The environment-structure relationship in organisations managing protected areas

The widespread· and intense interest in the natural enyironment is not matched with the same concern for the functions and structures of the organisations which manage that environment, and redressing this imbalance is critical to underpinning the stewardship with which these organisations are charged. In seeking to remedy this disparity insofar as organisations managing protected areas are concerned, this Thesis explores the structural and contextual dimensions of the agencies responsible for six of these areas: the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania, the Annapurna Conservation Area in Nepal, the Peak National Park in the United Kingdom, 'the New Jersey Pinelands in the USA, and the Central Plateau Conservation Area in Tasmania. The structural dimensions provide the \labels\" describing the internal characteristics of each organisation and create a basis on which to compare the six organisations. The set of core dimensions and allied structural factors used for each agency comprise their levels of delegation sophistication of control and information systems complexity centralisation formalisation environmental agility and infrastructure. The external environment of the organisations forms a contrasting contextual dimension of each organisation with five variables being examined: heterogeneity turbulence hostility technological complexity and restrictiveness. Both the structural and contextual dimensions were necessary to evaluate and understand these disparate organisations. The research proceeds through a review of theory and empirical research which provides tentative propositions on the environment-structure relationship. As the research strategy of choice the case study adopts an amalgam of conventional comparative study and heuristic study of cases. The natural and socio-cultural environments of each area are explored together with the way in which the present framework of management anc organisation evolved. Information on environmental and organisational variables was obtained from respondents within each of the agencies and from outside observers using a mix of interviews and structured questionnaires. A prototype profile of the relationship between environment and structure is developed spanning all six case studies utilising complementary qualitative and quantitative analyses to provide indicative information for use in conjunction with material gleaned from secondary sources and follow-up contacts with informants. The profile is embodied in a revised set of propositions offering insights into the way organisational environments influence agencies managing protected areas and which suggests that an organisation's environment will determine the critical functions the organisation must carry out which in turn will set the broad parameters of appropriate structures."