Common Fallacies in Explaining Organizational Problems
, select an organization with which you are familiar, and use Bolman & Deal’s common fallacies to analyze the organization’s functioning and behavior. The organization may be one in which you work, volunteer, or otherwise interact – you should know it well enough to be able to describe it in detail and apply the organizational problems effectively. Include analysis of at least one fallacy, demonstrating how the fallacies make sense of the organization’s systems. The fallacies from Bolman& Deal include: blaming people; blaming the bureaucracy; thirsting for power. You must have a minimum of 5-7 articles outside the course texts in your reference list and the material from these articles must be integrated into the analysis. APA style must be used throughout the paper, including headings, citations and reference list. Your paper must include the following elements:
• Description of the organization including overview of its systems.
• Definition of fallacies and application of the fallacies to the organization
• Discussion of how the fallacies interact or co-exist in the organization
• Discussion of how identification of the fallacy can be applied to the improvement of your organization’s systems
Sample Answer
The organization I will be analyzing is a large teaching hospital in the United States. I am familiar with this organization because I have worked there as a nurse for several years.
Framing the Analysis
Bolman & Deal’s four frames are:
- Structural: This frame focuses on the organization’s structure, processes, and systems.
- Human Resource: This frame focuses on the people in the organization, their motivation, and their relationships.
- Political: This frame focuses on the distribution of power and influence in the organization.