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

[Danielle Ramage]

EDAD 6020, Response to Answer Question #1



Dakota,



            I very much agree with your statement, “ This shared control
and expectation can be envisioned as a positive or a negative.” when
referring to a districts’ handling of state mandates. While I had not
thought about it this way, it does make sense. It’s kind of how are you
going to “play the hand you’ve been dealt”? There will always be mandates
to deal with and the attitude in which you handle them may make all the
difference. Schools can very easily (and I am sure some do to some extent)
say, “This is what they expect. These are the scores we need. These are the
attendance percentages we need, make it happen”, passing the expectation
down much like a foreman to his line workers in a factory. However, a more
natural approach would be to have a team meeting, discuss the expectations,
share ideas, create a plan, follow through, and get results.  My
administrator is very good at this.  A proper balance of rational and
natural structures within a school make for a pleasant work experience.



-Danielle


On Fri, Jun 8, 2018 at 4:28 PM, Taylor, Dakota <dt264910 at ohio.edu> wrote:

> Aspects of rational systems can be found in a typical organization through
> the analysis of the structure and control within a school system. Rational
> school system characteristics typically pinpoint directly to state
> officials and the way they enforce curricula and state standards across
> every school district in the state. This control and structure helps ensure
> that every student has the same opportunities to learn. This shared control
> and expectation can be envisioned as a positive or negative. Depending on
> the dynamics of the organization, the administrator must use strict and
> state specific managerial skills to effectively manage the subordinates and
> each of their individual jobs. For managers with only a rational
> perspective, it can lead to detrimental effects in the work place such as:
> lack of communication with their employees and failing to address their
> employees social and job interests.
>
> Natural systems are more collaborative based. In natural systems the
> school often works in teams, and they meet regularly as a unit and create
> learning communities within grade levels and subject areas. School learning
> communities like these are called team-based teaching. In the wise words of
> Mary Parker Follet, “A large organization is a collection of local
> communities. Individual and institutional growth are maximized when those
> communities are self-governing to the maximum extent possible*”* (1924).
> In other words, when the subordinate groups in an organization can meet
> through social interaction and discuss their job and potentially grow as a
> community, it ultimately creates a more natural system that supports the
> professional and emotional well-being of the entire school.
>
> Open/social systems can first be visualized in a school system as four
> inputs such as: human resources, financial resources, physical resources,
> and information resources.  All these specific inputs add value to the
> school system, whether it is through talent, capital, material, and/or
> curricula. Administrators must intersect all these inputs to create a
> stable and successful working environment. An open organization or school
> system is vulnerable to environmental forces (social, political, and
> economic); however, an effective administrator must be able to produce an
> environment that allows the inputs to eventually turn into positive
> outputs. Outputs are the goals that the school district lays out, which
> often include test scores, achievement, and/or teacher satisfaction.
>
>
>
> Works Cited
> Infed. “Mary Parker Follett: community, creative experience and
> education”. Accessed from web June 8, 2018. http://infed.org/mobi/mary-
> parker-follett-community-creative-experience-and-education/
>
>
> *Dakota Taylor*
>
> *Teacher/Coach*
> (304) 208-0198
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
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