Midterm Examination

October 30, 2021

Answer comprehensively the following questions:

1. What are the basic elements in an organization? Expound the

interrelationships among the basic elements of an organization.

The following items below specify the basic elements in an organization.

A. Common Purpose

An organization without a clear purpose or mission soon begins to drift and

become disorganized. A common purpose unifies employees or members and
gives everyone an understanding of the organization’s direction. Ensuring that the
common purpose is effectively communicated across organizations (particularly
large organizations with many moving parts) is a central task for managers.
Managers communicate this purpose by educating all employees on the general
strategy, mission statement, values, and short- and long-term objectives of the
organization.

B. Coordinated Effort

Coordinating effort involves working together in a way that maximizes

resources. The common purpose is achieved through the coordinated effort of all
individuals and groups within an organization. The broader group’s diverse skill
sets and personalities must be leveraged in a way that adds value. The act of
coordinating organizational effort is perhaps the most important responsibility of
managers because it motivates and distributes human resources to capture value.

C. Division of Labor

Division of labor is also known as work specification for greater efficiency.

It involves delegating specific parts of a broader task to different people within the
organization based upon their particular abilities and skills. Using division of labor,
an organization can parcel out a complex work effort for specialists to perform. By
systematically dividing complex tasks into specialized jobs, an organization uses
its human resources more efficiently.

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 D. Hierarchy of Authority

Hierarchy of authority is essentially the chain of command—a control

mechanism for making sure the right people does the right things at the right time.
While there are a wide variety of organizational structures—some with more
centralization of authority than others—hierarchy in decision making is a critical
factor for success. Knowing who will make decisions under what circumstances
enables organizations to be agile, while the ambiguity of authority can often slow
the decision-making process. Authority enables organizations to set directions and
select strategies, which can, in turn, enable a common purpose.

Consideration on the relationship of these elements is truly critical. This is

because each element is contributory to the success or progress of the system or
organization. For instance, an organization should have a clear common purpose.
This purpose will serve as rudder of the organization to where it should lead to.
This is anchored on the vision and mission of the organization. Furthermore, in
order to materialize this common purpose, there should be coordinated effort. This
is also needed to ensure that the processes and implementation of the
organization are efficient and effective. In addition, division of labor is also
imperative. Since an organization is composed by different parts which means it
has components with distinct roles and functions, thus each personnel under which
have corresponding roles and to perform in order to execute the functions of the
components they belong in line with the purpose of the organization. Moreover, to
establish smooth flow of the processes and to ascertain that efforts of every
member follow a protocol of coordination, an organization should observe
hierarchy of authority. This is to manage and control the processes within the
organization so as to enable the latter to set directions towards success.

2. Which of the subsystems in the school system do you think should be given
priority in making an annual action plan? Justify your answer.

As a frontliner and implementer, being a teacher encountering firsthand experience

with the learners and parents, I think the economic system subsystem should be
given utmost priority in making an action plan since this aspect is beyond the
control of teachers. Knowing that teachers resourcefulness and creativity in
facilitating teaching-learning process could address the two other subsystems- the
social and cultural subsystems, economic subsystem requires collective effort from
each member of the organization because this entail a system of production,
resource allocation and distribution of goods and services within a society or a
given geographic area. The educational system or school system is greatly
affected when its resources were not addressed upon. Even if the school has good
social and cultural system, the operation of the school is still inefficient and the
delivery of quality learning is hampered once it does not have resources, facilities
and equipment necessary for the utilization and application of knowledge, skills
and attitudes. This is the reality of our educational system particularly in the Basic
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 Education and this is evident in the implementation of K-12 curriculum and even in
today’s new normal education. We already have competent teachers and dynamic
administrators. Similarly, we already have good curriculum and supportive
stakeholders, but still desired learning outcomes are not holistically attained. This
is practically because the economic subsystem of Philippine basic education was
not the first priority of those in higher offices of the organization.

3. How does the relationship between school policy and teacher behavior differ
from the relationship between the subsystems in the school and the
subsystems in the society?

The relationship between school policy and teacher behaviour does not differ to a
great extent from the relationship between subsystems in the school and the
subsystems in the society. Firstly, the school policy mandates or manages the
teacher’s behaviour. Thus, it is imperative for teachers to submit themselves to the
school’s rules and regulations. Teachers’ behaviour should always be in
adherence to the schools mission and vision where the school policy is anchored
on because these two are critical components of the organization. Once one
component does not coincide with the other, the goal or purpose will not be
attained. Likewise, the subsystems in the society influences- if not directly, the
subsystems in the school. This is because society in a large scale, has wider scope
of system, and the school is one of its subsystem, and thus implies that it (society)
also includes the social, cultural and economic subsystems of the school .
Therefore, the school as one of the societal components has to adhere to the
prevailing norms, needs and values in the society because the school operates as
a social system of the community or of the society at large. However, on a personal
standpoint, the only difference between the relationship between school policy and
teacher behaviour to the relationship between the school subsystems and the
subsystems in the society that can be noted lies on the coverage of the controlling
or managing system. In this comparison, the school policy does not cover the
teacher’s philosophical, political and spiritual components, while subsystems in the
society still involve the subsystem in the school, including the philosophical and
spiritual aspects. In short, the relationship between the school policy and teacher
behaviour is limited by certain components while the relationship between the
subsystems of school and society is not. To sum it up, these two comparison of
relationship only differ to the extent of scope of functionality and the coverage of
its underlying components which greatly affects or influences the relation of each
other systems.

4. Explain why in Systems Analysis, all the components of the school system
must be analyzed?

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 One of the determinant factors of the success of a system or an organization is its
key components. The progress can be determined by examining whether or not its
components or parts are working together towards its primary common purpose.
An organization will not thrive towards achieving its goals if its key components do
not function efficiently and effectively. Hence, this is practically true also in system
analysis; all the components of the school system have to be analyzed. In order to
generate data for evaluation and improvement as to the efficiency of each
component, every part of the system must be closely studied and analyzed. This
is to check whether these components are still on track that leads to the achieving
of the system goals which is the organization common purpose. Each component
has a corresponding functions and roles to the system. Their functions and roles
are inevitably critical in formulating policies that will govern and gauge the
implementation of all the programs, activities and projects or PAPs of the
organization in line with it mission, vision and core values. The results of the
analysis on every components of the school system will provide essential
information not just to the policymakers but also to the administrators, teachers
and stakeholders. These data then will help the aforementioned to adjust or retain,
develop and enhance policies and processes with the system so as to achieve the
ultimate goal of the organization which is to provide quality education.

5. Using the questionnaire on why teachers prefer to stay in a certain school,

construct a questionnaire to determine why students prefer to study in a
certain school. Have five (5) items for each category as follows:

➢ Why do you prefer to study in this school? Please check the item that applies to
you.

a. 5 items belonging to the Social subsystem

❑ I do not experience pressure in studying from my classmates,
teachers and administrators.
❑ The teacher-student relationship is characterized by mutual
support and cooperation.
❑ I enjoy studying with my classmates and teachers; they
accept me and have confidence in my abilities.
❑ I have established friendly relationships with my classmates,
teachers and the community.
❑ I would find it difficult adjusting again if I transfer to another
school.

b. 5 items belonging to Cultural Subsystem

❑ I believe that the fringe benefits I get in this school are the
best.

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 ❑ The faculty and staff here are motivating and supportive.
❑ The stakeholders here are actively engaged.
❑ The school is Child-friendly
❑ Academic requirements are good because I am not
overburdened

c. 5 items belonging to Economic Subsystem

❑ I believe that the offerings here meet my needs

❑ The school has facilities and equipment that answer my
talent and skills
❑ I believe that the learnings I get in this school are the best.
❑ The cost of tuition fee in this school is not high.
❑ There are scholarships for students and dependents offered
in this school.

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