Concept of PODSCORB
Concept of PODSCORB: POSDCORB is an acronym widely used in the field of management and public administration that reflects the classic view of organizational theory. It appeared most prominently in a 1937 paper by Luther Gulick (in a set edited by himself and Lyndall Urwick). However, he first presented the concept in 1935. Initially, POSDCORB was envisioned in an effort to develop public service professionals. In Gulick’s own words, the elements are as follows: Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Co-Ordinating, Reporting and Budgeting.
Gulick’s “Notes on the Theory of Organization” further defines the patterns of POSDCORB. That document explains how portions of an executive’s workload may be delegated, and that some of the elements can be organized as subdivisions of the executive depending on the size and complexity of the enterprise.
Under Organizing, Gulick emphasized the division and specialization of labor in a manner that would increase efficiency. Yet Gulick observed that there were limitations. Based on his practical experience, he carefully articulated the many factors.
Gulick described how the organization of workers could be done in four ways. According to him, these are related and may be multi-level. Specifically, they are:
By the purpose the workers are serving, such as furnishing water, providing education, or controlling crime. Gulick lists these in his organizational tables as vertical organizations.
- By the process the workers are using, such as engineering, doctoring, lawyering, or statistics. Gulick lists these in his organizational tables as horizontal organizations.
- By the clientele or material: the persons or things being dealt with, such as immigrants, veterans, forests, mines, or parks in government; or such as a department store’s furniture department, clothing department, hardware department, or shoe department in the private sector.
- By the place where the workers do their work.
Gulick stresses how these modes of organization often cross, forming interrelated structures. Organizations like schools may include workers and professionals not in the field of education such as nurses. How they are combined or carefully aggregated into a school or a school system is of concern. But the early work of Gulick was not limited to small organizations. He started off his professional career at New York City’s Bureau of Municipal Research and advanced to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Committee on Administrative Management.
Under Coordination, Gulick notes that two methods can be used to achieve coordination of divided labor. The first is by organization, or placing workers under managers who coordinate their efforts. The second is by dominance of an idea, where a clear idea of what needs to be done is developed in each worker, and each worker fits their work to the needs of the whole. Gulick notes that these two ideas are not mutually exclusive, and that most enterprises function best when both are utilized.
Gulick notes that any manager will have a finite amount of time and energy, and discusses span of control under coordination. Drawing from the work of Henri Fayol, Gulick notes that the number of subordinates that can be handled under any single manager will depend on factors such as organizational stability and the specialization of the subordinates. Gulick stops short of giving a definite number of subordinates that any one manager can control, but authors such as Sir Ian Hamilton and Lyndall Urwick have settled on numbers between three and six. Span of control was later expanded upon and defended in depth by Lyndall Urwick in his 1956 piece The Manager’s Span of Control.
Under coordination, as well as organization, Gulick emphasizes the theory of unity of command: that each worker should only have one direct superior so as to avoid confusion and inefficiency.
Gulick discusses the concept of a holding company which may perform limited coordinating, planning, or budgeting functions. Subsidiary entities may carry out their work with autonomy, but as the holding company allows, based upon their authority and direction.
Steps of POSDCORB
This essentially refers to the various steps or stages involved in a typical administrative process. POSDCORB can be explained in detail below:
- Planning: This essentially refers to establishing a broad sketch of the work to be completed and the procedures incorporated to implement them.
- Organizing: Organizing involves formally classifying, defining and synchronizing the various sub-processes or subdivisions of the work to be done.
- Staffing: This involves recruiting and selecting the right candidates for the job and facilitating their orientation and training while maintaining a favorable work environment.
- Directing: This entails decision making and delegating structured instructions and orders to execute them.
- Coordinating: This basically refers to orchestrating and interlinking the various components of the work.
- Reporting: Reporting involves regularly updating the superior about the progress or the work related activities. The information dissemination can be through records or inspection.
- Budgeting: Budgeting involves all the activities that under Auditing, Accounting, Fiscal Planning and Control.
Concept of PODSCORB
Every business needs to have systematic framework in ensuring there is maximum output, minimum wastage and higher margins. POSDCORB is one such method in management where workforce and employees can be managed in a way which would be beneficial for a company. This concept helps organizations to break down the work into multiple processes and help in getting maximum value out to each employee. These steps and stages of POSDCORB help the HR team to deliver to the needs of a company.
Assumptions
POSDCORD focuses on two assumptions which are central to its administrative management framework, POSDCORB focuses especially in the area of Organisation and Coordination:
- Span of Control
The span of control is how many employees a single manager can effectively oversee. According to POSDCORB, the span of control for effective organization of duties and supervision of the same should be ideally three to six employees per manager.
- Unity of Command
For smooth functioning of the organization, POSDCORB prescribes that there has to be a unity of command down the hierarchical levels amongst the employees. This means a single employee must receive his commands from one and only one manager. Different reporting authorities sometimes may confuse the employee.
- The distinction between line and staff functions
POSDCORB recommends delineation between the ‘Line’ and ‘Staff’ functions in an organization. This means that there can be a holding company for carrying out higher order tasks such as planning, organizing, and budgeting; and the subsidiaries will execute these plans according to the mandate from the holding companies.
Criticisms:
POSDCORB has been a very effective and concrete theory in administration and management elucidating very clearly the roles and duties of any chief manager. However, POSDCORB has also been facing some criticising remarks on the following grounds:
Too simple a concept:
A major criticism against POSDCORB is that it is too simple a theory a mere list of some of the duties of the higher managing authorities. Many of the functions listed in POSDCORB have already been delegated to various departmental managements under modern management practices.
Unity of command: A debatable principle:
The assumption of Unity of Command also seems out of context as it is a common occurrence to have more than one reporting authorities in today’s complex organizational systems. Many times, the critical insight received from more than one line managers enhances the performance of the employee.
Ignores the role of Leadership:
POSDCORB as a theory is overly fixated on a routine set of duties that are administrative and mechanical in nature. POSDCORB ignores the vital area where any chief manager can actually make the significant contribution to the organization. This area is Leadership skills. Being a visionary, the leader has the capability to think something different than routine managerial functions and led the organization towards uncharted territories successfully. POSDCORB doesn’t focus on leadership skills at all.