Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems

Weick, Karl E.; González, Diana Caldera; Carrillo, Miguel Ortega

doi:10.24275/uam/azc/dcsh/gye/2009n36/weick

Cited by 133 publications

(217 citation statements)

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“…Exchanging information constitutes the most minimal interaction pattern; it enables teachers to maintain professional autonomy and does not require more significant interaction patterns, such as receiving and giving constructive professional feedback to teammates (Weiss et al, 1992). It seems that these findings reflect norms that are derived from the loosely coupled structure of schools (Weick, 1976). According to these norms, good teachers are professionals who manage the class well, and their contribution to the school as an organization is ignored.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Schools as team-based organizations: A structure-process-outcomes approach.

Somech

Drach‐Zahavy

2007

Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice

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The present study addressed the issue of teams in schools and the ways in which they contribute to school effectiveness. Specifically, the present research suggested an input (frequency of meetings and functional heterogeneity)-process (interaction processes of exchanging information, learning, motivating, and negotiating)-outcome (team performance and innovation) model for predicting school effectiveness. Two hundred twentyfour school teams (including team coordinators, team members, and school principals) were surveyed. The results indicated that, regarding team innovation, frequency of meetings and functional heterogeneity were positively associated with the 4 interaction processes, which in turn fostered team innovation. However, regarding team performance, the results indicated that only frequency of meetings was positively associated with the interaction process of exchanging information, which in turn enhanced team performance. The findings serve to draw important theoretical and practical conclusions as to the best ways to structure schools and to improve their interaction processes for the enhancement of team performance and team innovation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Schools as team-based organizations: A structure-process-outcomes approach.

Somech

Drach‐Zahavy

2007

Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice

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“…Loose coupling allows for variation and thus experimentation, which permits learning and adaptation (Weick, 1976), at least at the individual unit level, but possibly not at the organizational level (DuBois & Gadde, 2002). When different compromise designs provide equivalent functionality, the condition is called equifinality (Gresov & Drazin, 1997).…”

Section: Loose Coupling and Temporary Suboptimalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizations: Theory, design, future.

Huber¹

2011

APA Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol 1: Building and Developing the Organization.

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“…Because acquiring support for research is considered a major criterion used in awarding tenure, the faculty are like individual entrepreneurs marketing their skills for research dollars. Applying the work of Weick (1976), universities can be seen as loosely coupled systems with individual faculty members only weakly connected to their department (vis-h-vis their teaching) and hardly connected at all to the larger organization, the college and university in which the department (the work group) is embedded. This design of jobs promotes the achievement of performance through individual rather than group activities and reduces the opportunity for members to modify attitudes through intimate experiences and interactions.…”

Section: Study Background and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The limitations of organizational demography: Can diversity climate be enhanced in the absence of teamwork?

Kossek

Zonia

Young

Selected Research on Work Team Diversity.

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This paper examines the efSicacy of one of the most common diversity practices, diversity enlargement. Diversity enlargement refers to attempts to increase the representations of individuals of difierent gender, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds in an organization. It is based on psychological theories of social contact, which suggest that increasing the level of contact between members of diflerent identity groups will lead to a reduction in prejudice and stereotyping. Organizations using diversity-enlargement strategies implicitly assume that the climate for diversity (i.e., attitudes about and support for diversity) will be improved through increased contact between members of difierent social-identity groups.The analysis of survey and records data from employees at a large university demonstrated that increasing racial and gender diversity over an eight-year period does not unconditionally result in a more favorable climate for diversity. Diversity enlargement is a necessary but insufSicient strategy to enhance diversity climate. The authors identify some dimensions of the climate for diversity that may be improved by diversity-enlargement initiatives. They also point out that organizations have been unclear about what goals they hope to achieve as a result of diversity enlargement. This paper suggests that to enhance diversity climate, diversity-enlargement initiatives must be coupled with interventions in group process.

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Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems

Cited by 133 publications

References 1 publication

Schools as team-based organizations: A structure-process-outcomes approach.

Schools as team-based organizations: A structure-process-outcomes approach.

Organizations: Theory, design, future.

The limitations of organizational demography: Can diversity climate be enhanced in the absence of teamwork?

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