Teacher perceptions of the organizational management systems in their schools and departments of health, physical education, and recreation

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher perceptions of selected organizational characteristics that described the management systems of their Schools and Departments of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. The study compared actual and ideal teacher perceptions by organizational structure and by academic rank. A total of 186 respondents from six Schools and seven Departments of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation in colleges and universities located in the southern and midwest districts of the U.S. participated in this study. A 20-item questionnaire, Profile of Organizational Characteristics, was mailed to each subject. Each item was answered twice on a 20-point continuum for actual and for ideal perceptions. These 20 items tested for seven organizational characteristics which included leadership, motivation, communication, interaction, decision making, goal setting, and control. Content of the questionnaire tested Likert's interaction-influence network theory and described the management patterns of organizations by his 4-System Model. This model consisted of the exploitative authoritative system, the benevolent authoritative system, the consultative system, and the participative group system. According to Likert, the exploitative authoritative system was least productive, whereas the participative group system was the most productive of the management systems