Assumptions in Theories of Leadership
The leader
(trait, style, behavior,
vision, charisma)
The led (follower)
(motivations, readiness,
attitudes)
The organization
(structural, political, moral purpose)
The task
(from holistic to
reductionism,
needing discretion or
direction)
Theories of Formal and Material
Education (Knowledge and ability)



Formal education (learning Latin and
Greek, liberal arts education, GRE
general test, graduate school
admission, the concept of transfer)
Material education (preparing for life,
knowledge is power, lower level of
Bloom’s taxonomy)
We need both.
Terminology


Perspectives on organization: formal,
structural, systems, bureaucratic,
rational, and hierarchical
Perspectives on leadership: formal
(Bush, 1986) and structural (Bolman &
Deal, 1991, 1997, 2003)
Formal Perspectives

Formal perspectives view leadership as
a function of one’s position in a
structural organization.
Classical Organization Theory
As the figure illustrates, all three bodies of theory are represented in contemporary
management thinking, although they entered the mainstream of thought at different
Industrial Revolution
Classical
Theory
1930’s
Social System
Theory
Division of labor
Span of control
Hierarchy
Goal definition
Extrinsic rewards
Formal rules
Human relations
Informal groups
Peer pressures
Intrinsic rewards
Psychological
needs
1960’s
Present_________
Open System
Present Theory
Theory_________________________
Input-output
Event cycles
Environmental
exchanges
Information
theory
Systems thinking?
Contingency theory?
Chaos theory?
Total quality
educational
management?________
____________________________________________________________
ANCIENT
Catholic Church
TRADITIONS Historic Civilization
____________ Military Legions___________________________________
Scientific Management Principles
Applied to Schools
Scientific Management principles
Formation of a hierarchy with
graded levels of authority
Scientific measurement of tasks
and levels of performance
Shape unity of ends (of managers
and workers)
Define a scientific order of work
Establish a division of labor
Determine appropriate span of
control
Adaptation to Education
Levels of control: superintendent to assistant
superintendent to principals to vice principles to
teachers to students.
Students thoroughly tested in subject areas, aptitude,
and achievement and classified by levels of
learning.
Conventional wisdom in schools dictates that
teachers and administrators have the same
objective: doing what is best for kids.
Third-grade knowledge is differentiated and
preparatory to fourth-grade knowledge, which is
differentiated and preparatory to fifth-grade
knowledge, and so on.
English teachers, history teachers, coaches, teacher
aides, janitors, administrators, and so on.
Thirty elementary students per teacher, 20 high
school students per teacher,four vice principals
per principal.
Scientific Management Principles Applied
to Schools (Cont.)
Adhere to the chain of
command
Define rules of behavior
Establish discipline among the
employees
Recruitment based on ability
and technical knowledge
Define the one best way of
performing a task
Teachers must first talk with the principal before going to
see the superintendent.
Teachers’ handbook: “All teachers will be in their rooms by
8:00 a.m. and are obligated to remain on the school
premises until 3:30 p.m. Teachers will stand outside
their rooms and monitor the passing of students
between periods. A copy of all messages being sent by
teachers to parents must be on file at the principal’s
office.”
Students will abide by the rules of the school and the
norms of good conduct. Teachers will adhere to the
policies of the district and the norms of the teaching
profession.
Teaching and/or administrative credentials required for
certification to enter the field.
Schools continually search for the best way of teaching
reading, mathematics, history, and the like.
Max Weber’s Principles of
Organization (1964, pp. 333-334)




Hierarchical structure –authority is
distributed in a pyramidal configuration
Division of labor
Control by rules—codified rules to
assure uniformity and predictability
Impersonal relationship—more efficient
if purely personal, emotional, and
irrational elements are eliminated
Main statements by the formal perspectives
1.
2.
Organization is a pyramidal structure; leadership is
associated with positions in the structure of an
organization; the person exerting the greatest
amount of leadership is at the top of the pyramid,
and the leadership role decreases from the top to
the bottom.
The person at the apex of the organization sets the
tone of the organization and establishes official
objectives. The accountability centers on
contributing to realization of the official objectives
Main statements by the formal
perspectives (Cont.)
3.
4.
5.
The leadership process is rational, and personal
and emotional elements are eliminated.
Leadership is constrained by the organizational
structure, but leadership also largely manifests in
determining the organizational structure.
Good leadership is to (a) develop an optimal model
of the relationship of structure, strategy, and
environment of the organization; (b) implement the
organizational design; and (c) continually
experiment, evaluate, and adapt.
Reframing Leadership
Effective
Leadership
Structural
Human
Resource
Political
Symbolic
Leadership
is:
Leadership
process
Social
architect
Analysis,
design
Catalyst,
servant
Support,
empowerme
nt
Advocate
Advocacy,
coalition
building
Prophet or
Poet
Inspiration,
framing
experience
Ineffective
Leadership
Structural
Human
Resource
Political
Symbolic
Leadership
is:
Leadership
process:
Petty tyrant
Wimp.
Pushover
Management
by abdication
Con artist,
hustler
Management
by fraud,
manipulation
Fanatic, fool
Management
by mirage,
smoke, and
mirrors
Management
by detail and
fiat
Formal perspectives on
leadership are ubiquitous

Theory and research
--Theory: “Apparent leadership problems are often problems of
organizational structure.” (Perrow, 1970, p. 10)
--Research: school restructuring and its effect

Practice:
--Alfred Sloan Jr. at GM (centralize planning and resource allocation
but decentralize operating decisions)
--A new superintendent says: “I believe the key to success is to
change our organizational structure.”

Reality: Increasing bureaucratization of the
school system
Superintendent Talking with Principal




I’m studying the problem here and will soon have a
decision for you.
You look into the problem and get me the facts. I will
then decide what to do.
Study the problem and send me your
recommendations, pros and cons with each
recommendation, and your preferred
recommendation. I will then decide what to do.
Study the problem and advise me on what you intend
to do. Hold off until I give you my approval.
Indicators of Public School Bureaucratization
1940
No. of public school
districts
1950
117,108
83,719
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
40,520
17,995
15,912
15,358
14,852
Elementary and
secondary public
school students (in
millions)
25.4
25.1
35.1
45.9
40.9
41.2
47.2
Elementary and
secondary public
school teachers (in
millions)
--
--
1.4
2.06
2.18
2.4
2.95
Elementary public
schools (in thousands)
183.1
59%=1-T
128.2
47%=1-T
91.9
22%=1-T
65.8
3%=1-T
61.1
61.3
1%=1-T
69.7
2.4%=1-T
0.5%=1-T
National Center for Educational Statistics, Digest of Educational Statistics: 2000 (Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing office, 2000)
T= the number of school
GDP=Gross Domestic Product
--= no data for category
Table 2.2 Indicators of Public School Bureaucratization (Cont.)
1940
Elementary and
secondary expenditures
as % of GDP
1950
---
---
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
3.6
4.6
4
4.3
4.4
4.4%
39.3%
56.3%
8%
39.9%
52.1%
9.8%
46.8%
43.4%
6.1%
47.3%
46.6%
7.3%
49.5%
43.2%
Elementary and
secondary public
schools funding
sources
Federal
State
local
1.8%
30.2%
68%
2.9%
39.8%
57.3%
An overview of research





Restructuring and its effect (how teachers feel and
how students achieve)
SBM and its impact
Summary: no persons here, the structure is the key
A combination of structure and other factors such as
leadership style
Summary: there is an interaction
between the structure and
other factors (moving toward
contingency theory)
Summary



Formal perspectives on leadership are
ubiquitous in practice and can be found
frequently in research.
With all the limitations, formal perspectives
still offer us some insights on leadership.
We need to inquire into other perspectives to
overcome the limitations of the formal
perspectives