Drawing on a perspective originally developed by Braverman and Edwards, and using a sample of 42 elementary and 45 secondary schools, we examine the consequences of (as well as the interrelationships among) three traditional administrative control mechanisms (direct control through supervision, and indirect control through routinization and participation) on ambiguity across organizational forms. The results appear to support the idea that administrative control in organizations is not a unidimensional construct, and that, regardless of organizational form (e.g., elementary vs. secondary schools), multiple control mechanisms are likely to have both direct and indirect effects on the average level of teacher ambiguity in schools. However, the findings also suggest that multiple administrative control mechanisms may coexist, having reinforcing, offsetting, and mediating effects on one another with regard to ambiguity. Moreover, the findings indicate that the specific effects of these control mechanisms on ambiguity are likely to be contingent on organizational form.
References
1.
Alutto, J.
, & Belasco, J. (1972). A typology for participation in organizational decision making. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(1), 117-125.
2.
Bacharach, S.
, & Aiken, M. (1976). Structural and process constraints on influence in organizations: A level-specific analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 623-642.
3.
Bacharach, S.
, Bamberger, P., & Conley, S., (1990). Organizational and demographic determinants of teacher militancy on professional issues: A structural equation model. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 43, 570-586.
4.
Bacharach, S.
, Bamberger, P., Conley, S., & Bauer, S. (1990). The dimensionality of decision participation in educational organizations: The value of a multi-domain evaluative approach. Educational Administration Quarterly, 26(2), 126-167.
5.
Bacharach, S.
, Bauer, S., & Conley, S. (1986). Organizational analysis of stress: The case of elementary and secondary schools. Work and Occupations, 13(1), 7-32.
6.
Barley, S.
, & Tolbert, P. (1991). Professionals in organizations [Special issue]. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 8.
7.
Barth, R.
(1990). Improving schools from within: Teachers, parents and principals can make the difference. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
8.
Blase, J.
(1986). A qualitative analysis of sources of teacher stress: Consequences for performance. American Educational Research Journal, 23, 13-40.
9.
Blau, P.
(1968). The hierarchy of authority in organizations. American Journal of Sociology, 73(4), 453-467.
10.
Blauner, R.
(1964). Alienation and freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
11.
Braverman, H.
(1974). Labor and monopoly capitalism: The degradation of work in the twentieth century. New York: Monthly Review Press.
12.
Bryk, A.
, & Raudenbush, S. (1989). Methodology for cross-level organizational research. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 7, 233-273.
13.
Conley, S.
, Bacharach, S. and Bauer, S. (1989). The school work environment and teacher career dissatisfaction. Educational Administration Quarterly, 25, 58-81.
14.
Corwin, R.
, & Herriott, R. (1988). Occupational disputes in mechanical and organic social systems: An empirical study of elementary and secondary schools. American Sociological Review, 53(4), 528-543.
15.
Edwards, R.
(1979). Contested terrain: The transformation of the workplace in the twentieth century. New York: Basic Books.
16.
Glick, W.
(1985). Conceptualizing and measuring organizational and psychological climate: Pitfalls in multilevel research. Academy of Management Review, 10, 601-616.
17.
Halaby, C.
, & Weakliem, D. (1989). Worker control and attachment to the firm. American Journal of Sociology, 3, 549-591.
18.
Hall, R.
(1968). Professionalization and bureaucratization. American Sociological Review, 33(2), 92-104.
19.
Heise, D.
(1975). Causal analysis. New York: Wiley.
20.
Herriott, R.
, & Firestone, W. (1984). Two images of schools as organizations: A refinement and elaboration. Educational Administration Quarterly, 20, 41-57.
21.
Hoy, W.
, & Ferguson, J. (1985). A theoretical framework and exploration of the organizational effectiveness of schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 21, 109-120.
22.
Jackson, S.
, & Schuler, R. (1985). A meta-analysis and conceptual critique of research on role ambiguity and role conflict in work settings. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 36, 16-78.
23.
Jacoby, S.
(1972). Masters to managers: An introduction. In S. Jacoby (Ed.), Masters to managers: Historical and comparative perspectives on American employers (pp. 1-20). New York: Columbia University Press.
24.
Kahn, R.
, Wolfe, D., Quinn, R., Snoek, J., & Rosenthal, R. (1964). Organizational studies in role conflict and ambiguity. New York: Wiley.
25.
Keck, S.
, & Tushman, M. (1993). Environmental and organizational context and executive team structure. Academy of Management Journal, 36(6), 1314-1344.
26.
Kemery, E.
, Mossholder, K., & Bedian, A. (1987). Role stress, physical symptomology, and turnover intentions: A causal analysis of three alternative specifications. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 8, 11-23.
27.
Kohn, M.
(1976). Occupational structure and alienation. American Journal of Sociology, 82, 111-130.
28.
Lortie, D.
(1969). The balance of control and autonomy in elementary school teaching. In A. Etzioni (Ed.), The semi-professions and their organization (pp. 1-53). New York: Free Press.
29.
Lyons, G.
(1986). Coping with unionized staff in the comprehensive school: A framework for analysis. In E. Hoyle & A. MacMahon (Eds)., The management of schools (pp. 136-156). New York: Nichols.
30.
McNeil, L.
(1986). Contradictions of control: School structure and school knowledge. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
31.
Mohrman, A.
, Cooke, R., & Mohrman, S. (1978). Participation in decision making: A multi-dimensional perspective. Educational Administrative Science Quarterly, 14(1), 13-29.
32.
Muliak, S.
, James, L., Van Alstine, J., Bennett, N., Lind, S., & Stilwell, C. (1989). Evaluation of goodness-of-fit indices for structural equation models. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 430-445.
33.
National Education Association
. (1988). Employee participation programs: Considerations for the school site. Washington, DC: Author.
34.
O'Reilly, C.
, Caldwell, D., & Barnett, W. (1989). Workgroup demography, social integration, and turnover. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34, 21-37.
35.
Organ, D.
, & Greene, C. (1981). The effects of formalization on professional involvement: A compensatory process approach. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, 237-252.
36.
Ouchi, W.
(1977). The relationship between organizational structure and organizational control. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22(1), 95-113.
37.
Peterson, K.
(1984). Mechanisms of administrative control over managers in educational organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29, 573-597.
38.
Rizzo, J.
, House, R., & Lirtzman, S. (1970). Role conflict and ambiguity in complex organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 15(2), 150-163.
39.
Rosenholtz, S.
(1989a). Teachers' workplace: The social organization of schools. New York: Longman.
40.
Rosenholtz, S.
(1989b). Workplace conditions that affect teacher quality and commitment: Implications for teacher induction programs. Elementary School Journal, 89, 421-439.
41.
Rousseau, D.
(1988). The construction of climate in organizational research. In C. Cooper & I. Robertson (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 139-158). London: John Wiley.
42.
Rowan, B.
, Raudenbush, S. & Kang, S. (1991). Organizational design in high schools: A multilevel analysis. American Journal of Education, 99(2), 238-266.
43.
Schuler, R.
, Aldag, R., & Brief, A. (1977). Role conflict and ambiguity: A scale analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 20(1), 111-128.
44.
Schwab, R.
& Iwanicki, E. (1982). Perceived role conflict, role ambiguity, and teacher burnout. Educational Administration Quarterly, 18, 60-74.
45.
Scott, W.
, & Meyer, J. (1991). The organization of societal sectors: Propositions and early evidence. In W. Powell & P. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis (pp. 108-142). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
46.
Shedd, J.
, & Bacharach, S. (1991). Tangled hierarchies: The professional teacher and the management of schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
47.
Thompson, J.
(1967). Organizations in action. New York: McGraw-Hill.
48.
Tyack, D.
, & Hansot, E. (1982). Managers of virtue: Public school leadership in America 1820-1980. New York: Basic Books.
49.
Weber, M.
(1947). The Theory of economic and social organization (A. M. Henderson and T. Parsons, Eds. and Trans.). New York: Oxford University Press.
50.
Weick, K.
(1976). Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 1-19
51.
Wren, D.
(1972). The evolution of management thought. New York: Ronald Press.
