...Bureaucracy Observed (An Experience-Based Analysis) (An Experience-Based Analysis) Joshua A Ward University of Maryland University College Author’s Note This paper was prepared for MGMT 610 9045 Organizational Theory (2615), taught by Professor Matthews. According to German sociologist, political economist, administrative scholar, and historian Max Weber, bureaucracy is “a particular type of administrative structure developed through rational legal authority.” (Swanson, 2013) His six major principles have formed the foundation for understanding bureaucracy since their inception. They include the idea that a bureaucracy must consist of a formal hierarchical structure, i.e., each level controls the level below it and is controlled by the level above. Organization by functional specialty is key, work must be performed by specialists, and those specialists are organized into units based on the type of work they do of the skills they possess. Bureaucracy is purposely impersonal, with the major idea being that all employees and customers must and should be treated equally, with no organizational decision influenced or based on individual differences. Also, employment in a bureaucracy should be based primarily on technical qualifications, with the most consideration given to a potential employee who is most qualified, once again, without any consideration given to personal preference. From personal experience, the United States military is a prime example of bureaucracy...
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...Organizational Structure A basic review of modern corporate organizational structures can offer an insight into the origins of present day design of corporate management. By examining the predominant organizational structures in the economy today, it is clear that the growth and diversity of modern business practice has been the developmental catalyst for these individual management processes and structures Bureaucracy has a clear and definitive hierarchical structure with the authoritative mandate and directives typically led top down from senior executive leadership groups to silos containing secondary managerial structures (Ashkenas, 1999). A typical analogy of this organizational structure has been quoted as ‘the top rung of one ladder is the bottom rung of another’. Corporate operating procedures, methodologies, and policies and procedures are the foundation for a sustainable bureaucratic organizational system (Rockman, 2012). Common examples of this type of organizational structure would be large scale government or military organizations. A basic review of modern corporate organizational structures can offer an insight into the origins of present day design of corporate management. By examining the predominant organizational structures in the economy today, it is clear that the growth and diversity of modern business practice has been the developmental catalyst for these individual management processes and structures Bureaucracy has a clear and definitive hierarchical...
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... Discuss the ways how a modern day manager benefit from a study of the historical development of management thought. In doing this you need to specifically show how aspects of management theories from the past can be applied to contemporary management practice. The ability and means by which an organisation is run, requires for strong managerial expertise and leadership. The ability to realistically plan, organise resources effectively and efficiently, co-ordinate and control resources in this every changing, complex, dynamic environment is at the forefront of quality managerial practices. Good management has demonstrated itself more important than ever, with the peak Global Financial crisis in 2008/2009 proving that the historical theory’s and innovations in managerial practices are absolutely paramount to thriving economic prosperity. It is through the functions, approaches included in the literature of Henri Fayol’s 1949 English translated General and Industrial Management, Henry Mintzberg’s studies into managerial roles and German sociologist and economist Max Weber’s concept of bureaucracy that acknowledge and promote guidelines, expectations and accountability from managers. The extent, to which modern day management upholds and applies all three of these historical studies/ theories into modern management practices will be basis for coherent, strong, fully functioning and ultimately successful...
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...Maybe it is time to rediscover bureaucracy? Johan P. Olsen Working Paper No.10, March 2005 http://www.arena.uio.no 1 Abstract The paper questions the fashionable ideas, that bureaucratic organization is an obsolescent, undesirable and non-viable form of administration, and that there is an inevitable and irreversible paradigmatic shift towards market- or network organization. In contrast, the paper argues that contemporary democracies are involved in another round in a perennial debate and ideological struggle over what are desirable forms of administration and government, that is, a struggle over institutional identities and institutional balances. The argument is not that bureaucratic organization is a panacea and the answer to all challenges of public administration. Rather, bureaucratic organization is part of a repertoire of overlapping, supplementary and competing forms co-existing in contemporary democracies, and so are market-organization and network-organization. Rediscovering Weber’s analysis of bureaucratic organization, then, enriches our understanding of public administration. This is in particular true when we (a) include bureaucracy as an institution, and not only an instrument; (b) look at the empirical studies in their time and context, and not only at Weber’s ideal-types and predictions; and (c) take into account the political and normative order bureaucracy is part of, and not only the internal characteristics of “the bureau”...
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...Authors’ name Instructor Name Subject Date Public Administration Public administration is to implement law. In the American system, authority flows from the people to those they vote to govern them. While a legislature passes a law and an executive signs it, the law does not implement itself. That is the task the legislature delegates to the administrator, and it is this chain of authority, flowing from the people through elected institutions to the public administrator, that makes public administration distinctively public. Faithful execution of these laws is the highest calling of public administrators and the core of administrative accountability. The Nature of Knowledge in Public Administration Public administration refers to two distinguishable but intimately related activities: (1) a professional practice (profession, occupation, field of activity), and (2) an academic field which seeks to understand, extend, criticize, and improve that professional practice as well as to train individuals for that practice. The simple meaning of the term is quite direct: it refers on the one hand to the administration or management of matters which have mainly to do with the society, polity, and its subparts which are not fundamentally private, familial, commercial, or characteristic, and on the other hand to the well-organized study of such matters. In this simplest meaning, public administration has to do with supervision the realm of governmental and other...
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... The guidelines for actions and decisions of managers are management principles. Over time, management professionals have derived these principles through in-depth analysis and observation of events that businesses face in actual practices. They constitute the underlying and essential factors that form successful management foundations. These management principles are used in initiation as well as aiding of change, decision-making, organization, and skill management principles (Mullins, 2005). Management principles provide the framework that guide organizations in improving their performance. Customer focus is important since organizations usually depend on customers to understand future and current customer needs in meeting customer requirement. It constitutes a major principle utilized by the management in striving to exceed their customers’ expectations. Management principles help in enhancing effectiveness of organizational resources as far as customer satisfaction, corporate goals, and management as a whole is concerned. To assist inform research related to management principles especially, a review on literature is integral. This literature review will primarily focus the postulation that Taylorism as a fundamental system premeditated to make best use of management control over employees. This paper will examine how this position has been in use to-date. However, recent systems of management are focusing especially on promoting and empowering employee initiatives. This...
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...management thinking? 2. What are the insights come from the behavioral management approaches? 3. What are the foundations of modern management thinking? CHAPTER 2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing this chapter, students should be able to: • State the underlying assumption of the classical management approaches. • List the principles of Taylor’s scientific management. • List three of Fayol’s “principles” for guiding managerial action. • List the key characteristics of bureaucracy and explain why Weber considered it an ideal form of organization. • Identify possible disadvantages of bureaucracy in today’s environment. • Explain Follett’s concept of organizations as communities. • Define the Hawthorne effect. • Explain how the Hawthorne findings influenced the development of management thought. • Explain how Maslow’s hierarchy of needs operates in the workplace. • Distinguish between Theory X and Theory Y assumptions, and explain why McGregor favored Theory Y. • Explain Argyris’s criticism that traditional organizational practices are inconsistent with mature adult personalities. • Define system, subsystem, and open system. • Apply these concepts to describe the operations of an organization in your community. • Define contingency thinking, knowledge management, and a learning organization. • List characteristics of learning organizations. • Describe evidence-based management and its link with scientific methods. CHAPTER 2 OVERVIEW ...
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...Max Weber’s Bureaucracy Written by Dr. Wasim Al-Habil College of Commerce The Islamic University of Gaza Beginning with Max Weber, bureaucracies have been regarded as mechanisms that rationalize authority and decision-making in society. Yet subsequent theorists have questioned the rationality of bureaucracies. Which features of modern-day public bureaucracies are rational? Which are not? Buttress your argument with citations from organization and/or public administration theories. Introduction: Max Weber’s work about bureaucracy, translated into English in 1946, was one of the major contributions that has influenced the literature of public administration. However, Van Riper (1997) argues that the work of Weber on bureaucracy has no influence on American PA until the 1950’s. The word bureaucracy is derived from two words; “bureau” and “Kratos.” While the word “bureau” refers to the office the Greek suffix “kratia or kratos” means power or rule. Thus we use the word “bureaucracy” to refer to the power of the office (Hummel, 1998, 307). “Bureaucracy” is rule conducted from a desk or office, i.e. by the preparation and dispatch of written documents and electronic ones. Bureaucracy is borrowed by the field of public administration (PA) from the field of sociology. It was borrowed by PA in much a similar way that practices of business were borrowed from the field of business administration and economics. Weber (1946) presents bureaucracy as both a scientific...
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...Max Weber’s Bureaucracy Written by Dr. Wasim Al-Habil College of Commerce The Islamic University of Gaza Beginning with Max Weber, bureaucracies have been regarded as mechanisms that rationalize authority and decision-making in society. Yet subsequent theorists have questioned the rationality of bureaucracies. Which features of modern-day public bureaucracies are rational? Which are not? Buttress your argument with citations from organization and/or public administration theories. Introduction: Max Weber’s work about bureaucracy, translated into English in 1946, was one of the major contributions that has influenced the literature of public administration. However, Van Riper (1997) argues that the work of Weber on bureaucracy has no influence on American PA until the 1950’s. The word bureaucracy is derived from two words; “bureau” and “Kratos.” While the word “bureau” refers to the office the Greek suffix “kratia or kratos” means power or rule. Thus we use the word “bureaucracy” to refer to the power of the office (Hummel, 1998, 307). “Bureaucracy” is rule conducted from a desk or office, i.e. by the preparation and dispatch of written documents and electronic ones. Bureaucracy is borrowed by the field of public administration (PA) from the field of sociology. It was borrowed by PA in much a similar way that practices of business were borrowed from the field of business administration and economics. Weber (1946) presents bureaucracy as both a scientific...
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...extended far beyond the domain of private firms and markets. Certainly suitable for a scholar who has been so vocally interdisciplinary in his approach to the study of institutions and organizations, Williamson’s work has also made critical contributions to the understanding of political institutions specifically, and politics more generally. O From Transaction Cost Economics to Transaction Cost Politics At its heart, Williamson’s deep analysis of organization through the “lens of contract” is not restricted to private firms competing for economic profits. The theory and empirical analysis outlined and developed by Williamson, and those working through the framework he provides, focus on issues of governance more broadly: how activities, exchanges, or transactions are appropriately (or at times inappropriately) organized to minimize transaction costs. Put another way, one of Williamson’s signal contributions was to note that the way in which social activity is organized has an impact on the outcomes of those activities. In this sense, Williamson’s work extends far beyond the profit-maximizing firm. An understanding of governance, institutions, and organization is critical to other realms of (or transactions in) society: families, volunteer associations, and (yes) CALIFORNIA MANAGEMENT REVIEW VOL. 52, NO. 2 WINTER 2010 CMR.BERKELEY.EDU 123 A Tribute...
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...relations approaches of management theory. One of the most important human activities is managing. Since the development of the first human civilizations managing has been essential to accomplish aims and objectives and ensure the coordination of individuals Olum (2004). Management is defined as the combination of the skills and talents of individuals concerned with getting things done through people by taking into account the resources for profitable activities Pettinger (1994). In the early twentieth century, Henry Fayol defined management as the process of “forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling” Fayol (1949). Subsequently, Koontz and O’donell (1988) suggested the definition of management as “an operational process dissected by analyzing the managerial functions such as planning and organizing”. Over the last centuries management has been studied with the view of establishing what constitutes a successful manager Petinger (1994). The search for applicable principles of management initiated in the last years of nineteenth century in Europe and America Cole (2004). Like any other social practice, at the heart of management is theory that managers can deploy to achieve competition advantage and use more incisive interventions McAuley et al (2007). In addition the basic requirement of managers for meeting the challenges like competition, use of sources and maximum output is the knowledge of management theories Mahmoud and Basharat (2012). According...
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...searchengine they called SackRub. It became so popular on campus that they kept refining and expanding the service as they worked in Larry's dormitory room. Google Inc. began with a goal of bringing order and transparency to the information available on the Internet. Even though it hasn't stopped running, or growing, since, the goal endures. The firm's mission is: "To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." And if you want to talk about success, take a look at Google'scorporate information and follow its new initiatives in the news. What is the Google difference? How did it gain such runaway popularity? The answers start with a commitment to performance excellence Courtesy Google Inc. based on solid foundations of speed, accuracy, and ease of use. These have been the guiding performance criteria from the beginning, the basis for generating user appeal and competitive advantage for Google's products in the marketplace. Google'sbelief in people also sets it apart. Recently ranked #1 on Fortune magazine's list of best workplaces, the firm gets over 2,000 job applications per day. It runs with an informal culture and small-company feel, reminiscent of a college campus. BusinessWeek says that CEO Eric Schmidt and founders Srin and Page have built "a unique, just-do-it culture." The firm's website declares: "we do everything we can to make sure our employees not only have...
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...Dwight Waldo, 1913-2000 James D. Carroll; H. George Frederickson Public Administration Review, Vol. 61, No. 1. (Jan. - Feb., 2001), pp. 2-8. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0033-3352%28200101%2F02%2961%3A1%3C2%3ADW1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V Public Administration Review is currently published by American Society for Public Administration. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/journals/aspa.html. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academic journals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers, and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community take advantage of advances in technology. For more...
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...ISSN 1648-2603 ● VIEŠOJI POLITIKA IR ADMINISTRAVIMAS ● 2004. Nr. 13 Accountability and Responsibility in Organizations: the Ethics of Discretion Raymond W. Cox III University of Akron Akron, Ohio, USA The article presents a comprehensive approach to the administrative discretion. The objective of the paper has been to outline a perspective and patterns of behaviour, which are helpful defining "discretion in action". Theoretical discussion on the issue has been extended towards practical implications. Author stresses, that establishing a decision-making architecture, leaders of the organization can create learning and supportive environment, which encourages appropriate and limited use of discretion. Raktažodžiai: atskaitomybė, atsakomybė, diskretiškumas, etika, korupcija, sprendimų priėmimas. Keywords: accountability, responsibility, discretion, ethics, corruption, decision making. Introduction Few aspects of Public Administration engender more controversy than the idea of discretion. For most, the attitude toward the exercise of discretion must be described as ambiguous and even ambivalent. While the necessity of the exercise of discretion is not disputed, there is little agreement on the normative foundation (Bryner, 1987) for that activity. Yet without a normative foundation, there is little basis upon which to judge the exercise of discretion. Recent literature on ethical practices in the governments of Africa has boldly asserted that discretion leads to the breakdown...
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...The Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol. 66, no. 3, pp. 353–366 doi:10.1111/j.1467-8500.2007.00545.x RESEARCH AND EVALUATION From New Public Management to Public Value: Paradigmatic Change and Managerial Implications Janine O’Flynn The Australian National University Both practitioners and scholars are increasingly interested in the idea of public value as a way of understanding government activity, informing policy-making and constructing service delivery. In part this represents a response to the concerns about ‘new public management’, but it also provides an interesting way of viewing what public sector organisations and public managers actually do. The purpose of this article is to examine this emerging approach by reviewing new public management and contrasting this with a public value paradigm. This provides the basis for a conceptual discussion of differences in approach, but also for pointing to some practical implications for both public sector management and public sector managers. Key words: new public management, public value, role of managers Public sector reform has been a common experience across the world despite its different forms and foci (Pollitt and Bouckaert 2004). Commonly as scholars and practitioners we refer to the reforms of the last few decades as ‘new public management’ (NPM) which, for Hood (1991), represented a paradigmatic break from the traditional model of public administration. During this era several countries became...
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