Organization Design
A Tool for Policy Management
Robert Argranoff
Patcharawan Ubonloet
5710131001
26 August 2015
GSPA NIDA

Overview
• Organization design and Policy management
• Organization science : Designing structure
• Organization design in the Public sector
• Conclusion
• Comments
2

Organization design and Policy management
• Policy management is a jurisdiction or
territorial guidance and leadership
through such means as demands
identification, analyzing alternatives,
selecting programs and enhancing
resources. (Burgess, 1975: 707)
• Uncoordinated growth and diversification
of functions in government agencies.
• Effectiveness endorses the idea public
organization modification to improve
policy management capability.
3

Organization design and Policy management
The developed patterns
Fragmentation of federal assistance
Regulations, guidelines and
practices are confusing and
unresponsive to local needs
By- passing of federal assistance
to non-governmental or special
purpose agencies, circumventing
key state and local decision makers
deteriorate their authority and
management capability
• It is more difficult to rely on clear and
steady line of communication among
functional specialist and counterparts
in the field.
• Limiting state and local adaptability
through seeking federal duties while
adhering to federal guidelines and
prohibition by reducing coherence by
meeting federal rather than what
they should do for their local
communities
4

Organization science : Designing structure
Formal structuralism
Economic incentives, coordination, human relations, decision making,
social relations
Overlay on formal structure: coexisting with formal structure
Government reorganization
Efficiency focus: maximizing rationality, economic resources& productivity
Overlay aspects of org. Originated from human relation approach
Individuals to fit into the workplace while org. Climate to fit individuals needs
Existing of inappropriate division of work and org. constraints
Change in reduction of stress points, effective job design, performance
evaluation, structure of authority, incentives and controls
Weberian
Informal
Formal
Human
relations
Workflow&
Job design
Evolution of organization structural design
5

Organization science : Designing structure
The Renewal
of
Formal
structure
Environmental
complexity
More diverse
goals
More criteria for
effectiveness
Constraints
Internal and external forces
6

Organization design in the Public sector
Relating area and power
for holistic approach
Decentralization
for diversification
Centralizing
to addressing fragmentation
K e y
t h e m e s
7

Organization design in the Public sector
F o c u s
Relating area and power for holistic approach
Policy management capacities: Identifying needs,
analyzing alternatives, resource allocations and
better coordination of service delivery
Structural arrangement simplification, promoting
leadership by allocating more power to component
areas, reducing actors in decision making and reinforce
policy management
F o r
Formalizing the informal: cross cutting design for
reduce legal authority hurdle to generate same
decision forum
1
8

Organization design in the Public sector
F o c u s
D e c e nt ra l i z i n g
Increase responsiveness to the diverse public agencies
in the field
Delegation of power when mutually policy expectations
&routinization appeared
F o r
Restore some of local democratic control
eliminated by centralization
2
9

Organization design in the Public sector
D e c e nt ra l i z i n g
• Consolidate some
programs into larger
subject area units i.e.
vocational,
rehabilitation,
employment& training
and disability
development
Centralization for
decentralization
• Letting regional offices
to determine policy
approach to achieve
policy goal the to but
state governments
maintain power to
identify priorities and
other activities through
policy cycle.
Decentralization
of decision
making
• Jointly operate program
i.e. social service, special
education by unification of
sub- district programs
• Bargaining model is the
exchange of services
between governments and
purchase from private
sector i.e. fire protection
and health and social
services
Boundary
spanning
10

Organization design in the Public sector
F o c u s
C e nt ra l i z i n g
Decrease the difference in standards and procedures
Address some mediocre effects of decentralization-
controlling influence of employees, specialization
aftermath and environment.
F o r
Increase flexibility to respond to new challenges
arisen in traditional centralized structure
Reduce undesirable policy effects often generated
when programs are autonomous
3
11

Organization design in the Public sector
C e nt ra l i z i n g
• Creating new agency to
coordinate activities
among the programs
but organizational or
legal authority stays
with the old line
departments
Coordinative
designs
• Transfer all or most
administrative or
program authority to a
newly created body.
But programs are
delivered along
traditionally agency or
divisional lines.
Consolidated
designs
• Creating separate units
responsible for program
development and delivery
allowing a blended service
into one program. Program
development belongs to
program development
units. Program delivery
units provide direct
services through regional
delivery system
Integrated
designs
12

Conclusion
• Organization design depends on diverse environment and
changing policy expectations.
• Decentralization is giving authority to public agencies to
make decisions that respond to local conditions and needs
yet match with the central goals.
• But the trend in centralization and jurisdictional
coherence is seen as they reinforce the ability of policy
executives to manage conflict in program management
among agencies in order to achieve outcomes for target
population.
13

Comments
• This paper was written in 1976 with several U.S. examples.
• In general it is a good paper for beginning of the study of
organization design especially to date that the socio-economic
environment information and technology are extremely dynamic.
Client needs rapidly changes putting pressure on public
organization to be able to deliver program and service at rapid
pace.
• Even though this paper provides several types of organization
designs that seems valid, the model should be exercised with
awareness of the nature of bureaucracy, local context, cultural
difference.
14

Comments
15
• In term of academic contribution, this paper confirms that the
nature of public management is usually influenced by multi, unclear
and conflicting goals. Therefore, adopting entirety management
paradigm to public management may be inappropriate.
• On the contrary ,public organization design particularly
decentralization is often employed to increase political and policy
management power.
• It is a role of a public manager to take into account the issue of the
exercise of power and seek the best way to design the organization
structure to produce the best channel to implement programs.

THANK YOU