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BUREAUCRACY |
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Sociologyindex |
Syllabus |
Sociology Books 2008 |
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A formal organization with defined objectives, a hierarchy of
specialized roles and systematic processes of direction and administration. Bureaucracy is
found in earlier times in history, for example in administration of agricultural
irrigation systems, the Roman army, the Catholic church, but it becomes most prominent in
the large-scale administration of agencies of the modern state and modern business
corporations.
Max Weber (1864-1920) gave particular attention to bureaucracy
and saw this form of social organization becoming dominant in modern society due to the
commitment to the value of rationalization - the organization of social activity so as to
most efficiently achieve goals.
Bureaucracies enable governments to generate, process,
distribute, and store information. Even the Egyptian, Roman, and other ancient empires
were administered in part by bureaucracies. Yet the terms "bureaucracy,"
"bureaucratic," and "bureaucrat" are not ancient; they date from the
1830s and 1840s.
The growth of formal bureaucracy is a phenomenon of the 19th
and 20th centuries, and the modern bureaucratic state is one of mankind's recent
accomplishments. For organizations in both the public and private sectors, the bureaucracy
represents an important, modern technology of control.
To some extent, a cyberocracy would be a bureaucracy changed by computers. This new form
presumes the diffusion of advanced information and communications systems throughout a
nation's government (and its public and private sectors generally). It also implies the
rise of elites who rely on those systems and work to use them to their fullest
capabilities.
But it would be a mistake to define a cyberocracy as a computerized bureaucracy, or a
"cybercrat" as a bureaucrat with a computer. The new technology opens the doors
to new capabilities and possibilities; it implies that things may be done differently.
This difference may stem less from the computer someone may have than from the access it
may provide to networks and databases outside one's office, and potentially across all
branches and levels of government, in the private as well as the public sector, and
internationally as well as domestically.
While bureaucracies are organized along thematic lines, big budgets and staffs are
generally considered more important than information as bases of bureaucratic power.
Moreover, the hierarchical structuring of bureaucracies into offices, departments, and
lines of authority may confound the flow of information that may be needed to deal with
complex issues in today's increasingly interconnected world.
Alvin Toffler, Future Shock, Random House Inc., New York,
1970. One of the first works to foresee that the information revolution would have a major
impact on bureaucracy. He termed bureaucracy as "ad-hocracy,"
A good example of a bureaucracy is a university, where most of
these characteristics exist. Of course, in the social world, no bureaucracy conforms
exactly to the ideal type, and there is often favouritism, bending of rules, or
incompetence. But many organizations have a large number of characteristics consistent
with the ideal type. Further, the ideal type constitutes a model and the way that any
actual bureaucracy operates can be compared to the ideal type. Often the complaints of
individuals in bureaucratic organizations relate to ways in which some part of the ideal
type is not met. For example, rules may not be clear or incumbents of a particular office
may misuse their position.
While bureaucracies may limit freedom and form structures of
domination, they are also necessary to carry out the administration of modern, complex
society. If these bureaucratic forms did not exist, society would be worse off, in that
actions would be carried out in an inefficient and wasteful manner.
At the same time, Weber notes that bureaucracies do tend to
have great power. Their rational and efficient methods of administration, and their
legitimate forms of authority do act to eliminate human freedom. Like Marx's alienation
surplus value, Weber views bureaucracy as alienating (although he does not use this term)
in that it is a set of structures which dominate people.
Weber’s analysis of bureaucracy has made it seem as if
bureaucracies are inherently limiting to human freedom. While Weber praises bureaucracies
for their efficiency and predictability, he feared that people would become too controlled
by them. Weber does not appear to focus on the forces of freedom and equality that can
come from bureaucracy. Standardized rules make it less possible for personal favours to be
provided and for arbitrary directive to be given. Members of an organization may generally
benefit from bureaucratic rules and regulations, and these make it possible for hiring and
promotion to occur on the basis of merit. Rewards can be given for performance, rather
than through favouritism and arbitrariness. |
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Syllabus
Sociology 110 - Summer Session I, 2000
Formal Organizations and Bureaucracy
Instructor: Amy Davis - www.unc.edu/~abarden
This course has the following objectives: (1) study the founding, transformation, and
disbanding of organizations (2) provide you with opportunities to develop writing skills
and to work with others (3) provide you with an atmosphere that encourages the exploration
and exchange of new ideas (4) help prepare you for your professional and/or academic
careers.
Texts and Readings
The primary textbook we will read this semester is Organizations Evolving, by Howard
Aldrich. I refer to it as HA in the course schedule, but here is the complete reference.
Aldrich, Howard. 1999. Organizations Evolving London: Sage.
We will also read excerpts from books and articles from academic and popular journals and
newspapers. The textbook is available at the campus bookstore. The other readings are
available on reserve at the Undergraduate Library and/or are electronically available on
my website.
Term Project
As soon as possible, find an organization with at least 2 but no more than 30 employees to
study. You may pick an organization owned by a family member or the one at which you are
currently (or have formerly been) employed. You must be able to visit this organization
several times, so pick a local organization or one in your hometown. In addition to
visiting the organization and making careful observations, interview the founder. Use the
concepts from class to tell the story of this organization. A handout will be distributed
in the first week of class detailing the requirements of this paper.
Team Work
We will form teams at the beginning of the term. We will meet in our teams during most
class days. Team exercises are designed to apply concepts from the readings and increase
participation in class. Also, teams are opportunities to discuss issues you encounter in
your term projects. I encourage teams to form study groups for exams. I also encourage
teams to coordinate photocopying of reserved readings.
Course Topics
Tuesday, May 23: First Day of Class. Introductions.
Wednesday, May 24: Introduction to Organizations Evolving
-Discussion Question: Why is it important to study small organizations?
Thursday, May 25: The Evolutionary Perspective.
-Discussion Question: In what ways do luck, chance, and mistakes play a role in
the evolutionary perspective of organizations?
Friday, May 26: New Organizations Part I. (Entrepreneurs and their Networks)
-Discussion Question: Why do nascent entrepreneurs use networks?
Tuesday, May 30: New Organizations Part II. (Knowledge and Resources)
-Discussion Question: How do most new business owners, according to Aldrich, compare to
the business owners discussed in the N&O articles with regard to initial capital? Why
do you suppose the similarities and differences that you find exist?
Wednesday, May 31: Organizational boundaries Part I.
-Discussion Question: Why do some organization leaders hire people they know?
Thursday, June 1: Organizational boundaries, Part II.
-Discussion Question: In what ways can rewards influence the behavior of organizational
members?
Monday, June 5: Turning employees into members
-Discussion Question: What is a cognitive heuristic? What role do they have in an
organization’s community of practice?
Tuesday, June 6: Managers
-Discussion Question: Why is it problematic to say that managers advance through
corporations as a result of merit?
Wednesday, June 7: New Organizational Forms Part I.
-Discussion Question: According to Besser, can Japanese forms of organizing
workers translate effectively in the United States? Why or why not?
Thursday, June 8: New Organizational Forms Part II.
-Discussion Question: What are the positive consequences of teams for individual workers
and for the Camry plant? Negative Consequences?
Monday, June 12: Organizational Transformation
-Discussion Question: How common are organizational transformations?
Tuesday, June 13: Bureaucracy
-Readings:
Perrow, Charles. 1986. Complex Organizations: A Critical Essay. “Chapter 1:
Why Bureaucracy?” Pp 1-36
-Discussion Question: What are some reasons why bureaucracy is a good way to organize?
Wednesday, June 14: Charismatic Control
-Discussion Question: Under what conditions is charismatic control effective in
organizations? What is your reaction to charismatic control? What are some ways in which
Direct Selling Organizations differ from Bureaucratic Organizations?
Thursday, June 15: Organizational Power
-Readings:
Ford, Ramona L. 1988. “Political and Economic Power in the United States
Today: Alternative Views.” Work, Organization, and Power. Pp. 105-148.
-Discussion Question: How does the power pluralism view differ from the power elite view?
Monday, June 19: Organizations and Social Change
-Discussion Question: Why is it important to consider age, period, and cohort effects?
Tuesday, June 20: New Populations
-Discussion Question: Why do new populations have to establish legitimacy?
Why don’t these new populations have legitimacy?
Wednesday, June 21: Reproducing Populations: Foundings and Disbandings
-Discussion Question: According to Aldrich, how do small, local breweries survive given
the dominance of beer producers like Budweiser?
Thursday, June 22: Organizational Death
Readings:
Sutton, Robert I. 1987. “The Process of Organizational Death: Disbanding and
Reconnecting.” Administrative Science Quarterly 32:542-569.
-Discussion Question: What is a successful organizational disbanding?
Friday, June 23: Community Evolution
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