Organization-environment relationships: Theory for management practice in human service organizations

The article discusses lessons for executive directors in human service organizations, for managing organization-environment relationships. The first section reviews the three main theories of organization-environment relations: ecological theories, institutional theories, and adaptation theories (with emphasis on the political-economy and resource-dependency perspectives). Following this presentation, the article discusses the lessons derived from each of the theoretical approaches for executive directors in human service organizations. Emphasis is placed on several types of organizational behavior: passive and reactive organizational behavior, accepting environmental constraints; strategic behavior that conforms to the demands of the government and funding sources; and, alternatively, proactive strategies as expressed in new initiatives and attempts to identify threats and opportunities that will change the power-dependence relations between the organization and its environment. As regards the lessons for executive directors in human service organizations, given the rapid changes in their environments, it is important for them to develop an external organizational orientation and manage the environment just as they manage the organization's internal environment. In this way, they attain the legitimacy and resources needed for the organization's survival.