Syllabus

LIS 505 B: Administration and Management of Libraries and Information Centers

 

Caroline Haythornthwaite

Graduate School of Library and Information Science

 

Fall 2004: Tuesdays 9-12, Room 46 LISB

 

This course addresses general principles that govern how organizations and institutions work and how individuals operate within an organizational setting, and practical aspects of management. The course will consider non-profit organizations such as libraries, museums, community organizations, educational institutions and government offices, as well as considering for-profit organizations. While the course focuses on organization level issues, key aspects of manager-employee relationships and the experience of the individual in an organizational setting are discussed.

 

Reference works include original readings on organization theory and behavior, management, decision making, communication in organizations, and the sociology of work. A set of management books are also included as part of course materials. These books cover the basics of management. They provide straightforward information about practice that you will find useful now and in the future.

Readings

Texts

Books: The Doing Business Effectively Collection. This set of 4 books includes

  • Managers Toolkit: The 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed
  • Managing Projects Large and Small
  • Creating Teams with an Edge
  • Managing Creativity and Innovation

Buying the four books together in the 4-pack saves the cost of one book.

Recommended (on Reserve at LIS library)

Earlier editions may be available and are also recommended.

Ott, J.S., Parkes, S.J., & Simpson, R.B. (2003). Classic Readings in Organizational Behavior (3rd edition). Wadsworth.

Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S., & Jang, Y.S. (2005). Classics of Organization Theory (6th edition). Wadsworth.

Scott, W.R. (1998). Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems. (4th edition) Toronto: Prentice-Hall.

Prusak, L. (1997). Knowledge in Organizations. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinmann.

Morgan, G. (1997). Images of Organization, 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Readings

Readings are listed for each week to accompany the lecture and for discussion. Each week, you are expected to read the text where indicated, and the readings pertinent to in class discussion prior to class. For some weeks I have also listed extra readings under the title “Background Readings.” These refer to the lecture portion of the class, and you can look at these when you want or need further explanation on a topic. “See also” readings are for you to pursue if you have a further interest in the topic.


Weekly Schedule: Overview

Date

Week

Lecture

Discussion

Aug. 31

1

(1) Introduction to course;
(2) Intro. to Organizational Analysis

Student background and interests

Sept. 7

2

Major Perspectives on Organizations I
(1) Rational, Natural, Open and Closed Systems
(2) Mission, goals and objectives

Professions

Sept. 14

3

Major Perspectives on Organizations II
(1) Structures, Coordination and Communication: Formal

(2) Informal

Invisible Work

Sept. 21
online

4

(1) Environments
(2) Ecologies
(3) Complexity

Situating work in its context(s)

 

Sept. 28

5

Buildings
(1) Guest: Fred Schlipf, Director of The Urbana Free Library, will talk about Library Buildings

 

Oct. 5

6

Decision Making

Meetings, bloody meetings (John Cleese video)

Oct. 12

7

Knowledge Management

 

Oct. 19

8

BUDGET EXERCISE 
(including project management)

 

Oct. 26

9

Individuals in Organizations

(1) Individuals’ needs
(2) Dealing with individuals

Personality Inventories

Nov. 2

10

Groups, Teams and Communities

 

Nov. 9

11

TEAMWORK EXERCISE 

Innovation and Change

Kate McDowell, Urbana Free Library board member will visit to talk about library boards

Nov. 16

12

(1) Leadership
(2) Organizational Culture

Dale Silver Guest Lecturer

Can you spare a moment? (John Cleese video)

Nov. 23

13

THANKSGIVING

 

Nov. 30

14

PROJECT PRESENTATIONS 

 

Dec. 13

 

PAPERS DUE

 

 

 

Assignments

Participation (10%)

Participation involves reading for class and contributing to in-class exercises each week.

Budget and Teamwork Exercise (40%)

This exercise has two parts, both equally important. Part 2 has two parts.

Part 1: Budget Exercise (20%)

Due Date: Oct. 19 (in-class presentation), Oct 22 (written)

In teams, present and defend a budget proposal for a medium sized project for your library that serves a community of 50,000 classweb. Projects can include installing or upgrading computing facilities, starting an after school program, starting or expanding an community outreach program (e.g., bookmobiles), bringing in guest speakers for a series for children or adults (e.g., health seminars, tax seminars, storytelling sessions). The budget will be presented to the class as if to the board of the library. Budgets are to be submitted in written form one week prior to the budget presentation (length as needed, but tailor as a document for classweb with little time to read – i.e., stick to the essentials).

            As part of this project you are expect to produce a project management schedule. This includes defining the objectives for the project, plans for breaking down the work, estimating time to completion, creating timelines, and recording actual time to completion. See Managing Projects Large and Small, and Chapter 5 in the Manager’s Toolkit.

Part 2: Teamwork Exercise (20%)

Due Date: Nov. 9 (in-class presentation), Nov. 12 (written)

Part A: Team experience

As a team, report on the team’s experience (pro and con) working as a team. Present this to the class and submit a written report of no more than 1000 words. Discuss communication, collaboration, coordination plans and successes. Discuss also how well you did on managing the project, including estimating time to completion of projects. NB: This is not an exercise in placing blame, but an opportunity to reflect on the process of working with others as a team.

* Bonuses given for referring to the literature on groups!

Part B: Individual experience

Report on your individual experience working with the team. This will not be presented in class. Submit a written report of no more than 1000 words. Discuss your role in the team, how well communication, collaboration and coordination worked for you and for the team. What would you do next time you work on a team?

* Bonuses given for referring to literature on groups (where it extends or supplements work done by the team), and/or on individuals in organizations!

Major Project (50%): Organizational Analysis of a Non-Profit Organization

Due Date: Friday, Dec. 10

Select a non-profit organization such as a library, community center, activist organization, research institute, government office, educational institute, etc.

            With reference to the organization and administration theory literature, discuss three to five important aspects of the organization and its operation: e.g., discuss its mission, goals, and objectives; structure; leadership; information gathering; decision making; technology; culture; relations with other organizations; innovation; change; how the organization’s history shapes its current form; its ecology, etc. You will probably find that some models of organizations fit your particular organizations better than others – try to find the models that fit best. You can also discuss how your organizations does or does not fit with the models proposed in the literature. Find which model makes sense for understanding your organization.

            Gather data about the organization by: interviewing one or more members of the organization (if you interview only one member, talk to them on several occasions; you must conduct some interviews); reading the organization’s own literature (both those for internal and external readers; e.g., their published mission statement); examine the organization’s structure from organization charts; examine their technology, their use of computers; learn about their culture, etc.

            You may work in teams. Papers from teams are expected to be 8-10,000 words (approximately 30 pages, double-spaced). Papers from individuals are expected to be 5,000 words (approximately 20 pages, double-spaced). Papers must refer to the literature and must include data from interviews (transcripts are not necessary). References should be complete, and consistent with an accepted style (APA, Chicago, etc.).


Detailed Weekly Schedule

Aug. 31

Introduction

  • Introduction to course goals, topics and assignments

organization theory, organization behavior

information in organizations, information and organizations

collaboration and coordination

ecologies

  • Introduction to organizational analysis

Discussion

  • Student background and interests

Background Reading

Morgan, G. (1986). The art of organizational analysis. Chapter 10 in Images of Organization. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Note: this chapter is not in subsequent editions of the book.

Another reference that may be helpful is Weick, K.E. (1995), Sensemaking in Organizations.

Sept. 7

Major perspectives on organizations I

Rational, Natural, Closed and Open Systems

  • Rational and natural perspectives on organization functions; Organizations as closed systems, and as open systems

Mission, goals and objectives

  • Determining missions, setting goals and objectives
  • Examining library mission statements

Discussion: Professions

  • What is a profession? What is the profession of librarian or information professional? What are the obligations of a professional?

Background Reading

Scott, W.R. (1998). Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems. (4th edition) Toronto: Prentice-Hall. (Chapter 1; this book as a whole is an excellent resource on organization theory, chapters 2-5 discuss the 4 perspectives discussed in this week.)

Manager’s Toolkit:  Chapter 1: Setting goals that others will pursue

Discussion Readings:

Abbott, A.(1988). The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Chapter 8 on information professionals)

Buchanan, E. (2004). Ethical considerations for the information professions. In R. Spinello & H. Tavani (Eds.), Readings in Cyberethics 2nd edition (pp. 613-625).

ALA Code of Ethics, http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm

ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html (in particular the section on professional responsibilities)

Sept. 14

Major perspectives on organizations II

Structure, Coordination and Communication: Formal and Informal

Formal

  • Formal structures in organizations
  • Organization charts, hierarchies, formal information channels
  • Bureaucratic principles (Fayol, Weber, Simon)
  • Tight and loose coupling (Weick)
  • Job analysis and definition

Informal

  • Informal structures in organizations
  • Gossip
  • Stories and narratives
  • Social networks

Environments

  • brief intro as background to virtual week

Discussion: Invisible work

Background Reading

Weick, K. (1976). Educational organizations as loosely-coupled systems. ASQ, 21(1), 1-19.

Haythornthwaite, C. (1996). Social network analysis: An approach and technique for the study of information exchange. Library and Information Science Research, 18, 323-342.

Krackhardt, D. & Hanson, J.R. (1993). Informal networks: The company. Harvard Business Review, 71(4), 104-112.

Discussion Readings

Star, S.L. & Strauss, A. (1999). Layers of silence, arenas of voice: The ecology of visible and invisible work. CSCW, 8 (1-2), 9-30.

Ehrlich, K., & Cash, D. (1999). The invisible world of intermediaries: A cautionary tale. CSCW, 8 (1-2), 147-167.

Timmermans, S., Bowker, G., & Star, L. (1998). The architecture of difference: Visibility, discretion, and comparability in building a nursing intervention classification. In A.M. Mol and M. Berg (Eds), Differences in medicine: Unraveling practices, techniques and bodies (pp.202-225). Raleigh, NJ: Duke.

See also:

Cross, R., Borgatti, S.P., and Parker, A. (2002). Making invisible work visible: Using social network analysis to support strategic collaboration. California Management Review, 44(2), 25-49.

Sept 21 (Virtual Week)

Environments and Ecologies

  • Organizational environments and ecologies
  • Environmental influences and stakeholders; situating organizations and structures
  • Information ecologies, and complexity
  • Hiring and Interviewing

Discussion: Environments and ecologies

For this online week, we will work via the LEEP bulletin boards. I will pose some questions related to the readings and let you carry on the discussion. I will drop in as I can to put in my 2 cents worth!

Discussion Readings

Scott, W.R. (1998). Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems. (4th edition) Toronto: Prentice-Hall. (Chapter 6 on environments.)

Nardi, B. & O’Day, V. (1999). Information ecologies: Using technology with heart. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (Chapter 4 on librarians)

Davenport, T.H. (1997). Information ecology: Mastering the information and knowledge environment. NY: Oxford University Press. (Chapter 3) 

Mol, A. (2002). Cutting surgeons, walking patients: Some complexities involved in comparing. In John Lay & Annemarie Mol, Complexities: Social Studies of Knowledge Practices. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Manager’s Toolkit:  Chapter 2, Hiring the Best; Chapter 3, Keeping the Best

Sept 28

Buildings

  • Fred Schlipf guest lecture

Some interesting readings relating to workplaces (we will discuss these if time permits)

Becker, F. & Steele, F. (1995). Rethinking status, identity and space. Chpt. 3 in Workplace by Design: Mapping the High-Performance Workscape (pp. 27-47). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gladwell, M. (2000). Designs for working: Why your bosses want to turn your new office into Greenwich Village. The New Yorker, Dec. 11, 2000, p.60, 62, 64-5, 68-70. http://www.gladwell.com/2000_12_11_a_working.htm

Salaff, J. (2002). Where home is the office: The new form of flexible work. In B. Wellman & C. Haythornthwaite (Eds.), The Internet in Everyday Life, Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Oct 5

Decision Making

  • decision making and information in organizations
  • uncertainty vs equivocality (Perrow)
  • satisficing (Simon)

Meetings

  • Meetings, bloody meetings [videorecording] / Video Arts Ltd. ; written by John Cleese and Antony Jay ; directed by Peter Robinson.

Discussion: Classic readings on information in organizations

Discussion Readings

Feldman, M.A. & March, J.G. (1988). Information in organizations as signal and symbol. In March, J.G., Decisions and Organizations (chapter 18, pp. 81-91). NY: Basil Blackwell.

Meyer, J., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83, 340-63.

March, J.G., & Sevon, G. (1988). Gossip, information and decision-making. In J.G. March. Decisions and Organizations, 429-442. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Oct. 12

Knowledge Management

  • Information and organizations
  • KM Definitions & contemporary thought

Background Readings

Davenport, E. & Cronin, B. (2000). Knowledge Management: semantic drift or conceptual shift?
http://www.alise.org/conferences/conf00_Davenport-Cronin_paper.htm  (may be a bit slow to load)

Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14-37. Online via UIUC

Brown, J.S., & Duguid, P. (1998). Organizing knowledge. California Management Review, 40(3), 90-111. Online via UIUC

See also

Polanyi, re tacit knowledge (as reprinted in Prusak, L. (Ed.) (1997). Knowledge in Organizations. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Walsh, J.P. & Ungson, G.R. (1991). Organizational memory. Academy of Management Review, 16(1),57-91.  (Also reprinted Knowledge in Organizations).

Oct. 19

BUDGET EXERCISE 

Manager’s Toolkit: Chapters 13-15

Oct. 26

Individuals in Organizations

  • Individuals' needs and roles in organizations
  • Dealing with individual employees; Job design; Performance appraisal
  • Learning styles

Personality inventories

  • in class exercises, getting to know your own profile

Video -- moved to Nov. 16

Can you spare a moment? [videorecording] : the counseling interview / written by Antony Jay and John Cleese.

Background Readings

Manager’s Toolkit: Chapter 4, Delegating with confidence; Chapter 8, Handling problem employees

Maslow (in Shafritz, Ott & Jang)

McGregor (in Shafritz, Ott & Jang)

Roethlisberger (in Shafritz, Ott & Jang)

Nov. 2

Groups, Teams and Communities

  • Groups at work, Teams, virtual teams, communities of practice

Communities of practice

  • Identifying, creating and maintaining communities of practice

Discussion: Readings on learning, knowledge and community

Background Readings

Manager’s Toolkit: Chapter 6, Managing Teams

Creating Teams with an Edge

Discussion Readings

Argote, L. Gruenfeld, D. & Naquin, C. (2001). Group learning in organizations. In M.E.Turner, Groups at Work: Theory and Research (pp. 369-411). Lawrence Erlbaum: Mahwah, N.J.

Davenport, E. & Hall, H. (2002). Organizational knowledge and communities of practice. ARIST, 36, 171-227.

Haythornthwaite, C. (2002). Building social networks via computer networks: Creating and  sustaining distributed learning communities. In K.A. Renninger & W. Shumar, Building Virtual Communities: Learning and Change in Cyberspace (pp.159-190). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

            Available online at: http://classweb.lis.uiuc.edu/~haythorn/hay_bvc.html

Brown, J.S. & Duguid, P. (1991). Organizational learning and communities-of-practice: Toward a unified view of working, learning, and innovation. Organization Science, 2(1), 40-57.

Nov. 9

TEAMWORK EXERCISE 

  • Presentations re group processes
  • Discussion of working in teams in the future
  • Reflecting on Project Management in the projects

Innovation and Change

  • Diffusion of Innovations

Guest

Kate McDowell, a member of the Urbana Library Board, and formerly children's librarian at Urbana Free Library will talk about the role of the board, and here experiences on the board so far.

Background Readings

Creating Teams with an Edge

Managing Projects Large and Small

Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63, 384-399.

Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of small-group development revisited. Group and Organizational Studies, 2, 419-427.

McGrath, J.E. (1984). Groups, interaction and performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Chidambaram, L. & Bostrom, R. P. (1997). Group development (I): A review and synthesis of developmental models. Group Decision and Negotiation, 6(2), 159-187. Online

Nov. 16

This week's lecture and discussion will be led by Dale Silver, Assistant Dean, GSLIS

Leadership

  • The role of leadership in organizations
  • Prestige, legitimization
  • Strategic leadership

Discussion

  • Organizational culture: its role and importance
  • Library culture(s)

Video -- moved from Oct. 26

Can you spare a moment? [videorecording] : the counseling interview / written by Antony Jay and John Cleese.

Background Reading

Manager’s Toolkit: Chapter 11, Becoming a Leader; Chapter 12, Strategy

Goldman, B. What Makes a Leader? (in Ott, Parkes & Simpson)

Barnard, C.I. (1938). The Executive Functions. (in Ott, Parkes & Simpson)

Schein, E.H. The Learning Leader as Culture Manager. (in Ott, Parkes & Simpson)

Discussion Readings

Morgan, G. (1997). Images of Organization, 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (chapter 5).

Nov. 23

THANKSGIVING

Nov. 30

** This will will now be used for PROJECT PRESENTATIONS **

Innovation and Change

  • Managing change in organizations; diffusion of innovation theory; creativity in organizations ** will be covered in class on  November 9th **
  • Computing in organizations

SDLC, requirements gathering; systems evaluation

socio-technical systems; organizational and social informatics

“fit” (Markus & Robey)

Readings

Managing Creativity and Innovation

Rogers, E.M (1995). Diffusion of Innovations. Fourth Edition. NY: The Free Press. (Chapters on adopter characteristics and diffusion of innovation stages)

Lopatin, L. (2004). Review of the literature: Technical services redesign and reorganization. In B.L. Eden (ed.) Inovative Redesign and Reorganization of Library Technical services: Paths for the Future and Case Studies (pp. 3-25). Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.

Dec. 7

PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

  • Presentations of your organizational analyses

Dec. 13

PAPERS DUE

  • Paper versions preferred