Adaptive Organizational Behavior of School Organizations: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Although school administrators continually have to introduce internal organizational changes that allow them to cope with changes in their environments, little research on the adaptive organizational behavior of school organizations is available. This study collected exploratory data on a group of organizational adjustment variables (procedural, personnel, process, structural, and strategic) among a group of schools and school districts. The results provide a preliminary basis for suggesting that the adaptive organizational behavior of schools and school districts may be influenced by perceived environmental uncertainty and, to a lesser extent, by organization size. School administrators appeared to choose courses of actions or adjustments that solve their problems with minimum cost to the organization. Adaptation as a factor essential to organizational performance is discussed.