Public Sector Organizational Behaviour Notes Semester 2 2017

PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR NOTES SEMESTER 2 2017

LECTURER: FRED KOITA

UNIT 1

INTRODUCTION

This unit has three primary aims.

The first is to equip you the student with the theoretical perspectives and assumptions underlying public sector organisational behaviour. Classical approaches, which you have studied in earlier courses of public management are briefly discussed and their relevance to the modern-day public administration briefly covered.

The second aim is to synthesise some of the many ideas and voices calling for the reaffirmation of democratic values, citizenship, and service in the public interest as the normative foundations for the field of public administration.

The third aim is to provide a framework to organise those ideas around principles, giving them a name, a mantle, and a voice that we believe has been lacking. This unit is a call to think about and act on our values. It is intended as a challenge for us to think carefully and critically about what public service is, why it is important, and what values ought to guide what we do and how we do it.

Upon completion of this unit students must be able to;

§ define public sector organisational behaviour

§ identify major trends in the development of organisational behaviour and management thinking

§ explain values and assumptions of organisational behaviour in the public sector

§ explain the main approaches to organisation, structure and management

§ evaluate the relevance of these different approaches to the present-day management of organisations

§ explain the paradigm shift towards New Public Service and behaviour in public sector organisation management and practice

1. Organizational behavior Versus Public Sector Organizational behavior.

Organisational behaviour is the study of how people act, think, and feel in organised settings.The roots of the field go back thousands of years. Since the 1900s, major perspectives on organisational behaviour have included scientiﬁc management, the human relations approach, and the contingency approach.

Managing people in the 21st century is also about embracing something—change. In many ways, the manager’s job is still the same—to motivate, inspire, and inﬂuence, among other things. Quite different today are the increasing complexity of the work environment and the breakneck pace of change. The complex variety of social, demographic, and technological change makes managing people more challenging than ever.

Public Sector Organisational behaviour (POB), on the other hand, is a newly emerging concept in the literature of organisation behaviour. It goes a step further and asserts that the management of organizational behaviour in the public sector must, in fact, consider an additional level of analysis—that which concerns governance in the public interest. In public service, we must be concerned not only with leading and motivating others but also with doing so in a manner that is consistent with democratic values and the public interest.

2. Major trends in the development of organizational behavior and management thinking.

The very first trend in the context of organisational behaviour and management thinking is the theory.

The second dimension is that of actual behaviour as relationships are made between management theories and practice though behaviour. Once the theory, practice and behaviour intersect,knowledge develops.

The third trend is the historical understanding of management and behaviour so as to draw comparisons between earlier management approaches and contemporary dimensions of management and organisational behaviour.

3. Main approaches organisation, structure and management

3.1 Classical approach examined

The classical writers (also variously known as the formal or scientiﬁc management writers–although scientiﬁc management is really only a part of the classical approach) were concerned with improving the organisation structure as a means of increasing efficiency. They emphasised the importance of principles for the design of a logical structure of organisation.

Their writings were in a normative style and they saw these principles as a set of ‘rules’ offering general solutions to common problems of organisation and management. Mooney and Reiley set out a number of common principles which relate to all types of organisations. They place particular attention on:

§ the principle of co-ordination – the need for people to act together with unity of action, the exercise of authority and the need for discipline;

§ the scalar principle – the hierarchy of organisation, the grading of duties and the process of delegation; and

§ The functional principle – specialisation and the distinction between different kinds of duties.

3.1.1 Scientific Management

A number of principles has been set by the scientific management to guide management.

These principles are usually summarised as:

§ the development of a true science for each person’s work;

§ the scientific selection, training and development of the workers;

§ co-operation with the workers to ensure work is carried out in the prescribed way; and

§ The division of work and responsibility between management and the workers.

3.1.2 The relevance of Scientific Theory

The principles of Taylor’s scientific approach to management appear still to have relevance today. We can see examples of Taylorism alive and well, and management practices based on the philosophy of his ideas. The strict routine, training based on detailed procedures, uniformity, clearly specified tasks, detailed checklists and close control in airline industry, police and military sectors suggest close links with scientific management.

Practices such as work study and methods, payment by results, management by exception and production control still find prominence in Namibian public and private sectors. The concept of Six Sigma (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, and Control) can also be related to Taylor’s quest for ‘systematic management’.

We need to study the scientific management and bureaucracy as part of classical approaches so as to make comparisons between earlier approaches and modern-day practices.

Many of the earlier ideas are of continuing importance to the manager and later ideas on management tend to incorporate earlier ideas and conclusions.

3.2 Bureaucracy

A type of business structure popular among governments and public administrations that were influenced by the thinking of Max Weber.

Although often associated with excessive paperwork in modern times, a bureaucratic organization was originally intended to have a hierarchical or pyramidal structure to help achieve the most rational and efficient operation at the lowest cost.

The term ‘bureaucracy’ has common connotations with criticism of red tape and rigidity.

However in the study of organisations and management it is important that the term should not be necessarily seen in a depreciative sense, but as applying to certain structural features of formal organisations.

The four main features of bureaucracy are summarised by Stewart as follows;

§ Hierarchy of authority, system of rules and impersonality.

§ Specialisation applies more to the job than to the person undertaking the job. This makes for continuity because the job usually continues if the present job-holder leaves.

§ Hierarchy of authority makes for a sharp distinction between administrators and the administered or between management and workers. Within the management ranks there are clearly defined levels of authority. This detailed and precise stratification is particularly marked in the armed forces and in the civil service.

§ System of rules aims to provide for an efficient and impersonal operation. The system of rules is generally stable, although some rules may be changed or modified with time. Knowledge of the rules is a requisite of holding a job in a bureaucracy.

§ Impersonality means that allocation of privileges and the exercise of authority should not be arbitrary,(bias) but in accordance with the laid-down system of rules.

Reflection:

As a social scientist how do you recognise that there is existing bureaucratic components in an organisation?

3.3 Relevance of Bureaucracy in the Public Sector

Green argues that, although bureaucracies are becoming less and less the first-choice format for organisational shape, there is still a place for bureaucracy in parts of most organisations and especially public sector organizations such as parastatals, local authorities and universities.

The use and implementation of tried and tested rules and procedures help to ensure essential values and ethics, and that necessary functions are run on a consistent and fair basis. E. G Decentralisation process in Namibia that need to be consistent.

Reflection

Do you think Bureaucracy is an important aspect in the Namibian Public Sector?

3.4 Contemporary solution to bureaucracy

Bureaucracies allowed people with knowledge to control ignorant workers. Now, new structures are needed as knowledge spreads.’

Ridderstrale suggests four specific ways in which high-performing organisations have responded to increasingly complex knowledge systems by developing organisational solutions which depart from the traditional bureaucratic model:

§ More decentralised and flatter structures in order for that quick decisions to be taken near to where the critical knowledge resides. Flatter structures can be achieved by increasing the span of control and reducing layers from the top or removing layers of middle management;

§ The use of more than a single structure in order that knowledge may be assembled across the boundaries of a traditional organisation chart. If people have less permanent places in the hierarchy they are more readily able to move across functional and geographical borders;

§ Converting companies into learning organisations and giving every employee the same level of familiarity with personnel and capabilities. Successful companies develop a detailed inventory of core competencies. In order fully to exploit current knowledge, managers need to know what the company knows;

§ The broader sharing of expertise and knowledge, which may be located in the periphery where little formal authority resides. Managers need to share principles to ensure coordination and to encourage ‘lowest common denominators’ and the development of ‘tribal’ qualities through shared ownership and rewards, common norms, culture and values.

3.5 Values & Assumptions of Organisational Behaviour in the Public Sector

There are a number of assumptions and values that underlie the study of organisational behaviour and that will guide our analysis of the field in the context of public service. In other words, the field of organisational behaviour is fundamentally based on certain assumptions about the nature of people and behaviour. These assumptions are just that they are simply things we assume or assert about human behaviour that allow us to interpret what people do and why they do it and then to act accordingly ourselves.

Recognising these assumptions and the values is important in understanding how the perspective of organisational behaviour can inform attitudes in the public sector setting.

The first such assumption is that human behaviour is purposeful. That means that a great deal of what we do involves behaviour that is intended to accomplish some purpose. That does not mean that all behaviour is goal-oriented, at least not in the conscious sense. Some actions or behaviour may be involuntary, and certainly the consequences of our behaviour can be unintended. However, in terms of organisational behaviour, voluntary goal-directed behaviour is seen as critical to achieving organisational effectiveness.

The field of organizational behaviour, in turn, assumes that voluntary and purposeful behaviour can be influenced by the behaviour of others and through the practices of management.

The second assumption is that behaviour is not random or accidental—rather, it is caused. The study of organizational behaviour looks for the backgrounds and causes of human behaviour. It assumes that, by studying behaviour and patterns of interaction, we can gain perceptions into ways of thinking about and influencing the behaviour of others.

The third assumption is that behaviour can be changed through learning. When people change how they think, they frequently change how they act. Although human learning is not directly observable (because it takes place within the mind of the individual), organisational behaviour is based in part on the idea that people will change their behaviour in response to their experiences and knowledge. Furthermore, behaviour that has favourable consequences or is otherwise reinforced probably will be repeated.

The fourth assumption is that people should be valued simply as humans aside from their contributions to organizational goal attainment. Treating humans with respect and dignity is an important value in its own right. Organizational behaviour is fundamentally grounded in the idea that improvements to organizational processes, structure, and performance require “managing through people.” Although approaches that ignore or disrespect people may get results in the short-term, they do not build responsible, engaged, and civic-minded employees or citizens. And in the long term, they are unlikely to be all that effective anyway.

The final assumption that guides our exploration of organizational behaviour in the public sector is that public service is about serving others. There is nothing wrong with meeting our own needs and priorities at work, but in the public service, the needs of others take precedence. We are in the public service to serve others—our country, our community, our fellow citizens (including our employees and coworkers)—and not ourselves. Public servants are people whose motivations and rewards are more than simply a matter of pay or security. They want to make a difference in the lives of others and to serve the public. To be both effective and responsible, organizational behaviour in the public sector always must be attentive to the special calling of public service.

3.6 The New Public Service and Behaviour

There are a number of practical lessons that the New Public Service suggests for those in public administration. These lessons are not mutually exclusive, rather they are mutually reinforcing. We will outline these ideas here, and then discuss each one briefly.

Denhardt & Denhardt (2009) emphasise seven (7) principles necessary in public service organisation and practice and vital for contemporary public sector.

These are:

To Serve Citizens, Not Customers: The public interest is the result of a dialogue about shared values rather than the aggregation of individual self-interests. Therefore, public servants do not merely respond to the demands of “customers,” but rather focus on building relationships of trust and collaboration with and among citizens.