1. Module 19: Understanding Organizations
Sociology in Modules
Richard T. Schaefer
3rd edition

2. Understanding Organizations
Formal organizations and bureaucracies
Characteristics of a bureaucracy
Bureaucracy and organizational culture

3. Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies
Formal organization: group designed for special purpose and structured for maximum efficiency –
US postal Service, HCC, Houston symphony
Size, specify of goals and efficiency may vary but all formal organizations are structured to manage large-scale operations. 3

4. Formal organizations
In our society, formal organizations fulfill enormous variety of personal and societal needs
IRS
HISD
Ascribed statuses can influence how we see ourselves within formal organizations
Study of female lawyers

5. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy: component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency 5

7. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Ideal type: a construct or model for evaluating specific cases (Weber)
Weber emphasized basic similarity of structure and process found in dissimilar enterprises of religion, government, education, and business – what was common?

8. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Characteristics of Weber’s ideal bureaucracy:
Division of labor
Hierarchy of authority
Written rules and regulations
Impersonality
Employment based on technical qualifications 8

9. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
With a division of labor, specialized experts perform specific tasks
Fragmentation of work can remove connection workers have to overall objective of the bureaucracy 9

11. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

12. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Alienation: condition of estrangement or dissociation from the surrounding society
Trained incapacity: workers become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems

13. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Example – what we learnt about bureaucracies after 911?
CIA (Overseas matters) and FBI (domestic matters)– division of labor.

14. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
A hierarchy of authority means each position is under supervision
Written rules and regulations ensure uniform performance of every task
Provide continuity
Goal displacement: when rules and regulations overshadow larger goals of organization and become dysfunctional 14

16. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Impersonality a key characteristic
Bureaucratic norms dictate that officials perform duties without personal consideration to people as individuals 16

17. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Employment based on technical qualifications: ideally, performance measured against specific standards
Peter principle: every employee within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence (Peter and Hull 1969)
Bureaucracy pervades modern life; through McDonaldization, it has reached new heights 17

18. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Bureaucratization as a Process
Bureaucratization: process by which group, organization, or social movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic
Can take place within small group settings
Oligarchy: Rule by a Few
Iron law of oligarchy: even a democratic organization eventually develops into a bureaucracy ruled by a few 18

19. Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture
Classical theory or scientific management approach: workers motivated almost entirely by economic rewards
Human relations approach: role of people, communication, and participation within a bureaucracy emphasized 19

20. Table 19-1: Characteristics of a Bureaucracy20

21. Social Policy and Organizations: The State of the Unions Worldwide
Looking at the Issue
Labor unions consist of organized workers who share either the same skill or the same employer
Labor union practices were historically discriminatory, but today some actually ensure equal pay for minorities
Labor union power varies greatly from country to country 21

22. Figure 19-1: Labor Union Membership Worldwide22

23. Social Policy and Organizations: The State of the Unions Worldwide
Reasons for ongoing decline in labor union membership:
Changes in the type of industry
Growth in part-time jobs
The legal system
Globalization
Employer offensives 23

24. Social Policy and Organizations: The State of the Unions Worldwide
Applying Sociology
Marxists and functionalists view union development as logical response to organizational growth
Sociologists have linked decline in union membership to widening gap between hourly workers’ wages and managerial and executive compensation 24

25. Social Policy and Organizations: The State of the Unions Worldwide
Initiating Policy
U.S. is unique among industrial democracies in allowing employers to oppose union development
European labor unions play a major role in politics
Unions are a global force, but form and function vary from country to country 25

26. Sociology in the Global Community
19-1: McDonald’s and the Worldwide Bureaucratization of Society
What features of fast-food restaurants do you appreciate? Do you have any complaints about them?
Analyze life at your college using Weber’s model of bureaucracy. What elements of McDonaldization do you see? Do you wish life were less McDonaldized?