Formal Organizations Bureaucracy better yet Red Tape Formal

Formal Organizations Bureaucracy, better yet Red Tape

Formal Organizations When a secondary group becomes large and complex. They are often created to achieve specific goals.

Voluntary Organizations • Youth sports teams, hobby clubs and charitable organizations.

Bureaucracies • Large, hierarchical organizations. • Most large companies and modern governments are bureaucracies. • Set up to achieve specific goals • All members have assigned tasks that are narrowly defined.

Formal characteristics of a Bureaucracy • • • Hierarchical chain of command Clear division of labor (Specialized jobs) Clearly written, well-established rules Clearly defined set of goals Merit-based hiring and promotion (no nepotism) • Job performance is judged by productivity.

Max Weber • One of the first sociologist to think about the concept of bureaucracy • Thought it was a sensible way for businesses and government to meet their objectives.

Advantages of a bureaucracy • Best way to organize to achieve large scale goals. • Clearly define job responsibilities and goals • Organization can go on if someone leaves

The Peter Principle • In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence. This results in people working at a level that they are not competent at.

Problems with Bureaucracies • Workers lose sight of purpose due to following rituals instead of serving • One worker does not know what the next one is doing, no cross-training.