Chapter 1

The School as a
Social System
W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Chapter 1: The School as a Social System

What is Organizational Theory?
A set of interrelated concepts, assumptions, and generalizations that describes and explains patterns
of behavior in organizations.
Elements of Theory:
Concepts
Generalizations
Assumptions
Purposes of Theory:
Provide an explanation of how things generally work.
Guide research
Guide practice
Hypotheses:
Conjectural statements that explain relationships.
Use to test theories.
Guide research
Scientific Knowledge:
Propositions supported by systematic research.
Purpose of Science: To test theory and to provide reliable explanation.
W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Theory

Concepts

Variables

Assumptions
And
Generalizations

Concepts

Hypotheses

Empirical
Testing

Principles

Figure 1.1: Theory-Research Relation (Hoy 2007)

W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Historical Development of
Theory and Thought in Administration
I. Rational-Systems Perspective: A Machine Model
Scientific Management (The Beginning)

Rational-Systems Perspective
(A Contemporary View of Scientific Management)

Frederick Taylor-Scientific Management

Time and Motion Studies
Standardization
Exception Principle
Division of Labor
Span of Control

Henri Fayol-Functions of Administration

Planning
Organizing
Commanding
Coordinating
Controlling

Goals--Organizations exist to attain collective goals

Division of Labor for efficiency
Specialization for expertise
Standardization for routine performance
Formalization for uniformity and coordination
Hierarchy for unity of command and coordination
Span of Control for effective supervision
Exception Principle to free superiors from routine
Coordination for administrative effectiveness
Formal Organization is the official blueprint of the
structure that guarantees efficiency and
effectiveness. The formal organization is the
key to organizational effectiveness.

Luther Gulick--Functions of the Executive

POSDCoRB

W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

II. Natural-Systems Perspective: An Organic Model

Human Relations (The Beginning)

Contemporary Natural System (Human Resources View)

Mary Parker Follett

Taylor antagonist and
human relations advocate

Survival--organizations are more than instruments for goal

attainment; they are social groups that adapt and survive.
Individuals are more important than the structure.
Needs motivate performance more than role demands .
Specialization can promote boredom and frustration.
Formalization produces rigidity and rule fixation.
Informal Norms not formal rules are critical to performance.
Hierarchy is ineffective because it usually neglects talent.
Span of Control is dysfunctional because it fosters close and
authoritarian supervision.
Informal Communication is more efficient and open than
formal communication.
Informal Organization--informal structures are more
important than formal ones just as informal leaders are more
influential than formal ones. The informal organization is the
key to effectiveness.

Hawthorne Studies
Illumination Studies--three studies
Elton Mayo--more studies(1927-32)
Hawthorne Effect
Informal Organization
Norms
Grapevine
Informal leaders
Cliques
Informal Norms
No squealing
No rate busting
No chiseling
Be a regular guy

W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

II. Open-systems Perspective: An Integration

Social Science: Interdependence, Integration, and Contingencies
Max Weber
Chester Barnard
Herbert Simon
Talcott Parsons

Theory of Bureaucracy
Functions of the Executive
Administrative Behavior
Social Systems Theory

Interdependence is a fact of organizational life.

All organizations are open systems whose parts interact and depend on each other
and are dependent on their environments.

Integration is central to an open-systems perspective.

Integration of goals and needs
Integration of rational and natural elements
Integration of tight and loose couplings
Integration of planned and unplanned activities
Integration of formal and informal.

Contingency Theory
Effectiveness is contingent upon matching
the situation with the appropriate technique.

Behavior is a function of structure and needs.

All organization have both rational and natural aspects.
Organizations need both tight and loose couplings.
Politics pervades organizational life.
Organizations have two interactive faces:
Formal & Informal.

There is no one best way to organize, motivate,

decide, lead, or communicate-- it depends.

W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Historical Development of
Theory and Thought in Administration

W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Key Properties of Open Systems

Inputs

-- people, materials, and resources from the outside

Transformation -- the process transforming inputs into something of value by

the system.
Outputs

-- the byproduct of the transformation.

Feedback

-- how the system communicates to its parts and the

environment.

Boundaries

-- systems are differentiated from their environments.

Environment

-- is anything outside the system.

Homeostatis

-- a steady state of equilibrium

Entropy

-- the tendency for all systems for run down and die.

Equifinality

--the same end can be achieved many ways.

W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Open System with Feedback Loops

Environment

Inputs
People

Throughput
[Transformation]

Outputs
Performance

Materials

Products

Finances

Services
Feedback

W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Social Systems Model: Key Assumptions

Social systems are open systems.

Social systems consists of interdependent parts, which interact

with each other and the environment.

Social systems are goal oriented.

Social systems are peopled.

Social systems have structure.

Social systems are political.

Social systems have cultures.

Social systems have norms.

Social systems are conceptual and relative.

All formal organizations are social systems, but not all social systems
are organizations.
W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Key Elements of the School as a Social System

Schools are social systems with the following key parts:
Structure:

roles are expectations of positions that are arranged in a hierarchy.

Individual:

the individual is a key unit in any social system; regardless of position,

people bring with them individual needs, beliefs, and a cognitive
understandings of the job.

Culture:

represents the unwritten feeling part of the organizations:

its shared values

Politics:

informal power relations that develop spontaneously.

Core:

the teaching-learning process is the technical core of schools.

Environment: everything outside the organization; source of inputs.

Outputs:

the products of the organizations, e. g. educated students.

Feedback:

communication that monitors behavior.

Effectiveness: the congruence between expected and actual outcomes.

W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Internal Elements of the System

Environment
Transformation Process
Structural System
(Bureaucratic Expectations)

Inputs

Cultural System
(Shared Orientations)

Political System
(Power Relations)

Individual System
(Cognition and Motivation)

W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Outputs

Social System Model for Schools

Environment
Inputs
Environmental
constraints

Transformation Process

Outputs

Structural System
(Bureaucratic Expectations)

Achievement
Job satisfaction

Human and
capital resources

Mission and
board policy
Materials and
methods

Absenteeism
Cultural
System
(Shared
Orientations)

Political
System
(Power
Relations)

Dropout rate
Overall quality

Individual System
(Cognition and Motivation)
Discrepancy between
Actual and Expected
Performance

W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

The Triadic Relations of

Theory, Practice, and Research
Theory, research, and practice are in a dynamic relationship.

Each set of relationships is reciprocal: theory guides practice, but

practice reinforces, refines, or disconfirms theory; theory guides
research, but research creates and refines theory; and research
guides practice, but practice directs research.
T

P
W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011

Practical Imperatives
1. Seek and test good explanations in your administrative practice:
Be both reflective and guided by evidence.
2. Be prepared for both rational and irrational behavior in schools:
Both abound.
3. Cultivate informal relations to solve formal problems:
The informal organization is a source of ingenious ideas.
4. Use multiple perspectives to frame school challenges:
Framing the problem is often the key to its solution.
5. Engage informal leaders in problem solving:
Cooperation between the formal and the informal is a key to success.
6. Be politically astute as you represent the school and its students:
Politics is a fact of school life.
7. Encourage both stability and spontaneity as appropriate:
Both are essential to good schools.
8. Be responsive to the community: The school is an open system.
9. Cultivate expertise as the basis for solving problems:
Knowledge should be the basis of decision making.
10. Harness administration to the facilitation of sound teaching and learning:
Teaching and learning is what schools are about.
W. K. Hoy 2003, 2008, 2011