[Ous-lp-rp13] EDAD 6020, Answer to Question #1

[Matney, Mary]

Rational systems have specific organizational goals, and they work in concordance with the rest of the organization to make it run effectively. Like a machine, all parts of a rational system must operate together in order to function properly. When thinking of my school and rational systems, immediately the cooks & custodians come to mind. During lunch, the cooks set up an assembly line to fill the trays for each students’ lunch. Once students are dismissed, the cooks and the custodians work together to empty the students’ trays: one empties the trays while another washes the trays off in order to prepare for the next time of use. Each person has a specific duty, but also they work together like a well-oiled machine so that the cafeteria operates smoothly.

Conversely, as described by Hoy & Miskal: “Natural systems emphasize the informal organization rather than the formal, people rather than structure, and human needs rather than organizational demands”. Within natural systems groups, or teams, will emerge who work together to complete tasks. Natural systems within my school would be the community of teachers themselves. In my school we are constantly hearing the word “team”: Teacher-Based Team, Literacy Team, Positive Behavior Intervention Systems Team, Primary Team, Intermediate Team, etc. Although we are put in teams, which seem like a rational system in nature, our goals are each different. For example, the second grade team would have different goals and objectives than the fifth grade team. Each social group within the school, although they are grouped together, have different goals and various approaches to meeting those goals.

Open/social systems are a combination of both the rational (structured) and natural (organic) systems. All schools are considered open/social systems because while they are very structured (i.e. students enter school in Kindergarten and follow the prescribed course of study to graduation), they are also very natural in the way that students meet friends and create within their peers various social groups that have very different goals in mind. For example, some students may go into a trade field, others may go on to college after graduation, while some may follow an entirely different path. Open/social systems are influenced by environmental factors, so they are ever changing and the goals depend on the social group.
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