Dilemmas of School Dilemmas of School OrganizationsOrganizations

What is a Dilemma?

• They are neither problems to be solved nor issues to be faced.

• They reveal deeper, more fundamental dichotomies.

• They present situations with equally valued alternatives.

• Consequence: Dilemmas cannot be solved or resolved.

What is the Cause?

• Dilemmas occur when “competing, highly prized values cannot be fully satisfied.”

» Cuban 1992

Central Dilemmasof School Organizations

• Internal Dilemmas– Goals– Task structure– Professionalism– Hierarchy

• External Dilemmas– Persistence– Boundaries– Compliance

4 Dilemmas of Internal Relations4 Dilemmas of Internal Relations

1. Pursuing organizational & Individual goals

2. Formal task structures vs. Informal social relations

3. Professionals in bureaucratic structures

4. Juxtaposition of centralized and participative decision making structures.

Dilemmas of Organizational Goals

• An organization must seek both effectiveness and efficiency.

» Barnard 1938

Stems from the tension between organizational objectives and individual member’s motives and interests.

A Prime Example

Merit pay based on teacher/school Merit pay based on teacher/school performanceperformance

• Teachers are resistant to it because:1. They value intrinsic rewards rather than

financial compensation.2. It introduces competition into a

profession that prizes equity.3. Assessment of performance is

unreliable.

Dilemma of Task Structure

• Task structure is:

the patterned or regularized aspects of t he relationships existing among participants

in an organization.

» Scott 1992

Formal vs. InformalFormal vs. Informal

Formal• Comprised of the

patterns of human interrelations as

defined by the systems, rules, policies, and regulations of the

organization.Informal

• Recognized that there is something more to

the social organization than what has been formally recognized.

Without informal structures, formal structures would not last very long, even though the informal is poorly controlled by formal and it can easily create demise and opposition.

Dilemma of Professionalism

• What are the two task-related demands on education?

• Discretion and Coordination

Structural IncompatibilitiesStructural Incompatibilities

Dilemmas of control, autonomy, and order chain of command needs

Local and unique professional structures that develop informally to solve local problems

Dilemmas of occupational status, career, and equity

Compliance with administrative policies and procedures against professional norms

vs.

vs.

A Concern• Expertise laden professionals- work

independently even though organizations require a cohesive working front.

• Professionals are constrained by certain norms that prevent them from operating as their super ordinates would dictate.

• There is a conflict between a professional’s need for autonomy vs. the organization’s need for compliance with formal structures.

Maslow’s Order of Needs

• Physiological• Safety and Security

• Social Needs• Esteem Needs

• Self Actualization

What About My Needs?

An individual is motivated to satisfy the need that is most important at a given point in time.

Chislom, et al 1980

Leaders in the Field

School- Community Relationships

• James Comer 1980;1996

• James Coleman 1994

• Joyce Epstein 1988;1996

• Joy Dryfoos 1994

• John Goodlad 1987

• Seymour Sarason 1995

Dilemma of Hierarchy

• Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up

• Centralized vs. Decentralized

• Often time what the top office wants is not readily visible based on the adaptive “street level bureaucracy”that is needed to run a system!

Inside Bureaucracy

• Anthony Downs wrote a book that details the perils and methods of setting up a scenario that enables people to stay in place and never truly achieve enough placement that they can “jump ship.”

Dilemmas of External Relations

• Dilemmas of Persistence

• Organizational Boundaries

• Compliance

Adapt or Be Destroyed

• Persistence depends heavily on the capacity for adaptiveness.

• Ginseng stated, “Schools have been discovered to be actively adaptive systems.” (1995)

Organizational Boundaries

• Boundary Language– Self-contained– Elementary– Middle school– In-School/Out-School Suspension– Staff members– District Level Staff– School Enrollment

3 Features that define….

• Organizational Boundaries

– The people

– Their relations

– Their activities

Note: These boundary groups often compete among self for prioritization and status.

Dilemma of Compliance

• Does performing pomp and circumstance events and curriculum truly have a impact on education??

• Kamens did a “graduation mythology” study that looked at the effectiveness of “the ceremony.”

• Doing for doings sake in education (desegregation mandates)

In Conclusion

• Dilemmas are still neither problems to be solved nor issues to be faced, but they are items that must be addressed under the auspices of educational leadership.