...The definition of bureaucratic control from the textbook is the use of hierarchical authority of a manager to influence his employee’s behaviour. A manager can punish or reward his employees whether is compliance to organisational policies, rules and procedures (McWilliams & Williams 2009). From more than a century ago, bureaucratic control has been dominating organisations from worldwide (McKenna and Garcia-Lorenzo et al. 2010). In fact, bureaucratic control is still the dominant of organisations although we are in the 21st century. During the early 90’s, bureaucratic control is popularized by a German philosopher, Max Weber. Based on his theory, bureaucratic control includes written documents, application of impersonal rules, division of labour, well-trained staff and experts, hierarchy and full working capacity of the officials (Al-Habil 2011). One of the main elements of bureaucratic control is hierarchy which means top-to-down control in an organisation. In other words, the managers who belong to the top of the hierarchy will control all the subordinates who belong to the bottom of the hierarchy. The higher the position a manager holds, the more authority he has and thus, he will control more subordinates. Bureaucratic control will ease in controlling the employees especially in production department because of centralised decision making which is to say only the manager in charge will be able to make decision. For example, a manager will have to decide how much raw materials...
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...Chapter 1: What is Management? 1. Describe what management is. Management is getting work done through others with the use of effectiveness as well as efficiency. Managers have to be concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness in the work process. Effectiveness is accomplishing tasks that help fulfill organizational objectives such as customer service and satisfaction. Efficiency is getting work done with a minimum of effort, expense or waste. 2. Explain the four functions of management. Managers will serve their company well when they plan, lead, organize and control. Managements who perform these four managerial functions are well more successful. Planning is determining the organizational goals and a desire to achieve them. It is a good way to improve a company’s performance because it encourages people to work hard for extended periods, engage in behaviours directly related to goal accomplishment, and think of better ways to do their jobs. Organizing is deciding where decisions are made, who will do what jobs and tasks, and who will work for whom in the company. Leading involves in inspiring and motivating workers to work hard and try their best to achieve organizational goals. Controlling is monitoring progress toward goal achievement and taking corrective action when needed. The basic control involves in setting standards to achieve goals, comparing actual performance to those standards, and then making changes to performance to those standards...
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...Bureaucratic Organization Name: Course Instructor’s name: Name of the institution: Date: Contents Introduction 3 How bureaucratic organization leads to efficient execution of complex tasks 3 How bureaucratic organization leads dysfunctions in organizations 5 Bureaucratic organization in the modern society 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Bureaucratic Organizations Introduction In many organizations today in the corporate world, there has been a significant implementation of what is referred to as bureaucratic organization for various reasons. Chand (2014) defines a bureaucratic organization as a form of management that tends to implement pyramidal command structure. The pyramidal command structures are applied in several instances. For example, in a case of decision making, all the pyramidal command structures must be involved where each department or departmental head must ascent to a given decision. Additionally, it is worth noting that bureaucratic organizations exhibit a high degree of the organization concerning how various operations are handled and executed. Looking at organizations that practice bureaucratic leadership and management key features can be deciphered. For instance, there is the presence of very rigid and tight policies, procedures, and constraints that characterize the organization operations. Additionally, the organization in most of the instances appears to be very reluctant to changes or exhibit difficulties in...
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...Running Head: THE BUREAUCRATIC MIND! 1 ! ! ! ! ! The Bureaucratic Mind! Aparna V! M2014HRM008, MA (HRM & LR)! TISS, Mumbai! ! ! ! ! THE BUREAUCRATIC MIND! 2 The Bureaucratic Mind! ! Bureaucracy can be defined as a system of administration founded on policies, procedures and, often, a rigid hierarchical structure. In the context of human psyche, this essay argues that the human mind has a tendency to be inherently and naturally bureaucratic in numerous ways. A few parallels are drawn as a demonstration of this argument.! ! Highly Structured Mind An infant’s mind is free from any rigid structures of identity. Over a period of time, many such constructs evolve with which the infant identifies itself. A few of these basic constructs include the notion of ‘self ’ and ‘other’, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, the concept of gender, and the notion of a family. As a child grows, several other constructs including that of nationality, caste, and religion are built into the human mind. A growing person might begin to associate herself with such notions, thus fortifying the structures in their mind. The world at large is perceived through the sieve of such structures. Once absorbed, it requires a conscious and sustained effort to unlearn the structures.! Further, there is a tendency to adhere to formal time-tested methods to achieve certain ends rather than being informal and adventurous. It can be observed that the human mind tends to align itself better with the rest of society...
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...BUREAUCRATIC ORGANISATIONS • A subfield of the classical management perspective that emphasized management on an impersonal, rational basis through such elements as clearly defined authority and responsibility, formal record keeping and separation of management and ownership. • Max Weber (1864-1920); Weber was a German theorist who developed the concept of bureaucratic organisations. The term ‘bureaucratic’ describes an ideal type of organization that would be managed on an impersonal, rational basis. • Weber believed that an organisation based on rational authority would be more efficient and adaptable to change because continuity is related to formal structure and positions rather than to a particular person, who may leave or die. • The term bureaucracy has taken on a negative meaning in today’s organisations and is associated with endless rules and red tape. On the other hand, rules and other bureaucratic procedures provide a standard way of dealing with employees. Everyone gets equal treatment and everyone knows what the rules are. This has enabled many organisations to become extremely efficient. 6 ELEMENTS OF BUREAUCRACY • Labour is divided with clear definitions of authority and responsibility that are legitimized as official duties. • Positions are organized in a hierarchy of authority, with each position under the authority of a higher one. • All personnel are selected and promoted based on technical qualifications, which are assessed by examination or according...
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...efficiency and organization's goals. Scientific management and bureaucratic theory were one of the several components of the classical school of organization. Important pioneers among them are Frederick Taylor and Max Weber. The classical theories have been contested of little relevance to work and organization today simply because today’s organizations have moved from industrial revolution to the information age due to the fast-paced change in technology (Toffler, 1984). Although bureaucracy has been synonymous to red tape and has negatives effects such as “rigidity, alienation and low commitment” (Adler, 1999, p.37) and dehumanizing people (Grey, 2009), the characteristics of bureaucracy such as specialization, hierarchy of authority, system of rules and impersonality (Stewart, 1986) as well as evidence of ongoing existence of this management method, bureaucracy is proved to remain noteworthy. This essay will examine the situation presented in organization today, and determine whether bureaucracy and scientific management can be considered as old fashioned, out of date and of little relevance to work and organization today. With the broad set of powerful economic, social and technological changes – greater competition, globalization of production, rising demand for innovation, new forms of information technology and wide change in customer preferences have concluded that the days of stable structures of bureaucratic models are over. According...
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...Bureaucratic Reform POS 110 October 3, 2012 Bureaucratic Reform Red tape refers to the set of laws that governmental employees must follow to get a task done. The legislative procedure may seem burdensome to us, especially when we want a quick response. The federal government places far too many rules within the different departments before something can get done. For instance, if the legislature was to place a bill for deliberation and have the bill influence future policy making decisions a great deal of regulations must be adhered to and a vast number of people within the government would have to become involved before the bill could be processed. These procedures were originally created to help vital information get conveyed in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Some of the advantages of federal bureaucracy are the fact that it is capable of organizing and taking on large tasks. Since there is a chain to follow the work is easily done at the same time and guarantees that the quality of work is done well because each person is highly skilled at the job that they do. Since there is a hierarchy of power, each person has a rank and they have more decision making power than the person below them so everyone knows who has the power to make a final decision. A disadvantage of federal bureaucracy is the burdensome character of the red tape. It requires a person to go through the process of completing a lot of paperwork before anything can move forward...
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...(a) The objective external environment of labor unions in the U.S. post-1980 is more of a revitalized unionism and less of bureaucratic conservative unionism. Although the bureaucratic conservatism model is no longer in use after the 1980s because it failed to work within the objective world, our understanding of the world as subjective has made the bureaucratic conservatism to be still applicable. In this regard, unions tend to win when they are organized and lose when they are disorganized. Unlike the bureaucratic conservative unionism, revitalized unionism is more of an organization and far from disorganized mass protest. Therefore, the culture in the post-1980 world of Big Labor was one that limited the use of bureaucratic conservatism....
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...Control process 1. Setting standard The first step of control process is setting a standard. Standard will become the basis of which actual performance will be compared with and a measurement for whether organizational performance is satisfactory or unsatisfactory. When standard was set, employees should be enforced to work according to the standard demanded by the managers. For example, many pizzerias use 30-40 minutes as the standard for delivery times. Since anything longer is viewed as unsatisfactory, they will typically reduce the prices if they cannot deliver a hot pizza to you within that time period. The first criterion for good standard is that it must enable goal achievement. Companies also determine standards by listening to customer’ comment, complaints and suggestions or by observing competitors’ products and services. Standard can also be determining by benchmarking other companies. Benchmarking is the process of determine how well other companies perform business function or tasks. 2. Compare standard The second step of control process is comparing actual performance to standard. Although this sound straightforward, the quality of the comparison largely depends on the measurement and information systems a company uses to keep track of performance. The better the system, the easier it is for companies to track their progress and identify problems that need to be fixed 3. Corrective action The next step of control process is taking...
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...Dalman and Lei can utilize the Bureaucratic Control Systems four steps; setting performance standards, measuring performance, comparing performance against the standards and determining deviations, and taking action to correct problems and reinforce successes to correct the deficiency in their employee handbook. Setting performance standards. Setting performance standards will be the backbone of Dalman and Lei’s control process. Dalman and Lei need to understand that if they do not take the time to create will defined standards then there newly born business will never be able to mature. Employees who do not have standards or “rules to live by” tend to lack the motivation to continually do the right thing and may cut corners on procedures and or bend policy. This can become toxic to an organization. On the contrary, according to Bateman & Snell (2013) “employees tend to be motivated by specific, measurable performance standards that are challenging and aim for improvement over past performance” (p.328). Employees who are given well defined standards will perform better than those who do not have well defined standards. Dalman and Lei owe a well-defined playbook to their team, especially their managers. I recommend Dalman and Lei take the time to research current issues that are not defined currently defined in their handbook with their managers and employees. Including employees in this process will help create buy in at all levels. Additionally I recommend they enlist the...
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...Assessment LP4 James Bartz 09-01-2015 Beaucractic control measures The question at hand is how can management apply the four step process outlined in the text to address the problem of misreporting hours? The four steps of feedback control process is the bureaucratic control system. The four steps are setting performance standards, measuring performance, comparing performance against standards and taking corrective action to correct the problem. Step 1: Setting performance standards: All organizations should have a goal and get the results they need for the company. Standards are levels of performance that organizations expect from the employees to get the desired results. Some of these goals are profitability, providing excellent customer service to their clients and innovation. The management targets the employees at a certain performance level to achieve a goal. The management needs to update and notify employees of any new standards that have been taken into effect. If the new standards are not practiced than disciplinary action will follow. Step 2: Measuring performance: After setting the new standards into place, Management needs to measure the current processes and standards used by all the employees. Measuring performance can be done by observation, written and oral reports. Management needs to collect this information and compare it to the new standard to look for any errors. Similar to the one management found with unearned hours that were reported...
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...Bureaucratic and Patron-Client Organization Executive Summary Howard Abadinsky (1985) proposed the bureaucratic and patron-client models of organized crime. The bureaucratic model characteristics have compilation from Fredrick Taylor (1990) and Max Weber (1947) theories on organized crime. This structure has a requirement of a hierarchy of power, rules, and regulations with each group, a labor division, specialized members, and a routine necessary for the group to function efficiently. ¬¬¬Outlawed biker groups such as the Hells Angels and the Warlock are a bureaucratic form of organized crime. The Mafia represents the comparable model; the patron-client organized crime model. Formal initiation confirms membership into the group and like the bureaucratic model; the structure is of hierarchy power. The main boss has an underboss and downward levels of power the members have a close relationship and the relationships branch out towards the bottom level and this is where new members are initiated. By branching out the lower level, the organization has a better opportunity to evade detection and apprehension by law enforcement, and maintain a steady flow of production and operation (Limbaugh, Sept.10, 2010). Another attribution for the organization models an executive branch as in a system of government. For example, if the top leader were unable to fulfill the role, the next person in position would take over the role of that leader, and so forth. The “patron-client...
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...Research Essay What is Bureaucratic Control? Describe the elements of Bureaucratic Control and provide examples of Bureaucratic Control that can be found in your university ? Bureaucratic Control in its current context refers to management attempting to control employee output through reward and punishment in order to ensure employee work performance and conduct matches the managers expectation and follows defined company agendas’ which are in turn dictated from above by directors. This method of control is centralised, and relies heavily on administrative techniques and established hierarchies within the company to communicate its policies to employees. This essay will provide a context of the development of bureaucratic control, highlight its key factors and supply some relevant examples of this type of control at Victoria University. Bureaucratic management was first proposed by German sociologist Max Weber (Williams & McWilliams, 2010) as an alternative to the monarchical system of promoting by virtue of birthright. His definition of bureaucracy was to effect control of an organisation through knowledge. As such, the premise of this thought was to promote on merit rather than heredity to ensure maximum output through the utilisation of the most qualified rather than the most connected (in this circumstance, ‘connected’ refers to the relationship one has with those in charge). This idea of fairness versus favouritism would increase overall efficiency towards the realisation...
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...What Is Bureaucratic Control? Describe the Elements of Bureaucratic Control and Provide Examples of Bureaucratic Control That Can Be Found in Your University ? Research Essay What is Bureaucratic Control? Describe the elements of Bureaucratic Control and provide examples of Bureaucratic Control that can be found in your university ? Bureaucratic Control in its current context refers to management attempting to control employee output through reward and punishment in order to ensure employee work performance and conduct matches the managers expectation and follows defined company agendas’ which are in turn dictated from above by directors. This method of control is centralised, and relies heavily on administrative techniques and established hierarchies within the company to communicate its policies to employees. This essay will provide a context of the development of bureaucratic control, highlight its key factors and supply some relevant examples of this type of control at Victoria University. Bureaucratic management was first proposed by German sociologist Max Weber (Williams & McWilliams, 2010) as an alternative to the monarchical system of promoting by virtue of birthright. His definition of bureaucracy was to effect control of an organisation through knowledge. As such, the premise of this thought was to promote on merit rather than heredity to ensure maximum output through the utilisation of the most qualified rather than the most connected (in this circumstance...
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...Terry Moe’s "The Politics of Bureaucratic Structure” goes on to retort that federal bureaucracy is not structured on the basis of a theory of public administration but should instead be viewed as the product of politics, as federal bureaucracy has foundations in both political choice and self-interest. In this summary, I’ll be breaking up the perspective on structural politics into the following subheadings—technical problems regarding interest groups, political problems pertaining to interest groups, legislators and presidents structural choice, and structures. For starters, we must cover the technical problems of structural choice in interest groups. Interest groups inherently focus on politicians, which is harmful as the concern for constituencies and elections surpasses the concern of outside populations. Interest groups also have an expertise problem, and the experts that do partake in these acts may not act in the groups best interest, in turn exploiting their role. Control problems are at the heart of structural choice when considering the groups assured political power. They can make rules to restrain bureaucratic behavior though, such as criteria and procedures. Lastly is the problem of reputation, and how the reliability of a title incentives consistent behavior that could vary...
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