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Human Relations
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Problem-Solving Adequacy in Hospital Subunits

Robert I. Sutton

Institute for Social Research, Room 2252, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106

Larry H. Ford

Training Analysis and Evaluation Group, United States Navy

The problem-solving framework developed by Georgopoulos and his associates was used in the present investigation to explore the relationships among problem-solving adequacy, the appropriateness of organizational structures, and effectiveness in 52 subunits of a large, general hospital. Evidence obtained from interviews with subunit managers or directors, interviews with hospital executives, and aggregated responses of unit members are used to explore these relationships. Following most closely from Georgopoulos and Cooke's (1979) version of the problem-solving framework, hypotheses were derived from the following two propositions: (1) organizational subunits are problem-facing open systems that must solve a set of generic problems to be effective and (2) organizational structures are problem-solving mechanisms. Drawing from this theoretical perspective, it was hypothesized that subunit structural appropriateness would be positively related to problem-solving adequacy and to effectiveness. Subunit problem-solving adequacy was also hypothesized to be positively related to effectiveness. Further, it was hypothesized that problem-solving adequacy would mediate the relationship between structural appropriateness and subunit effectiveness. The results provide support for all of these hypotheses, although the positive relationship between structural adequacy and effectiveness receives only limited confirmation.

Human Relations, Vol. 35, No. 8, 675-701 (1982)
DOI: 10.1177/001872678203500805
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