ABSTRACT
There are several ways of assessing or attempting to assess the functioning of an institution and whether it is performing its assigned task satisfactorily or not In the case of an industrial organization, parameters such as productivity or the amount of profit generated are generally regarded as good indicators of the state of the organization. In human service organizations, it is much harder to ascertain effectiveness and functioning, although certain criteria apply here, too, such as the degree of staff turnover and the amount of illness or absenteeism. As a consultant, however, I often have no access to such information, and I have therefore become preoccupied with finding other criteria by which to assess the state of the organization. Over time, I have found that some of the same criteria that are useful in assessing an individual’s psychological functioning can be usefully employed in the assessment of institutions. Central to this is the degree of integration, internal and external, on which satisfaction from work and relationships depend. To illustrate this, I will describe my work with a school for physically handicapped children, as it shifted gradually from fragmentation towards integration.
