13 quotes
An organization comes into being when (1) there are persons able to communicate with each other (2) who are willing to contribute action (3) to accomplish a common purpose.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
The inculcation of belief in the real existence of a common purpose is an essential executive function.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
Planning is one of the many catchwords whose present popularity is roughly proportionate to the obscurity of its definition.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
The individual is a single, unique, independent, isolated, whole thing, embodying innumerable forces and materials past and present which are physical, biological, and social factors.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
Effectiveness relates to the accomplishment of the cooperative purpose which is social and non-personal in character. Efficiency relates to the satisfaction of individual motives and is personal in character.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
Although the physical factors are distinguished from the biological they are not separable in specific organisms... Human organisms do not function except in conjunction with other human organisms.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
At a crisis in my youth he taught me the wisdom of choice: To try and fail is at least to learn; to fail to try is to suffer the inestimable loss of what might have been.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
Executive processes are specialized functions in what we know as organizations. If these functions are to be adequately described, the description must be in terms of the nature of the organization itself.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
It is important at this point to make clear that every coöperative purpose has in the view of each coöperating person two aspects which we will call (a) the coöperative and (b) the subjective aspect, respectively.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
Organizations endure, however, in proportion to the breadth of the morality by which they are governed. Thus the endurance of organization depends upon the quality of leadership; and that quality derives from the breadth of the morality upon which it rests.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
More than the topography and cartography of organization would be necessary to understand the executive functions; a knowledge of the kinds and qualities of the forces at work and the manner of their operation would also be needed.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
When a specific desired end is attained we shall say that the action is "effective." When the unsought consequences of the action are more important than the attainment of the desired end and are dissatisfactory, effective action, we shall say, is "inefficient." When the unsought consequences are unimportant or trivial, the action is "efficient.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)
The making of decisions, as everyone knows from personal experience, is a burdensome task. Offsetting the exhilaration that may result from correct and successful decision and the relief that follows the termination of a struggle to determine issues is the depression that comes from failure, or error of decision, and the frustration which ensues from uncertainty.
The Functions of the Executive (1938)