RUNNING HEAD: FINAL RESEARCH ARTIFACT

Head Start Program

Magali N. Garza

ORGL- 4361 Capstone II

Dr. Patricia M. Blanco

June 25, 2020.

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Head Start is a program that assist families with the care and development of young

children from ages of 16 months up to 5 years old, to get school readiness. As a current employer

of a Head Start Program, I notice that the main issue of the organization is the lack of

communication and motivation toward employees. From the psychology of organizations,

multiple theories have been raised about the organization of work in companies. in this research

we are going to go over three theories which are Administrative Theory by Henry Fayol,

Bureaucratic Theory by Max Weber and Theory X and Y by Douglass Mc Gregor. As well, it

going to prove how Administrative Theory by Henry Fayol help the current organization of Head

Start Programs with the main current issue in the organization which was already mentioned.

Henri Fayol was one of the major contributors to the classical approach of General

Administration and Industrial Administration. Fayol did it at the management level and made

great contributions at the administrative level. Classical management theory emphasizes the

basic functions that an organization must have to achieve its efficiency. He exposes a synthetic

and universal approach to the company, dealing with topics such as the anatomical and structural

conception of an organization (Pearson, 1945). At the present his theory is valuable. Fayol

emphasizes that every organization must fulfill a series of basic functions. Technical Functions

are the business and primary functions of the company, linked to the production of goods and

services, such as productive functions. Commercial functions that are those that focus on the

activities of purchase, sale and exchange. They are about the importance of efficient production

and that the goods can arrive well and be consumed. Financial functions involve the search and

management of capital, where the administrator plays a fundamental role, since he controls the

entire economy of the company, avoiding reckless acts of capital use. Safety functions refer to

the welfare of the organization and workers, taking into account both industrial and personal
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safety, hygiene, among others. Accounting functions are those that focus on everything related to

costs, inventories, and business statistics. Try to keep a good control of resources and constantly

report on each financial statement and the operations that are carried out. Administrative

functions are responsible for the regulation, integration and control of the five previous

functions. These must be coordinated effectively and efficiently to achieve good coordination

and general control of the entire organization. Fayol was the promoter and the one who

developed the known as 14 fundamental principles, going deeply into the role of middle

managers and management, to discuss how they should organize, make decisions and even

interact with the other workers in the organization. Each employee has a different skill and a

strong point that must be exploited. Depending on the experience of each one, they can consider

themselves specialists in something, even generalists. If there is a certain specialization in a field,

it increases efficiency and productivity, since there is greater precision in each task performed.

Authority carries responsibility and some risk, and those charged with running the business must

shoulder those responsibilities by giving the management team the power to issue orders to other

employees. Good conduct and the creation of relationships based on respect is the key that

sustains a quality relationship between all members of the organization, from management to the

lowest management. The importance of each employee receiving orders on the tasks to be

performed by a single command and explaining the results of each task to that same person

(Pearson, 1945). When orders are received from different people, this can lead to confusion and

conflicts that, under the command of a single person, can be avoided. With the control unit you

can establish responsibilities and associate errors much easier. All members of the organization

must work towards the same objective, specifically detailed in the action plan (Engwall,

1981).Those in charge of the management are the people in charge of the plan and have the
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function of supervising the evolution of the planned tasks to fulfill the established objectives. It

is important to have employees who are motivated and who are fully productive. Remuneration

must be consistent and fair for everyone, so that they feel happy in their jobs and thus increase

productivity. There are two types of remuneration, economic and non-economic, the second

deals with promotions within companies, awards, recognizing merits and efforts, among other

recognitions. Fayol demands maximum respect for the highest command, thus establishing a

very clear line of authority and hierarchy in the organization, going through all levels of it. It

highlights that there must be a well-defined organization chart that stipulates the level at which

each person is, in order to report information to the right person at all times and thus avoid

unnecessary communication errors. The authority when making decisions must be distributed in

a balanced and coherent way, especially in large companies with a higher volume of business

and personnel. For this, Fayol proposes centralization, which implies a certain concentration of

authority in the hands of the highest part of the hierarchy. This theory deals with innovative

management methods and has transcended all these years. Fayol's theories are still valid and

important today, since it is a scheme followed by a large part of organizations to achieve good

results at all levels. Its application has made many companies operate in a systematic way for a

long time, thus achieving good coordination in all areas. Fayol's fourteen fundamental principles

seek the correct development of management methods, which have survived to our times

following their foundations. Each principle considers the human factor, as part of the engine for

proper operation. This idea is very familiar and innovative today and continues to establish itself

as one of the basic premises in each company.

Weber's theory of bureaucracy proposes a rationalist theory through an efficient

approach, this being applicable to factories and different forms of human organization. It consists
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of a form of hierarchical organization of work where officials or workers are specialized in their

field and functions (Udy, 1959). Weber establishes the conditions for a person with power to

justify his legitimacy; In addition, it explains how the subjects over whom such power is

exercised are subjected to it. In addition to legitimizing power, a certain degree of administrative

organization is necessary for the exercise of power. The bureaucratic administrative organization

proposed by Weber will provide the highest degree of efficiency in work and organization. The

objective of such an organization will be to solve the problems of society, and by extension those

of the company. As positive characteristics of his theory of bureaucracy versus other types of

work organization, Weber defends that this is: precise, fast and uniform, among others

(Mansfield, 1973). In addition, it highlights that your organization saves personal and objective

costs. Weber's theory of bureaucracy raises three fundamental ideas characteristic of

bureaucracy. There are a number of rules and regulations written in the bureaucracy, which are

elaborated in a detailed and rational way. These are consistent with the goals of the bureaucracy.

All rules, decisions and administrative matters will be formulated and recorded in writing. The

worker will fulfill her task impersonally. There are a number of positions of power within the

bureaucratic organization. Each position of power obeys a series of competences, which are

delimited from a series of rules. The charges are organized hierarchically; thus, each office is

under the control and supervision of a higher office. Each subject will be responsible for their

decisions and actions, as well as those of their subordinates (Mansfield, 1973). Weber poses a

series of effects arising from his bureaucratic organization: on the one hand, bureaucratic

organization will help to predict human behavior, and on the other, it will facilitate the

standardization of worker performance. As previously mentioned, the ultimate objective will be

to have greater efficiency in all the processes and positions carried out in the company, that is,
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the maximum efficiency of the organization. Currently the bureaucratic process is not seen as

strongly static and very rigid. The bureaucratic process is perceived as a stable model by

definition, which always seeks the balance established in its essence, but when doing so causes

tensions and conflicts between agents (Mansfield, 1973). The organization is recognized as a

system that tends towards stability, but with eventual discontinuities. Since its conceptual

presentation, the bureaucratic model has generated an evolutionary process that creates new

adaptations to a changing context in which the environment it puts a lot more pressure on the

system than it did a few years ago. Currently there is not a single type of bureaucracy, but an

infinity of types ranging from excessive bureaucratization, to the absence of bureaucracy in a

continuum that many perceive with a situational approach.

Expectancy theory questions that a person acts in a way that believes that after

performing an action, the reward will come (Bobic, M., & Davis, W. 2003). Douglas Mc Gregor

came out with a theory on the behaviors of managers, which he called X and Y. Theory X is

based on a traditional, strict and rigid style of administration. The main belief of this model is

that people are a simple means of production (Bobic, M., & Davis, W. 2003). Managers

consider that workers only move for economic reasons, shirk responsibilities, need to be directed

and have poor working methods. In this model, a leadership style is implemented in which the

superiors create work plans, design the objectives, instruct the workers and control that the tasks

are carried out as they wish. They also believe that employees must be clear on who their leader

is and respect and obey them. In the other hand, Theory Y, for its part, obeys a more current and

increasingly used behavior (Bobic, M., & Davis, W. 2003). The belief in this leadership style is

that workers strive, self-direct, motivate, and organize themselves. Working for them comes

naturally, so they always show their most competent and creative side. This style allows the
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worker to promote their learning and develop personal and professional growth. In this case,

leaders or superiors believe that, by providing the right conditions and tools, their employees will

perform the functions that correspond to them correctly. They also consider that the satisfaction

of doing a job well done is a motivating factor. It should be noted that neither of the theories

works on its own, but a style that combines both must be established. It is necessary to allow

employees to develop all their skills, as well as to establish a certain organization so that the

work is carried out with a certain rigor and demand. Theory X and Y have ideas so opposed but

related to the same environment and are two series of assumptions about human nature. In these

theories, we perceive one position contrary to the other, which emphasizes the behavioral aspect

of administrators, managers and employees (Giglioni, G., & Bedeian, A., 1974). What is possible

to analyze in the two theories is that, in Theory X, the employee is the least important part of the

company and his opinions are not necessary for the growth of the organization. In Theory Y, we

perceive that the employee works in an environment of trust and mutual respect.

The main issue in this company is communication. Leaders of the company indicates due

dates for paperwork to the employees and then they change the due date to a sooner date. As

well, they explained a method of procedures and then they provide an example of how things

should suppose to be done and employees need to go back and change the work that was already

done. Another issue in the company is that there is no reward to the employees doing the job

done on time neither any kind of award system. Communication is a fundamental role within the

management of any organization (Jackson, 1957). Communication deficiencies start at the

foundations of the company, in the identity or organizational climate formed from the experience

of the employees. The guarantee of a good internal climate depends on business leaders, although

on many occasions, they are the ones who ignore the true being of the company by mistakenly
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transmitting their corporate philosophy to their subordinates, or by lacking knowledge about

assertiveness or leadership. Poor communication manifests a deficiency and can be noticed at the

time when delays in planning arise, there is a bad workflow or errors occur that force the

employee to redo their work. Poor communication can, beyond creating a bad work environment,

harm productivity; this as a consequence of resentments or frustrations generated by the stress or

the treatment received between the internal members (Jackson, 1957). The breaking of these

behavior patterns internally is essential if you want to optimize the results of the company.

Making these kinds of mistakes can bring disadvantages, the low performance and productivity

of a company depends on the quality of business management; Failure to maintain good

communication, there may be unnecessary waste of time that results in a bad work flow by

waiting for clear instructions or acting without understanding what is requested. As well, the

company has an issue of motivating employees. Lack of interest in carrying out the activities that

the job entails appears, can lead the worker to a state of apathy that leads them to not perform the

usual functions in the best way (Michaelson, 2005). When an employee begins to lose

motivation, he loses enthusiasm and enthusiasm and his work is reduced. According to the article

Fayolism as the Necessary Complement of Taylorism, if workers are currently the most precious

value in a company, acquiring and expanding knowledge and new techniques will allow them to

tackle any new or problematic situation with greater possibilities of success (Pearson, 1945). In

this sense, it is understood that training becomes a fundamental factor that influences employee

motivation and that is why companies currently try to retain and increase performance through

rewards such as continuous training, acquisition of aptitudes or abilities and the increase of

opportunities to continue developing professionally. It is important, then, to have a well-defined

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training policy that can lead to employees, both improving their knowledge and increasing their

skills and changes in their behavior.

An organization achieves a correct operation when there is a synchronization of all the

elements and areas of the company. None can fail, because if it does, the other areas are also

affected, and the organization then cannot function efficiently. The main person responsible for

communication is the leader of the company, who must bear in mind that together, a good

organization that transmits messages directly and adequate insurance for the company are key

elements for the success and permanence of their organization.

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References

Bobic, M., & Davis, W. (2003). A Kind Word for Theory X: Or Why So Many Newfangled

Management Techniques Quickly Fail. Journal of Public Administration Research and

Theory: J-PART, 13(3), 239-264. Retrieved June 27, 2020, from

www.jstor.org/stable/3525849

Engwall, L. (1981). ORGANIZATION THEORY: WHERE ARE YOU? Scandinavian Journal

of Social Medicine. Supplementum, 28, 179-199. doi:10.2307/45199823

Giglioni, G., & Bedeian, A. (1974). A Conspectus of Management Control Theory: 1900-1972.

The Academy of Management Journal, 17(2), 292-305. Retrieved June 27, 2020, from

www.jstor.org/stable/254981

Jackson, J. (1957). THE ORGANIZATION—ITS COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS. Health

Education Monographs, (1), 10-18. doi:10.2307/45240183

Mansfield, R. (1973). Bureaucracy and Centralization: An Examination of Organizational

Structure. Administrative Science Quarterly, 18(4), 477-488. doi:10.2307/2392200

Michaelson, C. (2005). Meaningful Motivation for Work Motivation Theory. The Academy of

Management Review, 30(2), 235-238. Retrieved June 27, 2020, from

www.jstor.org/stable/20159115
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Pearson, N. (1945). Fayolism as the Necessary Complement of Taylorism. The American

Political Science Review, 39(1), 68-80. doi:10.2307/1948832

Udy, S. (1959). "Bureaucracy" and "Rationality" in Weber's Organization Theory: An Empirical

Study. American Sociological Review, 24(6), 791-795. Retrieved June 27, 2020, from

www.jstor.org/stable/2088566