Kings County Library System: Integration Case Study

The largest structural dilemma facing the library was integration. Integration is the process of organizing employees on what their job responsibilities are and how to coordinate all those responsibilities with a diverse group of people. The organization had clearly defined efforts on who was responsible for what particular job, but the real issue came as a result from "when the "what" gets done and how (Bolman & Deal, 2013, pg. 49). In relation to the problem with integration, complications with vertical and lateral integration were also a concern. A majority of these dilemmas stemmed from the upper hierarchy at the main Service Center faculty to coordinate and control the work effectively between all branches. According to Bolman & Deal
KCLS failed to empower their employees through investing in employees, fostering self-managing teams, promoting egalitarianism, and providing information and supports. When defining empowerment, Bolman and Deal (2013) state it not only keeps employees informed, but it also "involves encouraging autonomy and participation, redesigning work, fostering teams, promoting egalitarianism, and infusing work with meaning" (pg. 147). The shift to a central purchasing system for all books was a drastic change from the usual policy of allowing branch managers to delegate themselves what books to purchase and failed to promote egalitarianism. "Egalitarianism implies a democratic workplace where employees participate in making decisions," (Bolman & Deal, 2013, pg. 153). This change was a big red flag in terms of human resources and limited employee participation in decision-making. The Service Center essentially redefined their job descriptions without consulting the branches prior to the decision. The process of selecting and buying books was a task librarians’ enjoyed and eliminating it upset many of the librarians. In addition, KCLS’s move to a centralized purchasing system, the discretionary book buying budgets of the branches drastically decreased and left very little to buy books for the needs
Self-managing teams work together to organize and determine their day-to-day plan of action and have a reduced influence of upper management involved in their responsibilities. Branch managers felt the Service Center neglected their needs and there were no resolutions for any issues dealing with operation or delivery. Furthermore, the branch managers felt they had little control over the timeline of completing tasks. Self-managing throughout the branches of the organization provide a way for staff to incorporate ways to complete tasks in a timely manner, have a say in the democracy of the decision making process and provide a way to relieve some of the added problems that bogged down the Public Service