Deck 4: Organizational Theory

Question 1

According to social systems theory a school that has dynamic equilibrium is illustrated best by which of the following?

A)Since all children benefit from a solid standards-based curriculum,teachers do not need to make instructional changes even though there are changes in student demographics from last year.
B)At a national conference,the superintendent learns about small learning communities and hires a consultant to work with schools to create them.
C)In a time of turbulent change in the school district,the principal keeps the staff protected by maintaining internal policies and procedures.
D)Faced with mandated changes due to NCLB,the principal asks departments to determine effects of the new requirements on each department and report on how each department will respond.
E)Both a and b are correct.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following best represents a school as an open system?

A)In defining the school's mission and vision,the administration and faculty work closely together to identify the school's values and beliefs.
B)In preparation for next year,the teachers look carefully at the achievement test scores to determine intervention strategies.
C)The principal elicits the help of the school advisory committee that includes parents,teachers and community members to establish procedures for distributing school improvement funds.
D)The superintendent and the principal work together to identify a new leadership team of assistant principals to improve the school's functioning.
E)All of the above are examples of open systems.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Define the term role set.In your response use the terms subordinates,superordinates,colleagues,role expectation,and role conflict so that it is clear what each term means.

Answer 3

Role set is comprised three groups for any one individual.These three groups are an individual's superiors or superordinates),subordinates people whom he/she supervises),and colleagues who function at the same organizational level.These three groups and the individuals in these groups may have different role expectations of the individual's role which can easily lead to role conflict for the individual.In such a case,role conflict will cause the individual difficulty in deciding how to fulfill his/her role based on these differing role expectations.

Question 4

Describe the meaning of the following social systems theory equation: B = fR · P).