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Chapter13:OrganizationalEffectiveness

Chapter13:OrganizationalEffectiveness
DeterminingCriteriaofEffectiveness
Therearemanywaystomeasuretheeffectivenessofanorganization.Campbell(1977)listsover30differentcriteriafromproductivity,profits,
growth,turnover,stabilityandcohesion(Scottp.343).Differenttheoreticalperspectivescanaccountforthediversityinusageofeffectiveness
measurements.
Rationalperspectivesemphasizegoalattainmentandfocusonoutputvariablessuchasquality,productivity,andefficiency.Naturalsystem
perspectivesfocusonthesupportgoalsoftheorganizationsuchasparticipantsatisfaction,morale,interpersonalskills,etc.Opensystemperspectives
focusontheexchangeswiththeenvironmentthisincludesinformationprocessing,profitability,flexibility,adaptability.
Effectivenesscriteriaalsovarywithtime,andoftensubgroupshavedifferenteffectivenesscriteria.
Alsooftentherearedifferentevaluationcriteriaappliedbythosewhoassigntasksandthosewhoevaluateperformance(Scottp.346).Often
effectivenesscriteriainvolveselfinterst,arestatedasuniversalisticandobjective,andcauseconflictanddisagreementamongsubgroups.(Scottp.
348).
MarketandNonmarketOrganizations
Manypeopleemphasizethedifferencebetweenmarketandnonmarketorganizations(Scottp.349).Thetraditionalviewisthatinproperly
functioningmarkets,effectivenesscanbereadilymeasuredinthemarketplaceandaredirectlyinfluencedbycustomersatisfaction.Fligstein(1990)
argueshoweverthatmarkets,likeallstructures,aresociallyconstructedandvaryovertimeandspace,sothatconceptionsofefficiencyor
effectivenessalsovary.
Publicorganizationsoftenoperateinnonmarketconditions.Oftenthismeansthatthereisnodirectlinkbetweentheservicesanorganization
providesandtheincomeitgetsforprovidingthem(Downs,1967).Controlsovertheseorganizationsemphasizecontroloverprocessthanover
outcome(Scottp.350).Whiletherehavebeenattemptstoevaluategovermentagencies,itprovesverydifficult,andtherecontinuestoberising
discontentwiththeperformanceandresponsivenessofpublicagencies.Manyoftheseserviceshavebeen"privatized"andcontractedoutto
independentbusinesses.
HighReliabilityOrganizations
Complexorganizationsthatrequireahighlevelofreliabilityarevulnerableto"normalaccidents"(Perrow,1984),inevitablefailuresduetotheoverly
complicatedandtightcontrolmechanismsinsomeorganizations.

AssessingEffectiveness
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Toevaluatepeformance,criteriamustbeselectedandthenworksampledandcomparedtodevelopedstandards(Scott.352).
SettingStandards
CyertandMarch(1963)useanaspirationlevelperspectiveandarguethatorganizationalgoalsareafunctionofpreviousgoals,experiencewiththese
previousgoals,andotherorganization'sexperiencewiththesepreviousgoals.Thompson(1967)notesthattheappropriateeffectivesscriteriadepends
onhowclearthestandardsandcauseeffectrelationshipsareknown.
SelectingIndicators
Therearethreebasictypesofindicatorsthosebasedonoutcomes,onprocesses,andonstructures(Scottp.353).
Outcomes
Outcomesfocusonmaterialsorobjectsonwhichtheorganizationhasperformedsomeoperation(Scottp.353).Thesearethemostcommon
effectivenessmeasurements,butcanbethemostdifficulttodefineandmeasureandarenotimmunetoambiguityandmeasurementerror.
Processes
Processmeasuresassesseffortratherthaneffect(Scottp.355).Somemeasureworkquantityorquality.Thoughtheyareinsomerespectsamorepure
measurementoforganizationalperformance,theyareanassessmentofconformityofagivenobjectivethatcanbedecoupledfromoutput
performance(andultimatelysurvivalitself).Substitutingprocesscriteriaforoutcomecriteriacancompromiseserviceinsomesituationsthough.
Structures
"Structuralindicatorsassessthecapacityoftheorganizationforeffectiveperformance"(Scottp.357).Theseareoftenincludeorganizationalfeatures
(equipmentageortype)orparticipantcharacteristics(degreeattained,liscensing,etc.).Structuralindicatorsformthebasisforaccreditationreviews
andlicensingsystems,thosethesecriteriacandisplacethegoalsoftheorganizationsometimes.
SelectingSamples
Selectingsamplesrequiresproperdefinitionoftheorganizations,it'swork,andit'sultimateorganizationalgoals.Istheorganizationdoingthings
right,andisitdoingtherightthings?
Participants,Constituents,andMeasures
WewouldexpectdifferentgroupstopreferdifferentmeasuresOrganizationalmanagersmayemphasizestructuralfeaturesbecausetheyaremore
undertheircontrol.Wewouldexpectworkerstoemphasizeprocessmeasurements.Clientsandcustomerswillnaturallyfocusonoutput
measurements(meets,needsandexpectations,promptness,courtesy,sensitivity,etc.).Itseemsthereisabiasintheliteraturetowardstructureand
processmeasurements.
ExplainingEffectiveness
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Chapter13:OrganizationalEffectiveness

Becausemanyoftheproposedmeasuresofeffectivenessarenegativelycorrelated,weshouldn'texpectto"findgeneralexplanationsthatwill
distinquisheffectivefromineffectiveorganizations"(Scottp.360).Giventhecomplexityoforganizations,weshouldn'tfindasimplesetoffactors
thataccoutforeffectivenesseither.Muchofthepopularmanagementliteratureindentifiessimplefactorsthatonlypartiallyexplaineffectiveness(and
thustheprescriptionsbasedonthemareonlypartlyeffectiveaswell).
Scottnotesthat"wearetooofteninthralldombeforeageneralprinciple,applyingitmindlesslytosituationswhosecomplexityswampswhatever
truthmighthavebeenrevealedbyamorethoughtfulapproach.Letusnotbemisunderstood.Weneedtheguidanceofgeneralprinciples".Butwealso
requiresufficientlydetailedknowledgeoftheorganizationsandtheirtechnologiesandenvironmentstobeabletoselectvalidindicatorsofthe
variablestobeassessed."
Ultimately,organizationaleffectivenessisnotbasedonlyonepathnorpurelyontechnical,rationalprocesses,butalsoafunctionofsociologyand
politics.

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