Introduction

Organizations come in many forms but the constituent elements are the ones that determine
which organization it is. This paper focuses on an organization of my choice and gives reasons
why it qualifies to be an organization.

The organization of my choice is Uganda martyrs s.s Namugongo - my former school .

BACKGROUND OF UGANDA MARTYRS S.S NAMUGONGO

It is debatable whether if the Uganda Martyrs had not been killed in 1886, this school would
have been founded. But what is not disputable is the fact that the martyrdom guided the founders,
81 years later, on the name Uganda Martyrs' S.S Namugongo. With Forty years down the road,
and growing stronger; the inspiration of the martyrs had been indelible so much that they are
extolled in the School Anthem and are implored daily to intercede for and bestow blessings on
the school community.

The school was founded by Msgr. Lawrence Mbwega, the parish priest then, who wrote a book
in which he stated that three people should never be forgotten when naming founders of Uganda
Martyrs' S.S Namugongo: Jeremiah Munyigwa(deceased), Hellen Namazzi and Joseph
Mugerwa. The trio rallied the parents of Namugongo Catholic Parish and in 1967 they started a
humble project that has after forty years become larger than life.

The School opened on January 15,1968 with 27 students and four teachers.Others were part
timers from Nabisunsa Girls School and Kyambogo College School. Charles Martins was the
pioneer Headmaster. Mugerwa narrates that while the target was to enroll children in the first
years were from distant places."The residents were not so keen about enrolling their children at
Namugongo.
Location

The school is located in Namugongo. It can be reached through Namugongo Road

Definition of an organization

According to Andrezej and Buchanan, an organization is a social arrangement for the

accomplishment of collective goals.

HOW UGANDA MARTYRS S.S NAMUGONGO QUALIFIES TO BE AN

ORGANIZATION

Social arrangement

Social arrangement refers to the arrangement of individuals into divisions of power and wealth
within a society.

UGANDA MARTYRS S.S NAMUGONGO is a social arrangement involving the arrangement

of the members of the school into divisions such as the students, staff, support staff as well as the
management for the accomplishment of the goals of providing an education to the students. This
qualifies it to be called an organization.

Goals

Goals are projected computation of affairs that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve
—a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development.

Goals determine the course of action for UGANDA MARTYRS S.S NAMUGONGO and aids
them in preparing for future changes.

The Goal of Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo is

Provide opportunities for students to increase their sense of responsibility both personally and
academically through teaching, guiding and emulation
Collective goals

Collective goals refer to the common interest of the members of the school and represent the
notion of group

The collective goals of UGANDA MARTYRS S.S NAMUGONGO are to provide an

atmosphere where students, the administration and the parents provide a conducive atmosphere
for the excellence of students performance.

Resources

A resource is any physical or virtual entity of limited availability that needs to be consumed to
obtain a benefit from it.

Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo has resources that include;

Facilities such as

1. Classroom blocks

2. Science Laboratories

3. Well stocked libraries

4. Well equipped sick bay

5. Modern dormitories for girls and boys

6. A stand by generator

7. Running tapped water and

8. Human Resources which include the skills, energies, talents, abilities and knowledge that
are used for administering the school qualifying it to be called an organization
Controlled activities

These are those activities that are measurable against set standards

1. Standards

In order for These refer to a basis for comparison or reference points against which other things
can be evaluated, they are criterion refereeing to the ideal in terms of which something can be
judged.

They conform to or constitute a standard of measurement or value; or of the usual or regularized

or accepted kind.

a) Standards for Improved performance

In Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo , there are standards set for continued improvement of
performance in that below those standards one is either accepted or rejected as a member of
Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo .

b) Standards for acceptable behavior

There are also standards set for acceptable behavior of the members of Uganda Martyrs S.S
Namugongo in that they are meant to correct and minimize unacceptable behavior.

Division of work

This is the apportioning of different tasks to the ones supposed to handle them by the
management of the organization

In Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo there is division of work among the members of the
organization. The Students are required to do what is required of them that is they have to attend
classes, take notes, revise for exams, sit for the exams e.t.c while the teachers are supposed to
teach the students, guide them on what to do, the Administrators are in charge of the planning,
controlling, directing, and organizing the atmosphere in the school. Not forgetting the non
teaching staff is also responsible for their given tasks which may include driving, cleaning,
cooking e.t.c

The division of work improves the overall performance of the school in that the best people for
the tasks are the ones that do the tasks thus through experience they improve on efficiency. This
thus qualifies Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo to be called an organization.

Hierarchy

A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above,"
"below," or "at the same level as" one another.

A hierarchy, can link entities either directly or indirectly, and either vertically or horizontally.
The only direct links in a hierarchy, in so far as they are hierarchical, are to one's immediate
superior or to one of one's subordinates, although a system that is largely hierarchical can also
incorporate alternative hierarchies. All parts of the hierarchy which are not linked vertically to
one another nevertheless can be "horizontally" linked through a path by traveling up the
hierarchy to find a common direct or indirect superior, and then down again. This is akin to two
co-workers or colleagues; each reports to a common superior, but they have the same relative
amount of authority.

In Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo there is an organizational Hierarchy in which the

Headmaster is at the head of the organizational structure followed by the heads of the different
departments followed by the teachers, students’ leaders, students, support staff e.t.c
Organizational structure and hierarchy of Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo
Membership

This refers to the fact of a person belonging to a social group or a group such as a company.

Controlled membership

In Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo, there is membership in which the membership is controlled
in terms of entrance and exit. The members of Naalya refer to the persons leally known to the
School administration as either student, teachers, support staff or others. Their admission into
Naalya is controlled by the requirements they have to meet in order to become members of the
school. For students, admission to membership is limited to those who qualify to be students
after having met certain criterion for their admission such as performance, age, and qualifications
which may also be the case for the teachers that are required for the missing posts of teaching. If
the teachers meet the specific requirements in order to become members they are accepted

Sanction for failure to perform

This refers to the punishments or actions that may be taken against those member of the
organization who fail to meet the agreed upon standards. In Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo
the students are punished for not performing to expected standards by retention in the same class
if they do not meet the required pass marks to go to the next class. They are also subject to
discontinuation if they go under a set pass mark. This is set in order to maintain the grades or the
output of the school. The teachers are also put under this form of control in that they have to
perform in terms of making the students excel in the final examinations. If the students do not
meet a certain number in terms of those that pass with certain points then the administration
subjects those teachers responsible for the subjects failed to account for the failure through
reduced pay and even discontinuation.

The school has a rigorous programme that includes modern teaching methods, study trips,
seminars, discussions, field visits and remedial classes. They have a continuous review and
assessment of the students’ academic progress through regular and periodic assignments, tests
and follow up activities which help them maintain a close relationship with the traditional ‘giant’
schools in the country so as to keep pace with current academic trends.

The other workers too are subject to meeting set tasks in the designated time in that without good
reasons for not performing they may be suspended or relieved of their duties. This qualifies
Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo to be called an organization.

Organizational structure

Organisational structure refers to the plan representing the relationships between the jobs and
departments in an organisation. There are three main types of organizational structure: functional
structure, Divisional structure and Matrix structure.

Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo has a functional structure:

The workers in Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo work in departments based on what they are
doing, for example, the accounts department, teaching department. This structure enhances the
experience of each function. This structure saves us money because of the economies of scale.
This structure makes the coordination between different departments more difficult than other
structures. It also does not allow for flexibility because of the centralization. This qualifies
Naalya to be an organization

Organizational design

"Organization design" can be defined narrowly, as the process of reshaping organization

structure and roles, or it can more effectively be defined as the alignment of structure, process,
rewards, metrics and talent with the strategy of the business.

Organization design in Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo involves the implementation of

strategic decisions that make it a path to effective strategy execution.

It focuses on behaviorally focused solutions to effectiveness, such as leadership behaviors, team

effectiveness of the teachers, student and administration and the like to provide an integrated
approach to discipline, including effective talent management practices of both the students and
teachers. This qualifies Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo to be called an organization

Informal organization

The informal organization is the interlocking social structure that governs how people work
together in practice. It is the aggregate of behaviors, interactions, norms, personal and
professional connections through which work gets done and relationships are built among people
who share a common organizational affiliation or cluster of affiliations.

In Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo there are a dynamic set of personal relationships, social
networks, communities of common interest, and emotional sources of motivation involving the
complex social dynamics of its members.

Through this it can accelerate and enhance responses to unanticipated events, foster innovation,
enable people to solve problems that require collaboration in meeting the objectives of the school

Decision making

Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes (cognitive process) resulting in the
selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Every decision making process
produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.

In Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo decisions have to be made by management to run the
school smoothly. Decision making in the school takes the form of participative decision making
where the administration meets to decide on the overall course of action in case where a decision
is required to be made. The major part of decision making in the school involves the analysis of a
finite set of alternatives described in terms of some evaluative criteria. The problem is viewed,
alternatives are brought up and then ranked and when all the criteria are considered
simultaneously, the best possible solution is applied or made by the headmaster.
Change

Change refers to the process of becoming different and it is existent in organizations. In Uganda
Martyrs S.S Namugongo change is experienced first of all by the students who join the school
with the knowledge they come with and leave the school with different knowledge and skills that
they have attained.

The school itself experiences change every time new students come and old ones leave and the
staff also in times when one of them leaves then change is experienced. As the students go on to
other classes they move on to learn new things that bring about change as It does not take a
school a lifetime to be able to send its products to university. It is a matter of hard work and
commitment.

Significant organizational change occurs, for example, when the school changes its overall
strategy for success, adds or removes a major section or practice, and/or wants to change the very
nature by which it operates. For organizations to develop, they often must undergo significant
change at various points in their development.

The school Leaders and managers continually make efforts to accomplish successful and
significant change -- it's inherent in their jobs. This makes it qualify to be an organization
because it experiences change

Conflict

Conflict can be defined as a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of
needs, values and interests between people working together. Conflict takes many forms in
organizations. There is the inevitable clash between formal authority and power and those
individuals and groups affected.

In Uganda Martyrs S.S Namugongo there are disputes over how the work should be done and
how long and hard people should work. There are jurisdictional disagreements among teachers,
departments, and between students and management. There are also forms of conflict involving
rivalries, jealousies, personality clashes, role definitions, and struggles for power and favor in the
administration of the school and this in itself makes it qualify to be called an organization
because organizations experience conflict.

Conclusion

As seen above, the elements that exist in organizations have been satisfied by Uganda Martyrs
S.S Namugongo and therefore it qualifies to be called an organization.
References

Organizational Theory, Andrezej and David Buchanan

Class notes by Dr. Mugerwa