Republic of the Philippines

CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

Calabanga | Pasacao | Pili | Sipocot

The School as an Organization

Module 5
GRACE L. NEGRETE, PhD.
Associate Professor I
Objectives
This chapter also included activities that will help you appreciate relevant
topics concerning how educational system operates including leadership
and management theories and principles that will lead toward
achieving organizational goals and objectives.
Further, this chapter allows you to critically examine and analyze the
relevance of school organization in the teaching profession. The objectives
if this chapter are the following:
 Discuss the various organizational leadership and management theories;
 Discuss the organization structure and current educational reforms in the
Department of Education; and
 Discuss the function of school as an educational organization.
Introduction
 Schools play an important role in society. They are places where people
of different ages learn and receive education at various levels.
 This can include basic education like preschool, elementary, junior high,
and senior high school, as well as technical-vocational schools and
colleges or universities.
 Schools are organized to achieve common goals and specific objectives.
Organizational Theories
 The establishment of an organization became popular and the significantly
influenced the human activities in all parts of the world. It is evident in the
way how the current government and private organizations are structured
including the system on how people will function to achieve a specific goal.
 According to Kashyap (n.d.), ever since the dawn of civilization, people
have always formed organizations to combine effort for
accomplishment of their common goal. Some examples are the
Emperors of China who used to construct irrigation system, the First Pope
who created a universal church to serve as religion, and the Egyptians who
constructed the great pyramids.
 In simple words, Kashyap (n.d.) defines it as a group of persons formed to
seek certain goals.
 Organizational Theories
 Several theories that explain the structure of organization and classified as
classical or modern organizational theories which deal with formal
organizational concepts.
 Among these are Taylor’s scientific management approach, Weber’s
bureaucratic approach, and Fayol’s administrative approach.
 According to Lagaard (2006), Frederick Winslow Taylor was the primary
contributor of Scientific Management which originated in the beginning of
the 20th century which was later adopted by industrial companies.
“Scientific Management was based in idea of systematization where
attempts were made to enhance efficiency of procedures to be best
via scientific analyses and experiments” (Lagaard, 2006, p.14).
Taylor’s scientific Management
Approach
Taylor’s scientific Management approach
 “Taylor’s work is based on the concept of planning if work to
achieve efficiency, standardization, specialization, and
simplification that promotes mutual trust between the
management and workers in order to increase productivity”
(Organizational Theory, n.d.) Taylor’s work also proposed four principles
of scientific management articulated below:
 Science, not rule of thumb – develop a science of each element of
man’s work, which replaces the old rule-of-thumb.
 Scientific selection of the worker – scientifically select and then
train, teach, and develop the workman, whereas in the past he chose
his own work and trained himself the best he could.
 Taylor’s scientific Management approach
 Management and labor cooperation rather than conflict – heartily
cooperate with the men so as to ensure all of the work being done is in
accordance with the principles of science which has been developed.
 Scientific training of the worker – workers should be trained by
experts using scientific methods.
 The following concepts suggested by Taylor in order to increase the
level of trust (Organization Theories, n.d.):
 The advantages of productivity improvement should go to workers;
 Physical stress and anxiety should be eliminated as much as possible;
 Capabilities of worker should be developed through training; and
 The traditional ‘boss’ concept should be eliminated
Fayol Administrative Theory
Approach
 Fayol Administrative Theory approach
 During the same time when Taylor developed the theory of Scientific
Management, Henri Fayol also develop another approach called
the Administrative Theory.
 According to Laagard (2006), contrary to Taylor;s scientific approach
which is categorized as bottom up approach
 Fayol’s administrative principles is in the form of the management’s
hierarchical pyramid structure which is considered as a top
approach and its focus is on administrative process rather than
technical processes.
Fayol Administrative Theory approach
Van (2009) emphasized that Fayol laid the first foundation for modern
scientific management in the early 1900 which serve as guidelines for
decision-making and management actions. Van (209) further articulated that
this management concept which is known as the 14 principles of
management is considered as the underlying factors for successful
management:
 Division of Work – tasks is divided among employees according to their
field of expertise or field of specification.
 Authority and Responsibility – the management has the authority to
give orders to subordinates that comes with corresponding responsibility.
Fayol Administrative Theory approach
 Unity of Command – all orders received must come from one
manager only otherwise it will cause confusion to employees.
 Unity of Direction – this ensures that all actions are properly
coordinated and requires employees to perform and carry out
activities as one team leading to the same objectives using one plan.
 Subordinate of Individual Interest – is about prioritization of
organization’s interest over personal interest which applies to all
members of the organization.
 Remuneration – is about rewards and compensations to efforts that
have been made which could be in form of monetary or non-monetary
that keeps employees motivated and productive.
Fayol Administrative Theory approach
 Discipline – is about the core values anchored in the vision and
mission of an organization to form of good conduct which essential to
the successful operation of the organization.
 The Degree of Centralization – this implies the concentration of
decision-making authority at the top management.
 Scalar Chain – is about the hierarchical structure that is always
present at any type organization. There should be a clear line of in the
area of authority from the top management down to the lowest level.
 Order – this pertains to the order and safety of employees in order to
function properly at work.
Fayol Administrative Theory approach
 Equity – this implies equal treatment among members of the
organization.
 Stability of Tenure of Personnel – this is about the proper
deployment and management of personnel by providing employees
the opportunity to be considered for tenured position based on their
performance.
 Initiative – this allows employees to express ideas that will help
benefit the company.
 Esprit de Corps – this promotes unity among employees, develops
morale in the workplace, and created atmosphere of mutual trust and
understanding.
Weber’s Bureaucratic Approach
 Weber’s Bureaucratic Approach
 Another contributor to modern organizational theories is Max Weber.
He is a German sociologist known for bureaucratic theory of
management and is considered as the father of sociology. “Weber
believed that the most efficient way to set up an organization is
through bureaucracy which is way better than the traditional
structure.
 Bureaucracy is an organizational structure that is characterized by
many rules, standardized process, procedures and requirements,
number of desks, meticulous division of labor and responsibility, clear
hierarchies and professional, almost impersonal interaction between
employees” (Mulder, 2017).
Weber’s Bureaucratic Approach
 Mulder (2017) and Lagaard (2006) highlighted the three types of
power that can be found in an organization based Weber’s
Bureaucratic model and these are the following:

 Traditional authority – based on historically created legitimacy where

authority is hereditary and based on dependent subordinates;
 Legal, rule-oriented authority- the bureaucratic type of authority,
based on normative rules for career, hierarchy etc.; and
 Charismatic authority – the personal authority, based on a type of
‘seduction’ and hence, the devotion of supporters.
Weber’s Bureaucratic Approach
 Mulder (2017) also articulated the following elements that support
Weber’s bureaucratic management:

 All regular activities within a bureaucracy can be regarded as official

duties;
 Management has the authority to impose rules; and
 Rules can be easily respected on the basis of established methods.
Weber’s Bureaucratic Approach
 In addition, Mulder (2017) explained that “bureaucracy, according to
Weber, is the basis for the systematic formation of any
organization and is designed to ensure efficiency and economic
effectiveness which is an ideal model for management and
administration in order to bring an organization’s power structure
into focus.
 Relative to this, Weber lays down the basic principles of bureaucracy
and emphasis on the division of labor, hierarchy, rules and
impersonal relationship.”
Weber’s Bureaucratic Approach
 The following are the salient features of Max Weber’s Bureaucratic
Theory highlighted by Mulder (2017):

 Task specialization – sometimes called the division of labor wherein

individual tasks are divided into separate jobs which allows to manage
tasks easily.
 In a school setting, each department has different functions and
each member has different field of expertise.
 Teachers for example are usually assigned with teaching loads
based on their area of expertise while other functions that are
administrative in nature are assigned to non-teaching academic
personnel.
Weber’s Bureaucratic Approach
 Hierarchical of authority – Managers are organized into hierarchical
layers, where each layer of management is responsible for its staff and
overall performance.
 In a bureaucratic organizational structure has the greatest power
to control the lower level while the bottom layers are always
subject to supervision and control of the higher levels.

 Formal Selection – All employees are selected on the bases of

technical skills and competencies, which have been acquired through
training, education and experience and are paid accordingly.
 In the Department of Education, formal selection process is being
followed using an established set of standards and requirements are
applied.
Weber’s Bureaucratic Approach
 Education and training backgrounds are the primary requirement
in school setting when applying for a position including performance
evaluation based on existing standards is also required for promotion
and remuneration.

 Rules and requirements – Formal rules and requirements are

required to ensure uniformity, so that employees know exactly what is
expected of them.
 In a bureaucratic form of organization like the educational institutions,
the operation is governed by specific policies, standards, and
guidelines which can be in a form of a memo or an order.
 It serves as a guide for the members of the organization to follow.
Weber’s Bureaucratic Approach
 Impersonal – Regulations and clear requirements create distant and
impersonal relationships between employees, with the additional
advantage of preventing nepotism or involvement from outsiders or
politics. Decisions must be based on rational factors rather than personal
factors.

 Career orientation – Employees of a bureaucratic organization are

selected on the basis of their expertise. This helps in the deployment
of the right people in the right positions and thereby optimally utilizing
human capital.
 Professional growth and career development is encouraged to support
employees to become experts in their own field and significantly improve
their performance.
Organizational Theories

Activity 5:

 Ask permission to conduct an interview of faculty members (At

least 2) of same school.
 Ask them to identify which among the theories are applied in the
management of their school.
 Write your observations in the space provided below.
Thank you!