Organizational Theory, Management, and Human Resources Key Terms

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key management, organizational theory, and human resources concepts based on lecture transcripts.

Brownlow Commission Report

A 1937 report by The President's Committee on Administrative Management that recommended sweeping changes to the U.S. executive branch, leading to the creation of the Executive Office of the President.

Bureaucracy

A body of non-elected government officials and/or an administrative policy-making group governing any large institution, historically criticized as inefficient or overly inflexible.

Co-optation

The process of adding members to a group at the discretion of existing members, or the assimilation/conversion of a smaller or weaker group with related interests.

Fact-value Dichotomy

Herbert Simon's concept advocating that management science inquiry should focus strictly on facts using quasi-scientific methods to understand productive public administration practices.

Groupthink

A phenomenon in groups marked by opinion consensus without critical reasoning or evaluation of consequences, driven by a desire to avoid conflict and maintain group balance.

Hawthorne Experiments

Studies demonstrating the observer effect (Hawthorne effect), where individuals temporarily improve their behavior or productivity when they know they are being observed.

Informal Organization

The practical social structure of an organization that exists alongside, parallel to, or against its formal organizational structure.

Mechanistic Structure

A bureaucratic organizational structure based on a formal, centralized network with top-down decision-making, best suited for stable and certain environments.

Needs Hierarchy

Abraham Maslow's 1943 psychological theory proposing human motivations move through physiological, safety, belongingness and love, esteem, self-actualization, and self-transcendence stages.

Organic Structures

Flexible organizational structures used in unstable environments that rely on rapid information processing, integrated departments, and decentralized decision-making.

Organizational Culture

The shared values, behaviors, experiences, philosophy, and attitudes that shape the unique social and psychological environment of an organization.

POSDCORB

An acronym formulated by Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick outlining key executive processes: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, co-ordinating, reporting, and budgeting.

Principal-Agent Theory

An economic theory dealing with motivating workers and controlling cooperative action, holding that organizational principals require agents (employees or external players) to fulfill goals.

Proverbs of Administration

Herbert Simon's description of classical management principles (specialization, hierarchy, span of control, unity of command), pointing out they lack scientific research grounding.

Quality Circles (QCs)/Total Quality

A concept preached by Dr. Juran asserting that organizational success relies on total quality starting at the design stage and continuing past customer service delivery.

Reinventing Government

A movement associated with Osborne and Gaebler advocating for entrepreneurial, preventive public administration and greater administrative discretion.

Scalar Chain

The chain of authority from top management to the lowest rank, featuring a gang plank mechanism that allows emergency subordinate-superior contact with notice to immediate superiors.

Scientific Management

Frederick Taylor's management approach outlined in his monograph, focusing on optimizing productivity and efficiency through four primary classical principles.

Span of Control

The direct number of subordinates a supervisor controls, ranging from around six for complex work to twenty or more for routine work.

Systems Theory

A decision-making theory emphasizing how organized systems adaptively respond to external environment changes to keep basic structures intact.

Theory X

A closed, quasi-military management model assuming employees dislike work, require intense supervision, and are motivated primarily by economic rewards, threats, and punishment.

Theory Y

An open management model assuming employees enjoy work, embrace responsibility, and excel when given latitude for self-directed effort.

Unity of Command

A principle stating that an employee is accountable to only one direct supervisor up through the organizational hierarchy.

Unity of Direction

A management principle dictating that team members involved in the same activities work toward a shared goal using a single plan.

Coaching

One-to-one teaching or training support designed to help a learner improve practical skills, manage personal challenges, and address attitudes and behaviors.

Delegation

The managerial practice of assigning specific activity responsibilities or authority to another person, typically a subordinate.

Employee Development

A long-term agenda of education and training activities aimed at advancing worker careers and preventing skill obsolescence.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The federal agency responsible for enforcing laws against workplace discrimination based on protected characteristics like race, age, sex, religion, or disability.

Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)

An independent federal agency created by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 allowing non-postal federal employees to organize and bargain collectively.

Human Capital

A term invented by Theodore Schultz in the 1960s reflecting the value of human capacities that can be enhanced through investment in education, training, and benefits.

Human Resource Management

The management discipline focused on balancing employee needs with organizational goals to build high-performing, compassionate operations.

Job Rotation

A planned job design technique of moving workers between different roles to broaden skill sets, cross-train, and increase job satisfaction.

Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)

An independent, quasi-judicial agency established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 to guard federal merit systems.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

The federal agency managing federal hiring policies, job postings, security clearances, background checks, and general human resource policy development.

Performance Appraisal

The evaluation process in which managers compare an employee's work behavior against standard benchmarks to guide feedback, training, promotions, or dismissals.

Personnel Selection

The legal and methodical process of collecting candidate data to make proper job placement decisions within an organization.

Satisfiers/Dissatisfiers

Herzberg's two-factor theory dividing workplace influence into job content factors that create positive feelings (satisfiers) and hygiene factors causing negative feelings (dissatisfiers).

Understudy

A training model where a trainee works directly alongside a senior manager or predecessor to gradually absorb leadership responsibilities.

Workforce Planning

The systematic analysis of an organization's future requirements regarding workforce size, composition, skill mix, and timing to hit strategic goals.

Workforce Retention

The strategic initiatives and operational performance metrics related to an organization's ability to keep its employees over time.