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The Structure of Formal Organizations Ch. 4 S. 5 Obj: Explain how bureaucracies are ________________; evaluate the ________________________ of bureaucracies. Sociologists use the term __________ organization to describe a large, complex secondary group that has been established to achieve specific _________. Formal organizations include a variety of groups such as ____________, businesses, government agencies, religious organizations, labor unions, and professional associations. Most formal organizations are structured in a form that is known as a ____________________. A bureaucracy is a ranked authority structure that operates according to specific rules and procedures. Bureaucracies existed in ancient times in Egypt, China, and Rome. However, they rose to ____________________ during the Industrial Revolution. Industrialization was part of the process called the rationalization of society. ___________________ involves subjecting every feature of human behavior to calculation, measurement, and control. Bureaucracies were created to _____________ organize groups to complete a set of goals. Today we use the word bureaucracy to refer to any organization that has many departments, or _____________. If you have ever applied for a driver’s license or been admitted to a large ________________, you have dealt with a bureaucracy. Weber’s Model of Bureaucracies The German sociologist Max ______________ developed a theoretical ___________ of bureaucracies that is still widely used by sociologists today. According to Weber’s model, bureaucracies have the following characteristics: • Division of labor __________ is divided among specialists in various positions. Each specialist is expected to perform specific duties. • Ranking of _____________________ There are clear-cut lines of responsibility, and each individual is responsible to a supervisor at a higher level. • ________________________ based on formal qualifications Specific qualifications are required for each job, and individuals are hired on the basis of tests, education, or previous experience. Also, in a bureaucracy, the job - not the _________-holder - is important. Therefore, everyone is replaceable. • Rules and regulations There are objective ____________, regulations, and routine procedures that identify the exact responsibilities and authority of each ______________ on the staff. • Specific lines of promotion and advancement It is assumed that employees expect a career with the organization. Thus, there are clear-cut lines of premonition and advancement. Among the _________________ for remaining with the organization are job security and seniority. Remember that Weber’s model of bureaucracy is an ideal __________. In other words, it describes the essential characteristics of bureaucracies. The structures of formal organizations conform to the _____________ to varying ______________. Many governmental agencies and large business corporations fit these characteristics very rigidly. Other organizations – such as voluntary associations – may be much less bureaucratic. A voluntary _______________________ is typically a nonprofit organization formed to pursue some common interest. As the name suggests, membership is ____________________. Many office-holders and workers are unpaid volunteers. Examples of voluntary association include amateur _____________ teams, professional associations, service clubs, charities, and politics interest groups. Relationships in Formal Organizations According to Weber’s model, bureaucracies are formal ______________________ structures. However, informal structures based on strong primary relationships may exist within the most rigid bureaucracies. For example, the director of ___________ in a large corporation may play golf every weekend with the director of purchasing. Or, they may have gone to the same ________________ and now attend the same religious services. The importance of __________________ group relationships within formal organizations was first noted in a research project at the Hawthorne, Illinois, plant of the Western Electric Company. The intended purpose of the study, conducted between 1927 and 1932, was to determine how various factors affected _______________ productivity. As part of the research, the sociologists studied the _______________ between members of a group of employees assigned the task of writing complex telephone circuits. Three worker roles were involved – wirer, solderer, and inspector. The ____________ connected the proper wires together. The ________________ then soldered them. The ___________________ examined the completed circuits to make sure they met specifications. The company paid workers according to the number of circuits, or units, they completed. Management assumed that each worker would try to complete as many unites as possible in order to make more money. However, this was not the case. An informal structure developed among the workers. Together, they decided what the norms would be for a day’s ________________. Those who produced less were called ratebusters. Those who produced less were called chiselers. Workers who gave any information to a supervisor were called ___________________. Conformity to the norms was enforced through a system of negative sanctions, such as ridicule and ________________. This informal structure operated independently of the formal structure of the organization and was far more important to the individual workers. How Effective Are Bureaucracies? Some scholars have suggested that Weber’s theoretical model views bureaucracies in a _________________ light, as the best method of coordinating large numbers of people to achieve large-scale goals. Weber also suggested that bureaucracies create order by clearly defining job ___________ and rewards. Further, they also provide stability, since individuals come and go but the organization continues. However, this view is a rather broad overstatement of the effectiveness of bureaucracies. In reality, they have several important _______________________. One reason why actual bureaucracies are less effective is that they lose sight of their original goals. Sometimes, bureaucracies seem to abandon their original purpose in favor of _________-continuation. For example, certain government agencies emphasize their need to exist, regardless of whether or not they continue to provide useful services. A study of the _____________________ Protection Agency provides a striking illustration of this. The study found that officials’ actions often favored survival of the ___________ over enforcement of environmental standards. Sociologists have suggested that the effectiveness of bureaucracies is __________________ because they tend to encourage the development of a bureaucratic personality. The formal structure of a bureaucracy requires officials to closely follow rules and ___________________. However, some officials focus too intently on the rules and ignore the goals of the bureaucracy. This often leads to a related weakness-the proliferation of “______ tape,” or bureaucratic delay. Individual officials play a limited as well. This may cause people to become _________________ in red tape. Consequently, they spend hours filling out forms, standing in seemingly endless lines, or being shuffled from one department to another before they accomplish their goals. You probably know ____________ or have had experiences about how frustrating it can be to deal with the red tape of a government agency or large ________________. Another weakness of bureaucracies involves their tendency to result in oligarchies. An oligarchy is a situation in which few people rule the many. In bureaucracies, _______________ tends to concentrate in the hands of a few people at the top. These people then use their position to promote their won interests over the interests of the organization. Sociologist Robert Michels called this tendency of organizations to become increasingly dominated by small groups of people the ________ law of _________________. Some critiques of bureaucratic effectiveness have made their print through humor. In his book The ______________ Principle, Laurence J. Peter suggested that employees in a bureaucracy often are promoted to positions for which they may have little ability. Bureaucracies are able to function, he added, only because not all officials have been promoted to their “level of incompetence.” another humorous criticism of bureaucracies has become known as __________________ Law. C. Northcote Parkinson argued that “work expands to fill the time available for its ____________________.” For example, assume that a ___________ servant is overworked. The person can solve the problem in one of three ways: (1) the person can resign. (2) the person can cut the work in half by sharing it with a new _______________. (3) the person can demand the assistance of two subordinates. Parkinson’s Law says that the individual will always choose the ________________ alternative. The ____________ alternative is unacceptable because resigning will mean losing pension, medical, and other benefits. The second alternative is unacceptable because people who gain a new colleague then have a rival for ___________________. If, however, people have two subordinates, then their job looks more important because they have control over two individuals. There must be two subordinates so that each is kept in line by _________ of the other person’s promotion. Eventually one of the subordinates will complain about being __________________. Then that subordinate will need two subordinates. Naturally, if one subordinate gets two subordinates, the other subordinate must have two subordinates. Our civil servant soon has six _____________________. This should ensure a promotion. But now our civil servant is more overworked than ever before, because all six of the subordinates are sending work to be approved. The civil servant has to work overtime to get all the work done but concludes that late hours are a _______________ of success.