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<br />002539
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<br />aged ollf()ln; reco\'cl") prot:ra.ms. \fe c;. e 2!1 ;1:1tt:d
<br />.....ith uniw'rsitws, const'n:~uofl Qr,P;J.l1i7.3L(),.S. ;aDd I'ed-
<br />erJ.1 .md Slate ag~ncies. Our profession~I, organiza-
<br />tional, and policr expe,'iences have coO\'inced us lhal
<br />wildlife prof,,:ssioll.Jls Gm !:1UC;)SC pcrformance in
<br />species and ecos)'slcm cunservation significantly. Our
<br />commem.s are meant conslructively, and we hope lhey
<br />recei\'e produclive COmmelll'i, reflection. and acuon.
<br />
<br />An Organizational Perspective
<br />
<br />\\'e focus ulI oq:;anil;Hj()Il.,,~fedeI"al ,lnd state bur-
<br />eaucracies. conservation organizations. and coqx:>rate
<br />entilies-b~G\u",c {I) to understand .....hy organiza-
<br />tions behave as they do, ",'e must lake imo account the
<br />collective situation in which individuals carry OUI work
<br />('Katz and Kahn 1978): (2) \\'hether programs .<;tl(ceeo
<br />or lJ.il is largely dependenl upon tllf" type of organiz;.l-
<br />tiun carrying out the rohe" (Cbrke and McCo(l119H5):
<br />am-l (3) lh(" organi7..l1101l lI...clf I~ the (HI!\- lInl! where:'
<br />I'crlllanem chall~e is P{I.\.\IIJ)e (Ga!urailll I ~171, HI c-
<br />biniak 1978. Tichy I Y8:l)
<br />Large, \\'ell-es13blished govcrnmelllal bureaucracies
<br />usually lead and carry uut recover)' prog-r:ams. h\l\
<br />mOSf \\'ildlift' Jgencies do nOI deal \'o'ilh complex and
<br />no\'e! end.1ngered species recO\'cry cil:lllen,ges d~!ll~.
<br />Their stniClllre ;Ind !'1.'IICJarn ()!)('r:ltlne nr0Ce'dllrr~
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<br />_' -: ~...ic.:(. .t,
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<br />'.'1..""
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<br />such as selling hunLing licensn. managing deer herds.
<br />ele.' As a result, when J reco\"l:ry lask presenl~ it....e1f,
<br />the\' ma~' fall back on roulIne \\'tlyS or lhinklIlg and
<br />acung. bUI succe....sful spt'cie~ rccove!") In\'ol\'t:''s much
<br />mat is absent from routine wlldlile \'\"orl.... illLiuuing
<br />gready increa~cd \"olumes 01 inforJll.ltjnn. TiJlI:>, hoth
<br />field tlnd headqu3ners s~df musl h;lve an imim:1te
<br />knowledge of the !.ask iL"l:1 f ano 01 oPIXJrtuniues and
<br />problems lhat may arise quickly. ;]nrl lh{'~' I1lLl~l have
<br />an organizational me3n5 to commUIlIGlte. coordinale.
<br />and <Jct in the f<Jce of lasl-lTlo\'ing C\'cr1l5. Explicit org;.l-
<br />11Il..1tJOnal knowledge. at all levels, must nor lag behind
<br />Ilio](lgEcal knn\\"ltnge
<br />OrganizatIonal desig-ners traditjonf1llr recognize two
<br />extremes in ol'ganiz..<JLion;.d SlruClUres. UUl eaucratic or
<br />mechani.stic organiz.ali()n~ <1.1 t [hn~e maL are character-
<br />ized by fixed rules. roks. and rc~ul<llions. They are
<br />Ill(lSf useful in situatlon<;. ",,'here there is liule uncel'-
<br />l;.linl~ aud both problems and solutions are routine.
<br />Inrormauon pI {,n:sslng reqUlremenl" may be mCI
<br />u~jllg establisher! ch;:mnds \\'ilhin rigid orgamzational
<br />Slructures. Organic orgalllz;:Hio!ls <-Ire characlcrized ur
<br />flexibility and ;]daptabiliIY. including pan.icipdll\'e
<br />m;:magemenr. They are 1l10S1 useful in situations "here
<br />uncenainty is high tlnd IXJlh rroblems and solutions
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<br />]:-c compicx ami IlOllruuu::e. Jnfonnauon proces.'iir;g
<br />!c'it;irellJ{-llLS dem~:-Jd tiC,': ;md shifting arrangemcnL<'
<br />lor effecu\'e decisionmakillg and anion.
<br />
<br />Understanding Organizalional Systems: F~ecovery
<br />Programs as Information Processing Systems
<br />There are many "'ars lO conceive of organizations,
<br />lO underSLJnd mem, and ulLimately 10 analyze and
<br />change them (Arg',o'ns and Schon 1970. Warwick I !175,
<br />E.lZioni 197:"). Hreuini;,d...: 1978, Daft J98~{. \'\'eSlrUIIl
<br />,lnrl ~:lIl~.-dla l~jt)4) (Tabk I). l\:forgan (19Rfl) gWC~:1
<br />us<..:ful o\'erview of common rnelaphOl" of organi:z.~.
<br />(joll~ =tlld pruds LIS lO solvc man)' organiuuullal dt'si~ll
<br />ami functioning probl("lTIs through innovative
<br />illl;lging. Organiz.ation~, he says. arc oflen lhoughl uf
<br />in one of eight \\'ays. They can be seen a~ machines
<br />",,;th interlocking pans and a "mechanical" way of
<br />()rcr;l,in~. or ;'1<; Oig-:,r:;<'iol<, of differenl "spf"cies."
<br />necd.... and em'ironmen~1 relatjons. He explores the
<br />illlplicalion<, of vie"'illg organization!'> as bram.... ",'hich
<br />em pln(r'ss Illform~Hion, !t'<lrn. ami think; as ClJ!wle<,
<br />m:unlAined b~' .\ ;dlles, norms. riluals. .and beliefs"; or
<br />as po!iuc;J1 syslems wilh imereslS. conflicts. and p<J\\{.T
<br />plays. Organizarions can .also be seen as "p"yrhic
<br />pri:-,oIlS" ",..here people are trapped by ICieas or bdiefs;
<br />tiS "rlllX ;:md [r.msformation:' manifeslations of dif-
<br />kr-t:'TH rheories of ~oci;l.1 change; and finally, as i~lS[rU-
<br />r;'''I1~'. 0f d(llllill~ltio[l of "lheir emplon:"e<;. their hn~l
<br />:. ~~ {.. ,>.~ ,.
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<br />\'o'ilh 111;0.. pronouncement that. in the fin<J1 anal~'sis, "or-
<br />gani7..;JLion~ ~re generally complex. ambiguous. and
<br />p.Jraooxicil" (Morgan 19BG. p. 17).
<br />\\"e focus on [he idea of organi:t..alions as informli-
<br />(jou-processing systems IJecause this model clearly
<br />shows [he connectiom between differem responses. ul"
<br />different kinds of orgamzallons to a demanding job
<br />like reslOnng endangered species. This model explaim.
<br />why ulis lJ:sk is so very demanding. elucidates ",:'h~'
<br />bureaucracies are so resistant to improvemcnl and
<br />le,lm ing. and demonstrates some definile benefllS of
<br />appropn;J[e organizational design.
<br />01 g;mi:tAtions for endangered species recovery
<br />must be able [Q obtain and act on timel)', qualu)' infor-
<br />lllaLion a!>PU( the las\.. emironmem if they are to be
<br />successful. Program efTecti\'eness IS a funclion of
<br />matching UIC organization's infonnalj(m-processing
<br />c.ar:tbi!it ie~ v.;th the infomlation-prcx:essing rcquire-
<br />melll'i. i.e.. with the complexi()" and unCerL1I11;Y of the
<br />L;Js\.... A mismatch CJn mean failure to compkte J. t<15k
<br />;:lIld, ulLimately. extinction or a species. The essenct' of
<br />org';miz;Hion design is 10 find and use strucwral ano
<br />oper::nional arrangemcm:-. that permit efft'Cll\'C "lIur-
<br />maLion pr()ce~sing (Galbraith 197";). Organiz<luonal
<br />designers offer "'information processing" models for
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