College of Professional Studies
Department of Applied Science, Technology
and Administration
PAD 5107: Online Course
Modern Organization Theory
Wm. M. Haraway, III Ph.D.
wharaway@uwf.edu
(850) 995-8419 Home Office
(850) 324-0845 Cell (emergencies)
Campus Office Hours:
On-Line, and
By appointment
Course Overview
Organization theory attempts to balance psychology's emphasis on individual
development with explanations of human behavior rooted in the structure and culture of
organizations. Most people spend much of their lives in organizational contexts. They often
complain about the quality of life in these settings. Currently there are a variety of efforts to
reform and restructure organizations public and private. However, in order to improve
organizations, we first need to understand what they are, how they got to be that way and
influence those who work in and are served by them. These are the focal concerns of this
course. Emphasis will be placed on the uniqueness of public organizations and the significance
of praxis relating theory to practice.
Toward that goal, the course is designed as a graduate seminar requiring participants to
demonstrate initiative and perform independent study. Discussions of readings will be based on
the experiences, knowledge, skills, and abilities of participants, in addition to those of the
professor. This will require that all assignments (readings, presentations, and papers) be
completed in a timely manner.
Student Learning Outcomes
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To describe the elements of organizational structure and culture.
To identify traditional and contemporary theories explaining organizational structure
and behavior.
To understand ways in which organizational structure and culture influence the
behavior of members of the organization.
To demonstrate fluency in the use of organizational terms, frames, and concepts.
To describe methods used to study organizations.

To identify emerging models and issues for organizations.
Required Readings
Scott, W. Richard and Gerald F. Davis. Organizations and Organizing, Rational Natural, and
Open System Perspectives. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2007. (Assignments Re: SW)
Gortner, Harold F., Kenneth L. Nichols, and Carolyn Ball. Organization Theory: A Public and
Nonprofit Perspective, 3ed. CA: Wadsworth, 2007. (Assignments: GMN)
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6ed. Washington,
D.C. American Psychological Association, 2009/10. (APA on syllabus).
Course Requirements and Grading
Midterm Examination-45%
Applied Research Paper-45%
Online Participation/Drop box Assignments-10%
Personal Diagnostic Essay- Required, not for grade
Expectations for Academic Conduct
As members of the University of West Florida academic community, we commit
ourselves to honesty. As we strive for excellence in performance, integrity (both personal and
institutional) is our most precious asset. Honesty in our academic work is vital, and we will not
knowingly act in ways that erode that integrity. Accordingly, we pledge not to cheat, nor to
tolerate cheating, nor to plagiarize the work of others. We pledge to share community resources
in ways that are responsible and that comply with established policies of fairness. Cooperation
and competition are means to high achievement and are encouraged. Indeed, cooperation is
expected unless our directive is to individual performance. We will compete constructively and
professionally for the purpose of stimulating high performance and standards. Finally, we accept
adherence to this set of expectations for academic conduct as a condition of membership in the
UWF academic community.
Standards for Written Assignments
Students are expected to read, understand, and comply with the requirements of the Sixth
Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for all
assignments and manuscripts. This includes the "Ethical Standards for the Reporting and
Publishing of Scientific Information" included therein. All work submitted online and/or in
writing for this course must be the student's own and may not have been used whole and/or in
part for any other purpose without the professor's prior written permission (if in doubt you must
ask the professor).
Assistance
Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other courserelated accommodations should contact the Director of Disabled Student Services
(DSS), dss@uwf.edu , (850) 474-2387. DSS will provide the student with a letter for the
instructor that will specify any recommended accommodations.
Class Schedule & Assignments (Important Information: This is a guide for planning purposes,
but the weekly assignments in the content area may slightly change during the semester. Thus, it
is important to follow the weekly assignments listed in those links if there is any confusion
between these assignments listed and those in the content area each week)
Week 1:
Building an Online Community (Online Learner Orientation)
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Review and complete the Online Orientation, student D2L training, and
complete your student biography in the D2L “Classlist” link.
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Participate in the group threaded discussion under the “Discussion” link.
Review the Syllabus, Research Paper Guidelines and Requirements, Motivation Humor,
instructor’s vita, and the several related articles in the “Important Course Information”
link.
You will also find a printable course schedule of assignments so that you can work ahead
when possible.
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Week 2:
Organization Theory and Practice - An Overview
Scott and Davis, Chapter 1 - The Subject is Organizations.
Recommended Reading: "Socrates Discovers Generic
Management" (Classics of Organization Theory, Shafritz, Jay M. and
Ott, J. Steven, Harcourt Brace, CA: 1996).
Threaded Discussion
Week 3:
The Public Administration Context
GNB, Chapters 1-2 - Varieties of Organization Research and Theory &
Blurring Sectors: Public and Private
Threaded Discussion
Week 4:
Rational, Natural, and Open Systems Perspective
Scott and Davis, Chapters 2-4: Organizations as Rational, Natural and
Open Systems
Recommended Reading: Scott and Davis Text, Chapter 9: The Dyadic
Environment of Organization
Week 5:
Structural Complexity and Organizational Design
Scott and Davis, Chapter 3: The Pivotal Controversies
Scott and Davis, Chapter 4: Structure
Recommended Reading: The Structure of Organizations,
1979 (Mintzberg, Henry, Prentice Hall, NJ: 18-34).
Threaded Discussion
Week 6:
Sources of Structural Complexity: Technical Core & Peripheral
Components
Scott and Davis, Chapter 6 - Technology and Structure
Scott and Davis, Chapter 7 - Labor and Structure
Threaded Discussion
Drop Box Assignment: Personal Theory Style Diagnostic Essay
Electronically Due
Week 7:
Structural Influences on Dynamic Processes: Communication
GNB Text, Chapter 5 - Communication (Interpersonal Communication and
Communication
Networks).
Recommended Reading: "Internal Communication: Mistakes
Only Really Smart People Make," (Organizational Behavior, An
Experiential Approach, 2001, Prentice Hall, CA: 146-149).
Threaded Discussion
Week 8:
Midterm Examination Week
Complete and electonically submit your midterm examination in the
dropbox.
Week 9:
Control Systems in Public Organizations
GNB Text, Chapter 6: Accountability to Transparency
Scott and Davis, Chapter 8 - Goals, Power, and Control.
Recommended Reading: Trust in Organizations, Frontiers of
Theory and Research (Kramer, Roderick M. and Tyler, Tom R.,
Sage, CA: 16-38).
Threaded Discussion
Week 10:
Organizational Decision Making
GNB, Chapter 7 - Decision Making in Public
Organizations.
Recommended Reading: "The Proverbs of Administration,"
Simon, Herbert A. Public Administration Review (Winter 1946): 6,
53-67.
Threaded Discussion
Week 11:
Theories of Work Motivation
GNB Text, Chapter 8: Motivation and Organizational Culture
Recommended Reading: "The Giving of Orders," Follett, Mary
Parker (In Scientific Foundations of Business Administration, 1926,
Williams & Wilkins; reprinted in Classics of Organization
Theory, 1996, pp. 156-162).
Recommended Reading: "A Theory of Human Motivation,"
Maslow, Abraham H., Psychological Review 50 (1943): 370-396.
Threaded Discussion
Week 12:
Applications of Theory to Practice: Leadership and Management
GNB, Chapter 9 - Leadership
Recommended Reading: "Leadership in an Organized Anarchy,"
Cohen, Michael D. and James G. March. Classics of Organization
Theory, pp. 385-399).
Threaded Discussion
Week 13:
Organization Change and Development (OD)
GNB, Chapter 10 - Change and Stability
Scott and Davis Text, Chapter 10: Organization of the Environment
Scott and Davis Text, Chapter 11: Networks In and Around Organizations
Recommended Reading: "Rewriting Government's DNA," Osborne,
David and Peter Plastrik. The New Democrat vol. 9, no.
2 March/April 1997, pp. 8-12.
Recommended Reading: "Reinvent Government or Rediscover It?"
Goodsell, Charles T. Public Administration Review 53 no. 1,
January/February 1993: 85-87.
Threaded Discussion
Week 14:
Diagnosing Organizational Problems and Identifying Organizational Pathologies
Scott and Davis, Chapter 13 - The Rise and Transformation of the Corporate
Form
Scott and Davis, Chapter 14 - Changing Contouors of Organizations and
Organization Theory
Threaded Discussion
Finalize Research Papers
Week 15:
Emerging Models and Issues for Public Organizations
Recommended Reading: "Institutionalized Organizations:
Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony," John W. Meyer and Brian
Rowan. (In The New Institutionalism in Oranizational Anaylsis,
Powell, Walter W. and Paul J. DiMaggio, eds., 1991: 41-62).
Recommended Reading: The Wisdom of Teams, Creating the HighPerformance Organization, 1993, Katzenbach, J. R. and D.K.
Smith. MA: Harvard Business School Press, 9-84).
Recommended Reading: "Rediscovering Process Values in
Employee Grievance Procedures," Haraway, III, W. M. Administration & Society 34(5),
November 2002, 499-521.
Complete the Online Student Evaluation of Course/Instructor
Threaded Discussion
RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES
The major intellectual project of the course that students are expected to complete is the
formal research paper. The paper must be written in APA format/style. To that end, students are
expected to read, understand, and comply with the requirements of the sixth edition of the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for all assignments and
manuscripts. This includes the "Ethical Standards for the Reporting and Publishing of Scientific
Information" included therein. All work submitted for this course must be the student's own and
may not have been used whole and/or in part for any other purpose without the professor's prior
written permission (if in doubt you must ask the instructor). The student should select a paper
topic consistent with her/his personal interests and intellectual curiosity that can be wellmanaged within semester time parameters, based upon academic and other workloads. Thus, it
is important to keep the focus of the research paper narrow by defining an angle on or
"dimension of modern organization theory in accord with the audiotape instructions for the
project". The instructor is available to assist you in this effort. Please note that your paper
topic MUST be approved in advance by the instructor PRIOR to beginning your research (via the
drop box for that purpose).
It is expected that the formal paper will be carefully researched and well-written. To that
goal, the paper must use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The completed paper shall
be a minimum of 15 pages in length and not exceed 20 pages (excluding cover, endnotes,
appendices, and references/ bibliography). Students are encouraged to complete and submit
papers earlier if practicable. Late papers, if accepted, will be substantially discounted in grade,
unless the delay is caused by a documented illness and/or personal emergency.
A. Research papers will receive a letter grade based upon the following criteria:
1.
Grammar, spelling, and punctuation (proofread and spell check).
2.
Knowledge and understanding of the assigned readings and classroom discussions
(integration of course materials with research).
3.
The ability to integrate knowledge from different sources (texts, library research, class
discussions, and real life situations).
4.
Analysis of materials to reach conclusions and support them in an organized and coherent
manner (critical thinking skills).
5.
Compliance with minimum/maximum length and submission requirements.
6.
Compliance with required format and style requirements (APA, 6th ed.)
7.
Demonstrated improvement, if required, based upon written feedback received from the
instructor throughout the semester.
Outline for Personal Organization Perspective Diagnostic
Essay
Note: This assignment is required and you will receive feedback. It is designed to give you an
opportunity to demonstrate that you understand the systems concepts while taking the
opportunity to reflect upon how you view the world so you can guard against your biases when
you conduct the research for your applied research papers for the course. This assignment counts
towards your participation grade for the course and is important to your course knowledge base.
I. The organization perspective (Rational, Natural, or Open Systems Perspective) that I find
myself most attracted to as a basis for analysis is ....
A. The essence of this perspective as I understand it is..........
B. The events in my background, as aspects of my "personality or identity" and other
factors that lead me to be predisposed toward this are.........
II. The organization perspective that I find myself least attracted to is ....
A. The essence of this perspective as I understand it is........
B. The events in my background, as aspects of my "personality or identity," or
other factors that I feel lead me to be predisposed toward this perspective
are..........
III. What would be the most characteristic errors in organizational analysis and action that a
person holding my organization theory preference would make?
A. What would such a person tend to project into or onto organizational
situations?
B. What would such a person tend not to see in organizational situations?
C. An example of a frequently occurring situation and the mistaken action that such a
person would take is.......