One company may start as a prebureaucratic company and may evolve up to a matrix organization. He described it as technically superior to all other forms of organization and hence indispensable to large, complex enterprises. Usually, with few people at the top and many at the bottom, bureaucratic organizations take the form of a pyramid. Culture can be understood in terms of seven different culture dimensions, depending on what is most emphasized within the organization. Weve got a really exciting lesson today on bureaucracy. For example, innovative cultures are flexible and adaptable, and they experiment with new ideas, while stable cultures are predictable, ruleoriented, and bureaucratic. Kimbrough chairman, dtpartimnt of educational administration, university of florida, gainnville is a bureaucratic structure an efficient organization for bringing about desirable changes in educational pro grams.
Rationality, of course, is a loaded word with a multiplicity of meanings, so it is important to be clear on what weber meant by. Accepted 7 december, 2016 uganda has experienced reasonably good economic and institutional performance for over a decade. Bureaucratic management theory developed by max weber, contained two essential elements, including structuring an organization into a hierarchy and having clearly defined rules to help govern an organization and its members. Im going to describe bureaucracy, the characteristics of bureaucracy, and explain bureaucracy as the epitome of rationality, of a rational way of looking at the world and seeing the world.
A bureaucratic organization is a form of management that has a pyramidal command structure. Bureaucracy bureaucracy trends in bureaucratic organization. A successful organization is like a colony of bees a wellstructured entity with clear processes and talented contributors who work effectively together. Bureaucratic organizations are characterized by numerous attributes, a few of the major points are. Bureaucracy and scientific management sage publications. Bureaucratic administration is superior at attaining goals, but it requires leaders in the. In what ways is your current school a bureaucratic organization. Max webers bureaucratic theory of management proposes that the best way to run an organization is to structure it into a rigid hierarchy of people governed by strict rules and procedures. By our estimates, an excess of bureaucracy costs the u. Bureaucratic structures and processes reflected what weber took to be the dominant cognitive orientation of modern societies. Each member of a bureaucracy has a specific task to fulfill, and all of the tasks are then coordinated to accomplish the purpose of the organization. A counterculture may be tolerated by the organization as long as it is bringing in results and contributing positively to the effectiveness of the organization.
The foremost theorist of bureaucracy is the german sociologist max weber 18641920, who described the ideal characteristics of bureaucracies and offered an explanation for the historical emergence of bureaucratic. Characteristics of a bureaucracy a bureaucracy is a system of organization noted for its size and complexity. In a bureaucratic organization, the recruiting process is formal and involves jobspecific tests. The style of bureaucratic organization has totally different structure as compare to the non bureaucratic organizations. The bureaucratic organization is very organized with a high degree of formality in the way it operates. Everything within a bureaucracy responsibilities, jobs, and assignments exists to achieve some goal. Bureaucracy denotes a particular type of organization, one. We are delighted to share with you our latest thinking on how organizations can release their full potential.
And it is the responsibility of the highrank officer to look after. A comparative study of kampala capital city authority and national planning authority rogers matte national planning authority uganda received 22 september 2016. From the study of the various definitions given by different management experts, we get the following information about the characteristics or nature of organisation. Bureaucracy is defined in the dictionary as, a system for controlling or managing a country, company, or organization, that is operated by a large. Bureaucracy is an organizational design principle for administering organizations involving a specific structure of authority and a clearly defined set of rules and regulations. Each person is supervised by someone higher up in the organization while in turn supervising others in lower positions. The structure of a bureaucratic organization bizfluent.
Pdf the impact of bureaucracy characteristics on leadership. What are characteristics of bureaucratic leadership. Bureaucratic structures and organizational performance. And the role places a limit on what kinds of obedience can be called for. According to the bureaucratic theory of max weber, bureaucracy is the basis for the systematic formation of any organisation and is designed to ensure efficiency and economic effectiveness. For example, within a largely bureaucratic organization, an enclave of innovativeness and risk taking may emerge within a single department. Keeping in mind that these two types of organizations are different in kind, not degree, use the defining features below to selfassess the extent to which your school is a bureaucracy or a learning organization. A rationally determined division of labor, detailed technical qualification, and a value placed on expertise is essential to the efficiency of a bureaucratic organization.
Pdf theory of bureaucracy in organization alex keya. The classic work administrative behavior, originally published in 1947 from the doctoral dissertation of the american social scientist herbert simon. Characteristics of bureaucracy tutorial sophia learning. Even when there is no supervisor present, the impersonal force of a carefully designed rule system extends to all corners of the organization and provides a consistent and rational basis for managerial control. We will explore its nature and characteristics, examine its role and functions, and take a close look at its human face. As you read about the bureaucratic form, note whether your organization matches the description. Empirical studies of ostensibly bureaucratic organizations have often revealed a rich informal life within them that is at odds with the formal chainofcommand depictions. Bureaucracy trends in bureaucratic organization britannica.
Webers characteristics of bureaucratic organizations. Organizational structure types bureaucratic structures. In this mckinsey on organization series, we will focus on four critical topics. In most cases, organizations evolve through structures when they progress through and enhance their processes and manpower. This informal usage describes a set of characteristics or attributes such as red tape or inflexibility that frustrate people who deal with or who work for organizations they perceive as bureaucratic. In this lesson, we will discuss what a bureaucratic organization is. Bureaucracy may be found in large and small, formal or informal, publ. Characteristics of bureaucratic administration source. In this lesson, we will study the american bureaucracy. A bureaucracy can be an effective means of organization in a business. Bureaucracy and scientific management 23 the authority transfers to them. In other words, there can be no organisation without division of work.
The characteristics of bureaucratic organisation are division of labour by functional specialization, defined hierarchy of authority, a set of rules. The guide will delve into the history of bureaucratic leadership in terms of the definition of the word and the different concepts that have guided it. Webers theories, developed at the turn of the 20th century, helped define the economic and political systems. Unlike the previous characteristics, where achieving the bureaucratic criteria. Promotions are meritbased, not dependant on seniority. We will also cover a few characteristics and examples of bureaucratic organizations, and then you can test your understanding. They should be well aware of each project and its related stats. Further examples and discussion for your group activity and your first writing prompt. Most research agrees that this type of organization is by. It is an ideal model for management and its administration to bring an organisations power structure into focus.
Bureaucratic management has handwritten rules and regulations. Under division of work, the entire work of business is. As an academic i can legitimately ask a student to write an essay but not to clean my shoes. Organizational charts generally exist for every department, and decisions are made through an organized process. Well then explore the leadership frameworks core characteristics and the traits a bureaucratic leader must have. Max weber proposed a set of principles to provide grounds for organizing group efforts. Today, bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution, whether publicly owned or privately owned. Bureaucracies are found at the federal, state, county, and municipal levels of government, and even large private corporations may be bureaucratically organized. The bureaucratic style is preferred due to its technical style of administration but for the new and small and medium size organizations no bureaucratic style is most popular. Bureaucratic theory max weber leadership training by epm. Does bureaucracy stimulate or inhibit innovations in education. Characteristics of the bureaucratic model fixed division of labor and specialization all responsibilities in an organization are specialized, with each area having a specific set of official duties and rights employees in the area have the expertise to carry out the task. Employees are highly specialized, which is why this type of company may have hundreds of job titles.
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