of LEA expenditure on primary and secondary schools coming from
teacher salaries, and over 70 per cent from all salaries.
7. School calendars cause high costs. The traditional school day, school week and
school year lead to heavy under-use of premises. Schools are seldom used for more
than 55 per cent of the year, often less. On the 190 to 200 days that they are open in
most countries, school proper only lasts for six or seven hours (and usually only four
and a half to five hours of this is 'education..
8. Schools are constrained by legislation, regulations, policies and attitudes that have
often developed without consideration for costs, and yet which considerably affect
them.
6.3. ECONOMY, EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVNEES IN FINANCIAL

MANAGEMENT
Activity 6.2
Describe the relationship between Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness.
Three Es are the foundation of good financial management - Economy, Efficiency and
Effectiveness.
239
Economy can be defined as careful use of resources, frugality and good housekeeping. It
implies the avoidance of expenditure above a reasonable minimum or of a speculative
soft
It is useful and familiar concept, but limited in that it only relates to expenditure, and not
to its use
Efficiency is the fullest possible attainment of specific objectives or standards
Cost-efficiency relates efficiency to its cost. X is more cost-efficient than Y because it
achieves greater efficiency at the same cost or the same efficiency at lower cost
Effectiveness is the fullest possible attainment of the goals and objectives of the school.
Cost effectiveness relates effectiveness to the cost incurred- greater effectiveness for the
same or low additional cost, or the same effectiveness at lower cost
The three Es can be in conflict. Economy and reduce efficiency or effectiveness ('false
economy; or diseconomy); obsession with efficiency can reduce effectiveness.
Also note that such judgments are not solely quantitative. In any consideration of
efficiency and effectiveness, quality is equally important. So judgments of a more
subjective kind are inevitably required."
Cost/benefit analysis goes a step further, attempting to cost ultimate benefits of the
system
Productivity is not a comfortable term for educators- it sounds too industrial. Yet the
concept of increasing outcomes for each unit of imput (eg. ... teacher hours or students
hors) is important. Higher school productivity, however it is measured, implies one of the
following
 Cheaper education, the same for less cost. Cheapness should not be desiered
There is no advantage in a process being more expensive than it has to be. If
it is, it blocks the opportunity costs that would have been freed by a cheaper
process.
 Increased education, more for the same cost. Any increase in educational
outcomes for the same cost speaks for itself.
 Speedier education, the same in less time. This would free time for additional
curriculum - perhaps at last the quart could be squeezed into the point pot.
240
Closely linked with productivity is the idea of value added. The development of
multivariate analysis of examination and test results is beginning to make possible
assessment of the value added to a student by his or her experience in the school, i.e.
achievement detached from socioeconomic factors. This can obviously be coasted against
inputs. It will also encourage schools to look at alternative, cheaper to more cost-effective
strategies for creating added value..
Value for money (VFM) is a common-sense idea familiar in our every day lives which is
a useful yardstick for school financial management. Simple questions like 'How much
does this cost? Is it good value for money?' help to deter those unreal attitudes which can
creep into public finance. As an industrialist once said to me: Always ask yourself- If this
was my business, would I spend my money like this?
Maximum delegation
:The underlying philosophy of financial delegation to schools stems from the application
of the principles of good management. Good management requires the identification of
management units for which objectives can be set and resources allocated; the unit is then
required to manage itself within those resources in a way which seeks to achieve the
objectives; the performance of the unit is monitored and the unit is held to account for its
performance and for its use of funds.
This approach also has in-school implications. Not only should there be maximum
delegation to the school but also within the school; i.e. from head teacher or principal to
classroom teachers, departments, caretaker etc. It should be assumed that those closest to
the point of use are likely to know best, unless proven otherwise.
It is also important that such delegation of responsibilities occurs within an appropriate
framework. Budget holders should not require authorisation from a higher level except
for specified exceptions, should not be unduly restricted by regulations, and should be
free to switch expenditure from one heading to another.
Budget holders must however be clearly accountable. If there are any restrictions on their
scope for action -for example a maximum sum for any single expenditure or for virement
(see below) without requiring additional authority -this should be clearly spelt out. Any
241
expenditure should be clearly authorised by the person responsible, and so traceable to

the authorised budget.
5.6. Strategic Plans and Budgeting
Plans need long-term objectives. A good starting point is a thorough analysis of the
school's current performance and situation, since this will throw up needs for the future.
This could arise from a 'whole school review, SWOT analysis will produce a useful
starting point. It has the great advantage of being straightforward, practical and not too
time-consuming - a school staff and governing body, properly organized, can produce a
useful one in an afternoon.
Strengths : What are these, currently?
Weaknesses: What are these?
Opportunities: What opportunities are likely to arise in the future
Threats: What threats are likely to arise?
The nest step is to produce a statement of the long-term mission, goals or vision for the
school. This will also bring out consideration of the school's underlying philosophy and
values, which also need to be explicit and agreed. Mission statements are quite
fashionable in schools nowadays. Brain Spieer, writing in 1990 from an Australian
context
6.3.1. KINDS OF PLANNING.

The rational approach
Most of the school development plans produced worldwide by state or local education
departments and by individual schools follow a rational planning model. This suggests a
cycle of:
Analysis (discussed briefly above)
Goals (discussed briefly above)
Objectives What is specifically to be achieved? When? With
what criteria for assessment of success?
Plans What needs to be done in practical terms to
242
achieve these objectives?
Resources What human, financial and physical resources are
required for these plans?
Implementation How and when are the plans going to be put into
effect, by whom?
Monitoring and How is the process going? What criteria will be
evaluation used for evaluating the plan? Have the objectives
been achieved?
However, in practice schools seem to find development plans troublesome to use. They
often find it difficult to translate them into action and to link them with their budgets.
Quite commonly they remain impressive documents in a desk drawer. This rational
approach to planning does not seem to reflect the reality of school life
The Pragmatic Approach

This seeks to overcome the problems of turbulence in the school's environment by
working towards an objective in small steps, as and when opportunity arises. So the
planning process identifies the objective, but leaves the steps towards it to be filled in
later. This could be called the traditional approach, practised by countless headteachers
and principals everywhere before development plans were invented.
Recently this approach has been endorsed by leading writers on management who have
stressed the importance of the evolutionary process in organisations.
This approach will seem more realistic and practical to many schools in their current
environment. It is flexible and it builds on existing strengths. It is well suited to a
complex process such as curriculum development.
Example A school wishes to improve the quality of pupils' classroom experiences. It

establishes within the staff a clear and agreed set of objectives and values, and then plans
to exploit curriculum opportunities as they appear -local and topical events, appearance
of new materials, involvement of the local community -with appropriate in-service
training. Here finance cannot be planned in advance, but rather allocated to a reserve
which can be drawn upon as needed.
243
Model C: The entrepreneurial approach

Rational planning and small step advances are not me hallmarks of the entrepreneur.
Essentially the entrepreneur is an exploiter of opportunity. So entrepreneurial planning
requires a positive search for opportunities and the availability of resources to exploit
them as they occur.
Example A school hears that a local training organisation wishes to develop attitudes and
skills appropriate for modern industry in schoolchildren. It immediately contacts the
organisation and suggests an innovative programme, with development of the school's
curriculum and facilities resourced jointly by the organisation, the school (it has reserve
funds available) and its PTA. This new development is then publicised extensively in the
media, leading to further opportunities.
An .excellent example of such an approach is given in the book by Good child and Holly
about Garth Hill School, Bracknell. This describes (p.25) how Stanley Goodchild as the
new head teacher of a failing school rapidly developed a broad strategy to respond to the
immediate situation, but also to exploit it. So changes in school uniform and the
appearance of the school were used to bring positive publicity. Subsequently he identified
computer technology as the core of the school's development. A series of innovations
followed -a new computer centre, a business office, electronic mail, a new hi-tech library,
links with industry. Many tapped industrial sponsorship, and all produced national and
even international publicity.
Model ID: The Lateral approach

The fourth and least common approach to planning rests on a visionary statement of
future goals and identification of the full range of possible routes by which they could be
achieved. So in-depth analysis, brain storming and divergent thinking are required. Model
0 of figure 5 suggests a plan which explores several routes, two of which prove abortive,
but one which leads to a long-term objective D.
This is an example of lateral planning where divergent thinking about possible
developments uncovers an objective that may not otherwise be identified. Good examples
can often be found in vocational education, where different approaches to 'training' are
often considered. TVEI (the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative) in the UK
244
often encouraged this lateral approach to planning. It is likely to become more important
as new technologies and methods open up alternatives to classroom learning. It is perhaps
better used at intervals. Annual brainstorming can be exhausting.
Which approach is best?
Activity 6.3
Analyze the advantages and limitations of each of the approaches and determine which
approach is move useful? When? In what condition(s)
.In practice the choice will often depend upon the personality and mindset of the senior
management team. Different people may choose different approach. The underlying point
remains: you do need a clear purpose and set priorities, produced in whatever way seems
comfortable, directed to your school financial management. Also, the actual process of
planning can itself bring great benefits in terms of participation and involvement,
improved understanding and shared values etc, which will assist effective financial
management.
Linking Plans to the budget
Producing a plan for the school is one thing. Actually linking it to the budget is another.
This linkage is technically quite difficult, for various reasons
Only the operational planning needs to be linked to the budget, although the medium-
term strategy ideally needs some budget forecasts. (However, in many state schools
world wide, forecasting budgets more than a year ahead is currently very difficult owing
to national budget uncertainties. This makes a mockery of planning.)
Dear Students, you have now completed your study on the unit. Check how well you
have done on the unit by responding to the following questions.
Yes No
245
- Are you able to define terms like change, innovation and reform
- Can you describe the similarity and difference between
innovation and reform in education?
- Can you classify various types of change on the basis of varied
criteria
- Can you now, discuss the different causes/sources of change
- Can you explain why change sources differ from country to
country?
- Can you explain why educational change is a complex process.
-
- Have you now identified the four major factors a change involves?
- Can you now elaborate the roles and responsibilities of a change agent in the
process of change
- Can you now explain the questions "Who" say "What" to whom answer in the
process of change (innovation)?
- Can you know write down the major activities to be considered (planned) the
change agent in innovation process
- Can you explain the place of considering the user system in the success of the
innovation.
- Can you now illustrate the conceptual five innovation process
6.4.The Management Information System(MIS)

The management information system (MIS) is a tool that provides the various forms of
information that facilitate adjusting to the changing demands of one‟s environment. In
order for a school to run properly, information must be available about what is happening
inside as well as outside the system.
In the educational sector, there are many pressures at work that force the practices and
policies of the school district to change; for example, new laws mandated by state
246
legislatures, teacher militancy, student pressures for increased participation in decision
making, increased or decreased material wealth of schools, technological innovations,
and so forth. These and' other uncoordinated forces have tended to buffet the school and
drive it. in an irregular, unsystematic, and unplanned direction. In short, if the school
system is a creation of its environment, it is also in many respects a victim of its
environment.
However, within the boundaries of most organizational types, including the school
district, there is a mechanism at work designed to provide specific, planned direction to
the process of change. This mechanism is referred to as a management information
system (MIS), which I operates not unlike a navigation system. For example, an airplane
flying across country depends on the outboard altimeter and forward radars to gauge
oncoming environmental events, such as mountains and storms, and on inboard
instruments to detail the performance of the craft, such as gas consumption, air pressure,
and cabin temperature. Thus, a combination of the outboard and inboard feedback
enables the crew to make the necessary decisions to navigate safely and efficiently from
one point to another.
In a like manner, if the MIS of an organization functions correctly, it will feed external
environmental and internal performance information to the decision makers. This
information will enable the decision makers to change the character of the output so that
it matches the shifting demands of the society. Without an operational MIS, the school
conventional wisdom, and instrumentalism, which is central to what lindbom calls "the
science of muddling through."21 Flying by the seat of one's pants and crisis decision
making are standard operating procedures in school systems that do not have
management information systems to monitor what is going on inside and outside the
organization.
Unfortunately, most writing dealing with MIS focuses on issues of technology and
hardware (e.g., computer processing, data banks, distribution networks, information-
retrieval procedures, etc.). Although sues of technology and hardware are important, they
serve only the issues to facilitate the manipulation, storage, and distribution of
247
information is tools. But how does the MIS function as a management tool to establish a
close, continuing relationship between the organization and is environment?
characteristics of the Management
information System
Any organization. that has an output (automobiles, radios, or high school graduates) and
that must compete in the market place is a need of a MIS to facilitate a continuing, close
relationship between to organization and the changing needs of society. Figure 5-5 gives
simplified picture of a generic organizational model containing the ..... information loops
central to MIS. .
The MIS is defined as "a communication process in which information (input) is
recorded, stored and retrieved (processed) for decisions (out Put) on planning operating,
and: controlling.
A MIS is made up of five systematic information loops that feed information to a
decision-making (control) mechanism. These loops are an internal feedback "quality
control" loop, (2) an external feed-back loop, (3) a "pending resources" loop, (4) an
internal feedback "personel. support" loop, and (5) a "market futures"
Activity 6.4
Analyze the information management system of one of the schools you have attended so
far. Discuss its strength & weakness and recommend on things to be improved.
248

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UNIT:1 THE NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF EDUCATIONAL

ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

THE NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZATION

1.1.1. Why DO We Study Organizations?

The term 'organization may be defined as an assemblage of resources particularly of

1.1.2. Characteristics of Organizations.

1. Are goal-oriented- The very reason for the existence of organization is to

1.1.3: Dimensions of Organization:

Van der Westhuizen (1986:480) identifies three types of groups as elements of an

operation and functioning of the formal organization in various ways- in opposition or in

In sum, the complete understanding of any organization is possible with the

1.2. THE NATURE OF MANAGEMENT

Management is a common set of activities designed to promote and direct purposeful

 Management is extensive thus formulating a comprehensive definition of it

Whenever people work together in an organization they need management to coordinate

We can now operationally define management as the process of planning, organizing,

In order to facilitate subsequent discussion on the principles of management, it would be

1.2.4. Controversies of the Definitions: Administration- Management .

The second anglea views the two as synonymus

lower level management

1.3. PECULIARITY OF ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT IN

Techniques of the specific discipline.

Do all Managers at Different Level do the same thing?

1. Top level Managers (Executive)- is made up of small group of individuals who

BAHIR DAR UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL SCIENCES

 concerned with coordination in the sense of finding some immediate

Source: Ayalew Shiebeshi (1991)

Study check list for unit one

Management as a system of knowledge and a distinct and identifiable discipline is the

Write a review of management practices evident before the industrial revolution

The industrial revolution and consequent organization of production activities in large

2.1. EARLY SCHOOLS OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT

2.1.1. THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT (1900-1930)

o Scientific Management: It concentrates on lower-level managers dealing with

Scientific Management Theory

wasteful movements, fatigue and deficiencies in the physical environment of work

1. Determination of Standard of Performance

What roles of managers could be implied from this observation of Taylor?

2. Separation of Planning from Doing & Functional Specialization.

Learning activity 2.1

Analyze the strengths and shortcomings of Taylor’s suggestion in his second

4. Differential Piecework System of Wage Payment

According to Taylor, the essence of scientific management is mental revolution. It involves

Criticisms on Taylor's Scientific Management

o Scientific management concentrated on repetitive muscular tasks at the operational

1) The mutuality of interests between management and workers.

1. Compare and contrast Taylor’s idea of scientific management with those

The Classical Organizational Theory

tenure of personnel, Unity of direction, Subordination of individual to general interest,

5 All activities geared toward achieving the same objective

The Bureaucratic Theory School

Weber developed the bureaucratic model of organization which is essentially a universal

Bureaucracy is characterized by division of labor and specialization, an impersonal

CHARACTERSTICS OF THE IDEAL BUREAUCRACY

Division of Labor & Specialization

Hierarchy is perhaps the most pervasive characteristic in modern organizations. Almost

Rules & Regulations

denial of promotion. Bureaucracies also institutionalize protection through such devices as