Preview

bureaucratic vs organic

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
311 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
bureaucratic vs organic
David A Morand
Formality and informality refer to situations and social relations that are more deliberate and impersonal in nature
Formality and informality are understood as two distinct types of interaction orders (Goffman, 1983).
They are understood as two different types of interaction orders because each embodies a distinct set of understandings or conventions about how actors are to orient and conduct themselves. They are distinctions commonly invoked by both organizational actors and researchers
The formal organization is defined as system of prescribed rules and work relations that “express what the relations of one person to another are supposed to be” (Rothlesberger & Dickson, 1947)
Bureaucratic and mechanistic organizations are most typically defined relative to a set of structural arrangements, eg in terms of high degree of specialization and division of labor, a hierarchical comman structure based on legitimate authority, or routinization of job duties (Burns &Stalker 1961)(Weber 1947).
Informality play a role in organizations in which degree of innovation, interpersonal cohesion and role flexibility are expected. Organic organizations are defined relative to a set of structural arrangements: low degree of formalization, significant lacteal communication, decentralization of decision making.
The importance of organizations in modern economy and development of new and large organization are facts that make the issues like efficiency and control on the centre of attention in different social sciences . Efficiency in organization is directly linked with its organizational system. This essay firstly will review the characteristics of bureaucracy in organization on base of classical theory. Secondly it will outline the advantages and disadvantages of bureaucracy by focus on Weber’s bureaucratic model. Finally it will discuss why bureaucracy is not always suitable to every organization.

Weber’s bureaucratic model:
Weber mentioned that his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Hcs 325 Week 1

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I currently work for a health care organization that follows the formal organizational model. “Formal organizations are generally understood to be systems of coordinated and controlled activities that arise when work is embedded in complex networks of technical relations and boundary-spanning exchanges” (Meyer & Rowan, 1977, p. 340). “The formal organizational model structure shows the relationship between authority and the subordinate” (Schatz, 2012, paragraph 2). This structure shows how the work within the organization is divided, the relationships within the organization, how communication occurs, positions within the organization that report to a common manager, and the different layers of management within the organization – from the top to the bottom.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mgmt 3610 Week 1 Summary

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Organizational structure, which is defined by Daft and Marcic as “the set of formal tasks assigned to individuals and departments; formal reporting relationships, including lines of authority, decision responsibility, number of hierarchical levels, and span of managers’ control; and the design…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Formalization: The organization is formal in nature with lots of rules and procedures used to integrate the system. The jobs are standardized.…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Organizational structures differ because of the different strategies, organizational size, technology, and environment. Consider the mechanistic model and the organic model. The mechanistic model is characterized by extensive departmentalization, high formalization, a limited information network, and centralization. The organic model is flat, uses cross-hierarchical and cross-functional teams, has low formalization, possesses a comprehensive information network, and relies on participative decision making. The structure that would be most appropriate for an innovative organization like Apple or 3M would be organic structure. The organization that would focus on cost-minimization like Wal-Mart is a mechanistic structure.…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Organizational Behavior

    • 8693 Words
    • 35 Pages

    Formal structure is the way that the organization is operated by those with responsibility for managing the organization. They create formal structures to ensure that the standard operating procedures are followed and the duties are streamed down by a hierarchical approach. I work in a formal structure (government job) where we follow the chain of command and use titles as a way of acknowledging the roles. Informal structure is the intertwining social structure that governs how people work together and the elements are important because people’s feelings, thoughts, and attitudes about their work do have an impact in their behavior and performance. McDonald’s has an informal structure most opinions and behavior effect how the rest of the employee’s attitude and work behavior was displayed.…

    • 8693 Words
    • 35 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Congress and Bureaucracy

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In ordinary usage, “bureaucracy” refers to a complex, specialized organization composed of non-elected, highly trained professional administrators and clerks hired on a full-time basis to perform administrative services and tasks. Bureaucratic organizations are broken up into specialized departments or ministries, to each of which is assigned responsibility for pursuing a limited number of the government's many official goals and policies those falling within a single relatively narrow functional domain. The departments or ministries are subdivided into divisions that are each assigned even more specialized responsibilities for accomplishing various portions or aspects of the department's overall tasks and these divisions are in turn composed of multiple agencies or bureaus with even more minutely specialized functions. Bureaucratic organizations always rely heavily on the principle of hierarchy and rank, which requires a clear, unambiguous chain of command through which “higher” officials supervise the “lower” officials, who of course supervise their own subordinate administrators within the various subdivisions and sub-subdivisions of the organization.…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bureaucratic Model

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To begin the analysis of this type of organization is convenient to define bureaucracy as a direction system based on rules and procedures. This definition identifies the advantages of this type of organization, such as the safety, stability and the coherence, but also derived from the same advantages, disadvantages are pointed out such as rigidity, lack of motivation and resulting cumbersome administration. Its origin is based on the statements of Max Weber, the German sociologist late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Formal Characteristics

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The way that I will conduct my research is to first explain how formal organizations have evolved over the past century. Second, what differences were there in organizations a century ago, and compare to today’s organizations. And lastly I will also tell of the trends in today’s formal organizations in modern society. I will describe how each of the characteristics for formal organizations will need to evolve or change in Micah’s organization to be more open and flexible. And I will give an overall prediction based on my research on how organizations like Micah’s may evolve in the future.…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay Bureaucracy (1)

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Organizational structure provides a backbone upon which all of a company 's operational policies and work processes are built. It lays out managerial reporting relationships and the flow of ideas, decisions and information of the company. There is no single organizational structure that is inherently better than another. Rather, each structure has unique advantages and disadvantages best suited for specific situations. Here, I would like to discuss on one of the most common organizational structures, Bureaucracy.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nike Case Answers

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Informal structures are the set of unofficial relationships between organization members. Potential advantages of informal structures:…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mechanistic organizations have clear, well-defined, centralized, vertical hierarchies of command, authority, and control. Efficiency and predictability are emphasized through specialization, standardization, and formalization. This results in rigidly defined jobs, technologies, and processes. The term mechanistic suggests that organizational structures, processes, and roles are like a machine in which each part of the organization does what it is designed to do. The following are some of the characteristics of Mechanistic organization structure.…

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Project Schedule

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bureaucracy consists of an organization characterized by: specific job functions and a strict vertical hierarchical structure. Bureaucratic structure introduced a shift in the archetype of society just before the 19th century. Max Weber, known for his thoughts on capitalism and bureaucracy, contributed greatly to this archetype. The classic bureaucratic model, according to Weber, is described as having such characteristics as: political neutrality, vertical structure, specific job responsibilities, and well-written impersonal documentation, which is used to ensure functional reliability. (Weber M. , 1978) This essay will concentrate on the vertical structure and the rigid tasks and knowledge of the bureaucratic model, to show that an organization can become too big and rigid to be effective in daily tasks.…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    An organization works not only through formal relations, but also through informal relations. Therefore, managers should encourage informal relations in the organisation along with formal relations.…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Abstract: The theory of bureaucracy was proposed and published by Marx Weber (1947). Although there are some studies on this perspective were discussed before him, those theories did not form as systematic theory. After Weber, the issue of bureaucracy becomes a hot topic in the field of social organization. Almost all well-known scholars such as Martin and Henri have published their views on it. Bureaucracy adapted as the traditional organizational model during industrial society, essentially, bureaucracy could exist rational. This essay firstly will review the principle of bureaucracy in organization based on organizational design perspective. Secondly, it will analyze the strengths and weakness of bureaucracy made by Weber, focusing on Weber’s contribution for large contemporary organization design their structure and consider the attitude of those organizations toward bureaucracy: confirmed, rejected, adapted or added to. Finally it will consider the performance of bureaucracy organization in modern society with examples.…

    • 3354 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Human Relation

    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages

    * Informal Organizations: The Human Relations Theory emphasizes the informal organizations. According to Hicks and Gullet, “ The informal shadow organization that exists within the structure of the formal organization is emphasized. Attention is focused on the social aspects of man whose overriding need is seen as a desire to belong, to be accepted by and stand well in his work group.”…

    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays