04-U1D1 – What are the strengths and Weakness of the Administrative Managment 

Outline the major aspects of an organizational theory of your choice within the parameters set forth below Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the theory Use scholarly sources to build argument and to support your statements

Administrative Management School

· The Administrative Management School sought to develop “principles of administration†that would provide guidelines for effective organization in all types of organizations The principles tended to emphasize specialization and hierarchical control:

· Division of Work Work must be divided among units on the basis of task requirements, geographic location, or interdependency in the work process

· Coordination of Work Work units must be coordinated back together, through other principles:

Ø Span of Control A supervisor’s “span of control†should be limited to five to ten subordinates

Ø One Master Each subordinate (and subunit) should report directly to only one superior

Ø Technical Efficiency Units should be grouped together for maximum technical efficiency on the basis of work requirements, technological interdependence, or purpose

· The Scalar Principle Authority must be distributed in an organization like locations on a scale; as you move higher in the hierarchy, each position must have successively more authority, with ultimate authority at the top

(Rainey 47)

Rainey, Hal G Understanding and Managing Public Organizations, 5th Edition Jossey-Bass, 2014-01-27 VitalBook file

Organizational Theory Flashcards

1Max Weber is the classic organizational theorist who was influential in providing analysis of bureaucracies and defined characteristics such as hierarchies of authority, career service, selection and promotion on merit and rules and regulations

2 The theory attributed to Max Weber is theRational Legal Theory

3 Specialization and hierarchical control are emphasized in theAdministrative Management School model Work is divided, coordinated, and a supervisor’s span of control is limited to no more than ten subordinates

4 TheHawthorne Studies illustrated that paying attention to workers increases a sense of importance and raises productivity

5Maslow’s hierarchy of needs postulates that human needs begin with low order needs such as food, clothing and shelter and move upward as a lower need is met The highest level is self-actualization

6 The authorVictor Thompson coined the term “Bureaupathology”, a condition where members of a bureaucracy become overly concerned with protecting the authority of their office