NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIZATION

Analysis of organization is essential to the understanding society.

Such study of organization has become significant in the past decades
to stress varying theories of organization in an ever increasing
degree. It has likewise grown in value and importance with the need
to know more of organization structure and context. Despite these
developments, however, few attempts have been made to study public
administration as an organization. It should be borne in mind that
public administration is not only an important aspect of government;
it is the business itself of government. On the other hand, the
business of public administration is national development.

This narrative will, therefore, look into the nature and development
of an organization, Specifically, it will attempt to discuss the
following subjects:

1. Definition of Organization
2. The different Theories of Organization
3. Trends on Organization Development in the Philippines

In this undertaking, the following terms are defined as follows:

1. Theory is a mere hypothesis, conjecture, individual view or
notion. 2. Trend is a general direction, course or tendency.

Definition of Organization

Achievement is the be-all and the end-all of any organization.

For any organization to achieve something, it must be organized,
operated and administered. Organization is nothing more than the
mechanism by which administration directs, coordinates and controls
its business. It is, indeed, the very foundation of administration.
When the organization is ill-designed structurally, when it passes
for a makeshift arrangement, administration has been met. To be more
precise, organization seeks to know “who is to do what is to be
done.” ¹ A good executive may be able to secure good results with a
poor organization, and a good organization may produce results from a
poor executive.

A social scientist, Robert S. Weiss, has defined organization as a

social form with four basic characteristics, namely:
1. a set of individuals in office;
2. individuals responsibility for definite tasks –functional
activities- which are parts of a division of labor;
3. an organizational goal to which the activities of the staff
contribute
4. 4. a stable system of coordinative relationships, or a structure.

Alvin Toffler, defines organization as a “structure of rule filled

by humans.”

Different Theories on Organization

In most organizations, various forms may be adopted to achieve

organizational goals effectively with the least cost. For instance, a
government may adopt not only one but several theories on
organization, may discard some principles of one theory but adopt
what it finds suitable for it’s purpose. For purposes of comparison,
some organization theories with their unique characteristics,
usefulness and perhaps, limitations, will be examined in this
narrative.
Firstly, there is the machine model or scientific management
theory of an organization. As propounded by its discoverer, Frederick
W. Taylor, the machine model bears the following peculiarities:

1. Division of labor and specialization. The functions of the

organization arts differentiated and placed in separate departments
(departmentalization).
2. Unity of command and centralization of decision-making. For the
various parts of the organization to function correctly, there must
be unified command at the top of the organization.
3. One-way authority. Authority flows down the line of command, from
the top to the bottom of the organization.
4. Narrow span of control. There is a limit to the number of
immediate subordinates that any one individual can effectively
supervise.

Also, Taylor suggested fictionalizations as a system of

organization. This technique would, according to Taylor, make maximum
use of the specialization skills of individuals in the organization.
He applied the concept of functionalization to forcemen.

Another organization theory is the theory of bureaucracy. Max

Weber’s contribution to the organization theory, the bureaucratic
model, clearly resembles Taylor’ scientific management. The
bureaucratic type, is characterized as follows:
1. Division of labor, with specified spheres of competence
legitimized as official duties.
2. Hierarchical arrangements of offices, that is, each lower office
is below a higher one.
3. Rules for carrying out the work, to be applied uniformly to
individual cases.
4. Impersonality, the official is subject to an impersonal order and
established norms of conduct and he acts objectively in his contacts
with individual inside and outside of the organization.
5. Officials are selected on the basis of competence, and not on
irrelevant considerations.

A third organization theory is called the human relations approach or

social ethics theory. This type responds well to a society that is
becoming increasingly characterized by interdependence. A reappraisal
of this type, however, brought out the fact that it proceeded upon
the mistaken assumption that all would be solved if managers expertly
applied human relations skills in their dealings with workers.

Robert T. Golombiewski, the exponent of “man-centered”

organization, believes that “moral sensitivity can be associated
with satisfactory output and employee’s satisfaction. He showed how
jobs, work environment, as follows:
1. Work must be psychologically acceptable to the individual. Its
performance should not be generally to threaten the individual.
2. Work must allow man to develop his faculties.
3. The work task must allow the individual considerable room for self
determination.
4. The worker must have the possibility of controlling, in a
meaningful way, the environment within which the task is to be
performed.
5. The organization should not be the sole and final arbiter of
behavior.

Both the organization and the individual must be subject to an

external moral order. On the other hand humanist, like Warren G.
Bennis, believe that democracy is an inevitable element in modern
organizations. Basing their arguments on pragmatic grounds.
Bureaucracy, they contend, no longer works and democracy is a
“system of values” characterized by the following factors:
1. Full and free communication, regardless of rank and power.
2. A reliance on consensus, rather than on the more customary forms
of coercion or compromise, to manage conflict.
3. The idea influence is based on technical competence and knowledge
rather than on the vagaries of personal whims or prerogatives of
power.

Reference:

Edcel Climacosa GRADUATE STUDIES DEPT. MASTER OF ARTS IN ADMINISTRATION & SUPERVISION
EDUC. 224: HUMAN RELATIONNature and Development of Organization - Doc Edcel C. | PDF | Division Of
Labour | Public Administration (scribd.com)
 THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIZATION.docx - THE NATURE AND
DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIZATION I. Introduction This part deals with the development and | Course
Hero

Pereda, P.R. (2014). Principles of Management and Organization.

MINDSHAPERS CO., INC. Philippines