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Definitional - What is, and what is not a bureaucracy. Max Weber.
Normative - how it should work. Effectiveness and efficiency.
Explanatory - how they work and how they can be made to work more efficiently.
Blau: Formal and informal relations within bureaucracies.
Weber?s ideal bureaucracy deliberately regulates every activity.
In actual organisations however, humans have the creativity to resist.
Peter Blau?s study is a good example of such a situation. The FBI.
Any agent who came across a situation that they were unsure of , was supposed to bring the matter to their immediate supervisor.
They should not consult colleagues working at the same level as themselves.
However, the agents felt that they may be seen as incompetent and so were weary of approaching their supervisors.
So they consulted each other. Breaking the official rule.
It helped them to ascertain what to do,
and it reduced levels of anxiety. According to Blau, the problems the agents faced were being dealt with much more efficiently than the structure allowed.
This happens at all levels and across organisations.
Which purpose does Weber?s model fulfil?
Merton: the dysfunctions of bureaucracy
Bureaucrats are trained to rely strictly on written rules and procedures. They are not encouraged to be flexible or to use their own personal judgement in making decisions, or to seek creative solutions.
Merton feared that this would lead to bureaucratic ritualism. Where rules are adhered to, regardless of the consequences.
The overall goals of the organization, become second to the processes and rules having to be adhered to.
A client requiring compensation does not receive it because a form is missing or completed inadequately.
Merton foresaw the tension that would arise between the public and bureaucracy.
We have all been in a situation where the official or public servant, bureaucrat seems unconcerned by our needs.
Special cases and urgency are merely handed a number and told to wait in line.
Burns and Stalker 1966: Mechanistic and Organic systems.
Surely bureaucracy makes sense, when an organization is carrying out routine tasks. But when the demands of work change unpredictably, has it any use. ?
Innovation and change are necessary. Cutting Edge industries or service sectors.
Mechanistic organisations are bureaucratic systems. A hierarchical chain of command, clear channels of communication.
You never get to communicate with your boss. And your boss never communicates with you.
Organic Organisations. Are characterized by looser structure. The goals of the overall organization take precedence.
Communication flows in all directions. Everyone possesses legitimate knowledge and input utilized in problem solving.
Decisions are not the exclusive domain of ?the top?. A.Giddens
Organic organisations are better equipped to handle an innovative market. Quick reactions and appropriate reactions in a quickly changing environment.
Mechanical organisations are better in an unchanging, more traditional and stable market environments.
Michel Foucault?s theory of organisations.
Foucault showed that the architecture of an organization is directly involved with its social make-
up and system of authority.
People may dress differently in various organisations but the layout of the buildings remains the same.
By looking at the physical design of a building we can gain a different perspective on the problems that Weber analyzed.
The higher your office is in the building, the higher your rank.
Physical distance can polarize groups, creating an, ?us and them? mentality, between departments.
Timetables, according to Foucault, ?efficiently distribute bodies around an organization?.
Visibility or the lack of it, in the architectural settings of modern organisations influences and expresses patterns of authority.
Surveillance - the more lowly an individuals position,
the more surveillance.
Too much direct supervision alienates employees. (Grint 1991; Sabel 1982)
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