KEY DECISIONS OF ORGANIZTIONAL STRUCTURE EGOMEZ1

Key Decisions of Organizational Structure

ORGL 4342KV2 Management Theory 1

Erica Gomez

Dr. Romeo Benavidez

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In the United States, libraries are an integral part of society. From inner cities to rural

areas, from elementary schools to universities, libraries are an important part of American

culture. The reason libraries are so important is because they provide the public with a means of

learning, obtaining information, and building their knowledge. In addition, libraries serve as a

location where people can gather as a community. Activities like tutoring, language lessons, and

other types of meetings can all happen at libraries. The New York Public Library put it well with

its mission statement. Their mission is “to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and

strengthen [their] community” (New York Public Library, 2017). Over the last several decades,

libraries have had to face the challenge of adapting to a changing world. With the rise of

electronics came a fall in demand for physical resources. While these resources, such as paper

books and maps, are certainly still being utilized by libraries, the demand for access to electronic

versions of those resources could not be ignored. Providing the library’s resources online should

result in an increase of use. When resources are electronic, multiple members can access the

same resource at once, and they can access it more easily from their own computers. Still,

making the move from paper to electronic is not something that happens by itself overnight. This

kind of change takes careful planning and effective implementation. Everyone, from the leaders

down to the subordinates, needs to be on the same page for a major transition like this one to be a

success. One tool that will be used to help the NYPL transition is the P-O-L-C Framework.

P-O-L-C stands for planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. While the framework

has been criticized by some for oversimplifying the dynamic nature of being a manager, evidence

does support its usefulness in classifying daily tasks and ensuring that those tasks are moving the

organization towards its broader goals (Gordon et al., 2009).

The first step of the framework is to make the initial plan based on the objective at hand.
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In the case of the New York Public Library system, this step would involve planning the

transition into having an electronic database. The second step is organizing around that plan.

Organizing, in this context, means creating an effective job design. This requires figuring out

which tasks to delegate to which departments and positions. Research shows that good

management requires delegating responsibility, in order to efficiently use time and energy

(FadAllah, 2015). Giving tasks to departments that lack the skills or bandwidth for that task

would result in a failed implementation. As important as organizing is leading. This next step

requires gaining an understanding of what each employee’s values, needs, and motivations are.

Finding ways to inspire employees will lead to the employees caring more about the quality of

their work. This also plays a role in the delegation of tasks, as some employees may feel more

interested in one task than another. Encouraging employees to forge their own paths towards

meeting the objective is a great way to ensure that the plan is implemented effectively. The last

step, controlling, is not meant to be as harsh as it sounds. Rather than controlling subordinates

through manipulation, managers are encouraged to support their staff as a means of controlling

the results. Managers can compare the current performance to the set standards and determine

where any shortcomings may be originating. Then, the plan can be adjusted in hopes of

achieving better performance. Management is a dynamic position that requires the use of

multidimensional competencies, which is why this step of readjusting the plan based on

substandard performance is so important (Gordon et al., 2009).

The NYPL will implement the following steps in an attempt to successfully make the

library’s resources available in an electronic database. First is the plan, which involves setting the

objectives. The objectives are to determine which resources will be accessible online, to choose a

database host, and to begin the process of adding resources into that database. The next step is to
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organize. The responsibility of choosing a database will fall to the library’s IT department. They

should choose a database by May 1, 2020. The task of determining which resources to include

will fall to the heads of each division. The relevant divisions of the NYPL include the General

Research, Manuscripts and Archives, Maps, Photographs and Prints, Moving Imagine and

Sounds, Arts and Artifacts, Music, and Rare Book divisions (The New York Public Library,

2020). Each division should determine which resources they will include in the online database

by August 1, 2020. The IT representative for each division will then be responsible for beginning

the process of adding their division's resources into the database. Once the database is open to

the public, it is expected that the public will take some time getting used to the new system.

Using simple advertising techniques within the library will increase the visibility of the database

(Jones, 2011).

Figure 1. The rate of resources accessed increases at a higher rate after e-database is implemented.

Figure one demonstrates the projected growth in traffic and circulation of the library’s resources
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if the database is implemented and advertised properly. It shows that while the number of

resources being accessed and checked out does increase on its own with the addition of new

resources and with simple in-library advertising, one can see that the introduction of the online

database dramatically increases the number of resources being accessed. This is due to the ability

for patrons to remotely access the resources, as well as the ability for one resource to be accessed

by multiple patrons, which cannot be said for paper resources.

Figure 2. While the e-database does not eliminate loss, it slows the rate of increase.

Figure 2 shows the rate of loss. Paper resources can be damaged, lost, or stolen, causing a yearly

loss of many resources. With the use of the electronic database, it is projected this number will

increase at a slower rate, because many resources which would have been physically checked out

in the past will be accessed online instead.

Keeping knowledge and information accessible to the American people helps keep this

country connected and strong. Making resources easier to access and harder to lose is worth the
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hard work of planning and implementing this new system. The projected numbers above help

quantify just how worthwhile this endeavor is. I have every confidence that the management

working for the New York Public Library are capable and ready to take on this endeavor. We will

accomplish this task, and the community will become stronger because of it.
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Bibliography

FadAllah, A. (2015). The Effect of Applying Managerial Skills in the Field of Management.

Retrieved from: http://repository.psau.edu.sa/jspui/handle/123456789/1248

Gordon, Raymon and Rose, Dennis M. and Bushel, H. (2009) Testing planning organizing,

leading and controlling (POLC): an empirical examination of the functions of

management through a pilot study developing the 'POLC-BMS'. In: ANZAM 2009:

Sustainable Management and Marketing, 01-04 Dec 2009, Melbourne, Australia.

Jones, Y. (2011). Simple Marketing Techniques and Space Planning to Increase Circulation.

Journal of Collection Management, 6 (2), 107-118. Retrieved from:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01462679.2011.553774?

scroll=top&needAccess=true

New York Public Library. (2017). Five Year System Plan of Service. Retrieved from

https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/2017-2021-plan-of-service.pdf

New York Public Library. (2020). About Our Divisions. Retrieved from:

https://www.nypl.org/about/divisions