Bureaucracies
Characteristics A bureaucracy is a group that has become dominant in social life All bureaucracies have: Clear levels with assignments flowing downward and accountability flowing upward A division of labor Written rules Written communications and records Impersonality and replacability
The rationalization of society Max Weber viewed bureaucracies as such a powerful form of social organization that he predicted they would come to dominate social life Goal Displacement- even after a organization has achieved it’s goal and no longer has a reason to continue, it still continues Example: March of Dimes, NATO
Dysfunctions of Bureaucracies Red Tape: A Rule is a Rule- so bogged down by rules that the results can be illogical Bureaucratic Alienation- many workers begin to feel more like objects than people Workers no longer identify with their product Resisting Alienation- forming primary groups at work, decorate their work area with personal items
More Dysfunctions Bureaucratic Incompetence Peter Principle: each employee is promoted to his/her level of incompetence Promoted until they are promoted to a level at which they can no longer handle the responsibilities well There they hide behind the work of others and take credit for accomplishments of the employees under them
Working for a Corporation Stereotypes can affect your career Corporate and department heads look for people who have similar characteristics as them to hire and promote They feed better information to workers with those characteristics, putting them on the fast track With these advantages, workers perform better which then confirms the boss’s expectation or stereotype The opposite happens for workers who are corporate leaders
The “hidden” corporate culture Stereotypes and their powerful effects on workers remain hidden to everyone, even the boss On the surface- the workers getting promoted are those who have superior performance and commitment to the company Hidden- these higher and lower expectations and the open and closed opportunities that produce the attitudes and accomplishments