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Study Guides for Level 4
Study Guides for Level 4
"Managing
Organizational Effectiveness"
Module 1
Module 2
Module 3
Module 4
Module 1
Key Points and Review Activities
1. Power is always exercised in a
context. Depending on the cultural context or organizational
climate, different perspectives or assumptions about power may be
dominant. In American culture, we feel negatively about power
when it is used in exploitative or manipulative ways; we have
mixed feelings about the competitive use of power, but we
generally feel good about the nutrient and integrative use of
power. (Section 1)
2. Power comes from a variety of
sources: positional and personal. Review and be familiar with the
resource bases of power.
3. Power requires two things for its
effective use: motivation and resources. We may have resources,
but without motivation, we will not exercise power. We may have
motivation, but without resources, we cannot exercise power.
Review the power bases and the article explaining two faces of
power.
4. Managers must carefully consider
the effect their use of power has on others and use power in a
responsible manner. One technique for examining your use of power
and the use of power by others is to consider it on a continuum
from power to powerlessness: does your use of power lead to
feelings of powerlessness in others? (Section 7)
5. Reflect on your motivations in the
use of power. Using the ideas in the handouts dealing with
techniques for gaining and extending power, which do you consider
appropriate and useful to yourself and the organization?
6. Activities to increase one's power
must meet three criteria. Be aware of these criteria and their
application to your ability to gain or extend power in your
organization.
7. Relate the concepts of power
developed in this module to some of our earlier modules in the
program: how is power related to motivation? How is power related
to leadership? How is power related to conflict?
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Module 2
Key Points and Review Activities:
1. According to the ASPA Professional
Standards and Ethics Workbook (Section 33), values are the
beliefs that mold our assessments of relative worth and
importance, while ethics is the application of principles to
decide which values are most important in particular situations.
In this module, we examined who you are ethically and how you
behave in relation to the formalized constraints (e.g., laws,
rules, Ethics Commission) within which you practice public
management. Review the ASPA Workbook (Section 33) in terms of the
definitions of ethics, responsibility, and accountability, and be
familiar with the key principles of equality, equity, and
loyalty. .
2. Do we have ethical problems in
organizations? Are there things in organizations which actually
encourage (or do not inhibit) unethical behavior? The essential
point of Section 10, Behavioral Pressures: Ethical Blocks in
Organizations, is a paradox: some of the things that help us get
our jobs done in organizations may also help us to do the wrong
things. For example, task group cohesiveness is very helpful in
getting the job done, but it is not very helpful in determining
whether or not we are doing the right job. That is, we may be
able to agree on something and get it done very effectively. But
someone else, in evaluating us, can legitimately question whether
that job should have been done in the first place. Strong role
models are also helpful, but they may inhibit people in making
judgments about what is right or wrong.
The separation of decisions is an
efficiency measure, but it, too, sometimes prevents the
organization from keeping tabs on things improperly done. Review
the seven ethical blocks in organizations carefully and be able
to list and define them.
3. If you are a little uneasy about
an action you are about to take, The Checklist Of Ethical
Decisions (Section 19) provides a convenient procedure for
evaluating the ethical implications of that action (before taking
it). The questions are essentially asking "if everybody
knew, would I still be ok?" If you can answer with great
assurance that you would still be "ok," then you
probably are taking the right (or at least the prudent) action.
However, we suggest you apply the complete inventory before
taking a proposed course of action. Study this checklist
carefully and be able to recognize the questions as appropriate
guidelines to use in making ethical decisions. To clarify this
for yourself, apply the questions to Roger Berg's action.
4. An important application of ethics
is whistle blowing. When, if ever, does one "blow the
whistle" on illegal or unethical agency practice? Review the
major provisions of Florida's whistle blowing statute.
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Module 3
1. - Read Section 2 (Managing for
Success: A Comparison of the Private and Public Sectors) and
carefully identify how and where your organization matches up
with the standards of excellence outlined in the article.
2. Review Section 3 (The Managerial
Mind) to be familiar with the types of behavior characteristics
of people who work for a good manager.
3. Both public and private sector
organizations must find ways to integrate the individual and the
organization. Be familiar with differences between private and
public organizations which influence this process.
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Module 4
1. Think of a change you would like
to bring about in the workplace. Specify the change agent role(s)
it is feasible for you to play (catalyst, solution giver, process
helper, resource linker). Identify others who can play the
remaining role(s) and devise a strategy to get them to assume the
role(s).
2. Use Lewin's three phase change
model (unfreezing, changing, refreezing) to identify ways to get
the client system to unfreeze, to feel a need for, and to be
receptive to the change you have in mind.
3. Use Lewin's force field analysis
to identify driving and restraining factors and to develop an
overall change strategy. Based on your analysis, what is the
likelihood of the intended change being successfully implemented.
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