Download The Structure of Formal Organizations Ch. 4 S. 5

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.