MODULE 3ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand purpose of

organizations

Understand basic organizational

design

Awareness of line/staff relations Awareness of

advantages/disadvantages of different organizational designs for Public Works

ORGANIZATION - defined

An organization is a grouping of individuals and resources

for the purpose of achieving a set of common, defined goals

and objectives, and whose interaction is based on

structured relationships and processes.

Basic Organizational Design

Define the goals and objectives (“the

Work”)

Break work into similar tasks

Balance workload

Assign people to do the work

Assign someone to manage the work

Assign People to Do the Work

Pick people with appropriate skill set Make sure they understand purpose

and importance

Provide them with the resources to do

the work

Assign Someone to Manage the Work

Create authority - power to act, make decisions, give directions

Create responsibility - obligation to get work done

Create accountability - being responsible to higher power

Provide the Resources to do the work Good people and good management

can only do so much without the resources.

Unfortunately, the better the people and the management, the longer they can create the illusion of doing the work without proper resources.

Centralizing vs. Decentralizing

Centralize when: Work involves recurring,

familiar tasks

Uniformity is important

Qualified central staff is

available

Decentralize

when: Need flexibility in

response

Need innovation

Have trusted

subordinates

Geography requires it

Span of Control

How many different activities do you

manage

How good are your subordinates

How good are your reporting and control

systems Tolerance for mistakes – you and your

department head/City Manager

How many people report to you

“Tall” OrganizationsDepartment Head

Asst Dept Head

Deputy Dept. Head

Division Manager

Section Head

Supervisor

Line Staff

Deputy Dept. Head

Division Manager

Section Head

Supervisor

Line Staff

“Flat” Organizations

Department Head

Division Head

Division Head

Division Head

Division Head

Human Factors in Organizing

Affinity

Pecking order

Titles

Need for independence

Separating conflicting personalities

Traditional / Functional

Public Works

Streets UtilitiesFacilities &

FleetEngineerin

gTraffic

Each group focuses on a specific piece of the infrastructure and/or a specific function

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths• Specialization• Technical control• Continuity• Well established

communications• Single boss

Weaknesses• “Center of universe”• Complex

coordination• Slow to innovate• Multi-point

customer contact

Traditional / Functional Organization

Which Structure Gets Used

Mission

Size of organization

Uniqueness of activities

Geography

Personnel

Management team

Political considerations

THE EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC WORKS ORGANIZATIONS Driven by changes in the mission

From a focus on expansion to a focus on sustainability

From a focus on system performance to customer service

Also driven by social and economic changes From domineering and arrogant to democratic

and transparent From result consciousness to social

consciousness

Traditional public works organization (also typical for most smaller agencies)

PUBLICWORKS

DIRECTOR

OPERATIONSSTREET AND OTHER

MAINTENANCEENGINEERING ADMINISTRATION

CHARACTERISTICS OF TRADITIONAL PW ORG Infrastructure systems are viewed in their

totality, with recognition of the life cycle costs of these systems by engineers designing them.

Members of the organization tend to be multi-dimensional – an engineer who could not only check the work of others but perform design work (and also operate a backhoe!); a maintenance worker who was just as comfortable spreading a new layer of asphalt on a road as he was fixing a water pump and restoring water service; a traffic engineer who was just as comfortable adjusting signal timing in a controller cabinet as he was reviewing a traffic study.

REASONS WHY PW ORGANIZATIONS HAVE CHANGED

Proliferation of laws and regulations and certification requirements related to infrastructure management

Requirements for Environmental review and Sustainability of public works projects

Changing political environment with emphasis on more open and transparent governance

Emphasis on Customer Service as the driving force in the delivery of public works services rather than long term preventative maintenance programs.

Public scrutiny and public activism, bringing into question the rationale behind public works improvement strategies and questioning decisions based solely on technical and economic considerations.

Changing public attitude towards funding of all public services and accompanying tax revolts in many states.

PW ORG TRANSITIONDivisional structure of public works organization (typical

in larger agencies). PUBLIC WORKS

WORKS

ENGINEERING OPERATIONSFINANCE &

ADMINISTRATION

ENGINEERING

ARCHITECTURE

CONSTRUCTIONMANAGEMENT

SUBDIVISION & NEW

DEVELOPMENTMAPPING

STREETS AND SEWERS

BUILDINGS

FLEET

PERSONNEL

ACCOUNTING

UTILITIES

PW ORG TRANSITION Divisional structure of public works organization

“flattened” for more direct supervision by department head.

DEPTHEAD

DIVISIONHEADENG’G

DIVISIONHEAD

UTILITIES

DIVISIONHEADNEW

DEVELOP

DIVISIONHEADADMIN

DIVISIONHEAD

DIVISIONHEAD

CAPITALPROJECTS

DIVISIONHEAD

BLDG &FLEET

ALTERNATIVE PW ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

Engineering as a sub-group within the Community Development Department (or Planning) – a preferred arrangement in cities where new development was a high priority and engineers in the traditional arrangement seen as being intransigent and inflexible with respect to public improvement standards

ALTERNATIVE PW ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

Maintenance and Engineering split into two separate Departments :

Seen as a way of making maintenance more responsive to city management priority setting, and less prone to follow prescribed standards for preventative maintenance at the expense of the more customer service oriented “reactive” maintenance.

ALTERNATIVE PW ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

Water and Sewer Utilities, as separate departments:

Unlike street and drainage maintenance which deals with fixed systems that accommodate human activity, these services involve collecting or delivering, transporting, treating and disposing of the byproducts of human activity (or, in the case of water, an essential commodity that is required for human activity). These activities are highly regulated, and are usually supported not by general taxes, but by fees charged in proportion to the amount of “product” delivered or removed. The education, skills and certifications required in these areas tend to be more stringently regulated.

ALTERNATIVE PW ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

Transportation as a separate department : In urbanized areas in particular, more road

building is no longer seen as a desirable or feasible solution to transportation problems. What used to be a civil engineering exercise involving design and construction of highways, roads and bridges now involves a more holistic approach to finding solutions to traffic problems. These solutions range from neighborhood traffic calming to demand management through such techniques as encouraging alternative modes, car pooling, etc.

Use of Organization Charts

Shows big picture – who’s in charge of

what

Shows relationships

Shows lines of authority

Gives your IT Department stuff to do

Makes it appear like you know what your

department is doing at budget time

When Do You Reorganize?

Good reasons:

Improve efficiency

Change in mission

Only when there is a purpose

Not such good reasons:

Change in city management

Change in public works management

Creating High Performance Organizations Leaders must channel their egos away from

themselves and into the larger goal of building a great organization. They are incredibly ambitious, but their ambition is focused on creating a great organization…..not themselves.

Great leaders have the ability to get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. People are not your most important asset…..the right people are.

Creating High Performance Organizations (cont’d)

In determining the right people…..more important to consider character attributes vs. specific educational background, practical experience, or work experience. Personal dimensions like character, work ethic, intelligence, dedication to fulfilling commitments and values should drive selecting your organizations staff.

Creating High Performance Organizations (cont’d)

People at all levels feel personally responsible for creating the organizations culture and serving the needs of the customers vs. serving one’s personal self interest

People at all levels need to be accountable for the well-being of the organization vs. the belief that those at the top are responsible and accountable for the success of the organization.

Creating High Performance Organizations (cont’d)

Clear understanding of core business

Create a governance system which creates a strong sense of ownership and responsibility for outcomes

Beliefs and attitudes need to change…..if there is not transformation inside each of us, all the structural changes in the world will have no impact on our institutions