[Ous-lp-rp13] EDAD 6010, Response to Answer Question #1

[Dusti Chapman]

Mary when I read your part about natural systems and how although the
teachers are on a team, but the grade levels each will have different goals
it struck me a little. Not in the sense that this was new knowledge to me,
but rather how we can use this example in all sorts of areas in our life
and in other areas of teaching as a whole. As educators we all have goals,
but the superintendents will have different tasks/goals than principals,
and principals will be different than teachers, and teachers will be
different than janitors, nurses, cooks etc. We all are working together as
a team, but within that team we have different duties and goals.

In addition, I really liked your concept on social/open systems. Our
environments and locations most certainly do have impacts in natural ways
that impact on how we choose life goals and paths/careers. Someone from the
city may choose different paths than someone from the country or use to
farm living. It is important to not assume or make assumptions though, but
it can easily be understood. Our financial statuses also impact these
factors.



Original Answer: 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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