Organizations as agents of social change: policy orientation and organizational design

Abstract

This study is an exploration of the organizational design of voluntary organizations in India. The focus of the study was to understand what configurations of characteristics are associated with different policy stances of an altruistic or change oriented nature. The starting point of this study was the development of an a-priori conceptual framework which postulated that organizational policies towards society vary along two basic dimensions, namely, altruistic orientation and social change orientation. Combinations of low and high orientations along these dimensions yielded a typology of four ideal type organizations. The conceptual framework drew up hypothetical profiles of the organizational design characteristics of the ideal types. This study sought empirical support for the conceptual framework. The study was confined to voluntary nonprofit organizations in India. Using a mix of interviews. Observation, Questionnaire surveys and secondary data obtained in the course of field visits. Data were collected from five selected voluntary organizations which represented different extreme types in the conceptual framework. These organizations were compared with respect to their environmental, management style, organizational structure. Organizational climate. And member motivation variables. In addition, a mailed questionnaire survey elicited data on the organizational characteristics of 59 other voluntary organizations. The data were analyzed to examine the effects of altruism and change orientation on other design variables. Regression analysis was . also carried out to find out what influence the internal organizational design variables had on organizational altruism or change orientation. Factor analysis was used to uncover other possible dimensions to explain variations in the design of socially oriented organizations. Comparative analysis of case study evidence and the results of the questionnaire survey indicated that an altruistic organization tends to enact an environment which is diverse and restrictive, whereas the change oriented organization enacts a turbulent one. The analysis also indicated that the more altruistic the organization's stance with respect to society. The more participative. Flexible. Risk—taking and professional is likely to be its management style; the less likely is its structure to emphasize hierarchy. Control and information systems and formalization. the more affiliative and the less dependence oriented would its climate tend to be, and the greater would be the extrinsic reward satisfaction of its members. With respect to change orientation. the more change oriented the organization‘: stance, the more turbulent is its environment likely to be, the more. Risk taking and flexible is likely to be the style of its management, the less differentiated would its structure be and the less would the structure emphasize hierarchy, formalization, and centralization. The more affiliative and the less dependence oriented would its climate tend to be. Regression analysis conducted to examine the effect of internal organizational factors on the organization’: social policy orientation indicated that the primary explanatory variables in high altruism are a flexible. Risk taking management and a less formal. Organic organizational structure. In the case of change orientation, only risk taking emerged as a primary explanatory variable. Factor analysis of the 59-organization data led to the discovery of two new dimensions underlying organizational differences ‘in the case of voluntary organizations 1 the structural purposive – missionary dimension and the professional - collegial dimension. These two dimensions were used to construct a fresh typology of voluntary organizations and a framework to explain the design characteristics of ideal types. The study suggests some new hypotheses for future research and discusses the implications of the findings for the design and management of strategic, socially relevant organizations.