Bureaucracy

AFRMS · #1 Saturday, October 31, 2009

Bureaucracy

The word bureaucracy has at least three different meanings:
A group of workers (for example, civil service employees of the U. S. government) is referred to as "the bureaucracy." An example: "The threat of Gramm-Rudman-Hollings cuts has the bureaucracy in Washington deeply concerned."Bureaucracy is the name of an organizational form used by sociologists and organizational design professionals.
Bureaucracy has an informal usage, as in "there’s too much bureaucracy where I work."
This informal usage describes a set of characteristics or attributes such as "red tape" or"inflexibility" that frustrate people who deal with or who work for organizations they perceive as "bureaucratic."

When I’m talking about a group of people, I’ll always use "the bureaucracy," or
"bureaucrats."
When I’m talking about the organizational form, I’ll always link the word form with the word bureaucratic or bureaucracy. (No matter how clumsy that becomes.)
Therefore, when you see the word bureaucracy or bureaucratic—by itself—then it describes the negative attributes–the "stupidity," the "nonsense" that you and I mean when we talk about having "too much bureaucracy."

The "bureaucratic form..."
As you read about the bureaucratic form, note whether your organization matches the description. The more of these concepts that exist in your organization, the more likely you will have some or all of the negative by-products described in the next chapter. Max Weber, a German sociologist, wrote in the 1930s a rationale that described the bureaucratic form as being the ideal way of organizing government agencies.
The bureaucratic form and its use spread throughout both public and the private
Sectors. Even though Weber’s writings have been widely discredited, the bureaucratic form lives on.

The bureaucratic form has six Major principles.
1. A formal hierarchical structure
Each level controls the level below and is controlled by the level above. A formal
Hierarchy is the basis of central planning and centralized decision making.

2. Management by rules
Controlling by rules allows decisions made at high levels to be executed consistently by all lower levels.
3. Organization by functional specialty

Work is to be done by specialists, and people are organized into units based on the type of work they do or skills they have.
4. An "up-focused" or "in-focused" mission

If the mission is described as "up-focused," then the organization’s purpose is to serve the stockholders, the board, or whatever agency empowered it. If the mission is to serve the organization itself, and those within it, e.g., to produce high profits, to gain market share, or to produce a cash stream, then the mission is described as "in-focused."

5. Purposely impersonal
The idea is to treat all employees equally and customers equally, and not be influenced by individual differences.

6. Employment based on technical qualifications
(There may also be protection from arbitrary dismissal.)

The bureaucratic form according to Parkinson has another attribute.

7. Predisposition to grow in staff "above the line."
Weber failed to notice this, but C. Northcote Parkinson found it so common that he made it the basis of his humorous "Parkinson’s law." Parkinson demonstrated that the management and professional staff tend to grow at predictable rates, almost without regard to what the line organization is doing.
The bureaucratic form is so common that most people accept it as the normal way of organizing almost any endeavor. People in bureaucratic organizations generally blame the ugly side effects of bureaucracy on management, or the founders, or the owners, without awareness that the real cause is organizing based on the bureaucratic form. After all, the bureaucratic form has been so common because it promises some major benefits.

The major benefits promised by the bureaucratic form.
Hierarchical authority promises control and responsibility.
According to organizational design theory, the top executive would have control over the entire organization, and the outside world would know whom to hold responsible. "The captain of the ship is responsible for whatever happens on or to the ship.” Remember, in the 1920s and 1930s when bureaucracy was beginning to flower, the world of business and government was very different than today. Today’s industrialized nations were switching from agrarian societies to industrial societies. Prior to industrialization, organizations tended to be smaller, education and experience had not been so available or important, and management skills were seldom required, except at the very top.
So, in an organization in which the senior people were educated–and the workers were less so–it seemed vital to concentrate on control.

Management by rules promises control and consistency
If the entire organization was managed by rules, then top management could be sure that the organization would be controlled by their decisions. And, top management could be sure that no arbitrary "judgment" was introduced into the operation to make things inconsistent. The top executive could decide how things would be done, and forever after they would be done that way.
Consistency seemed desirable because the world prior to the industrial revolution was marked by inconsistency. People were discriminated against because of class, education, race, religion or creed. People were given advantages because of wealth, class or education. In a world where people were treated very differently from one another, consistency must have seemed very desirable.

An up-focused mission promised that governmental agencies would serve the legislative or executive bodies that formed them.
The idea seemed sound, because it promised that an agency of government wouldn’t end up serving the people who were in the agency, nor would it end up serving people outside of the agency. Instead, theoretically, it would serve the government–hence, all the people. In corporations, an up-focused mission promised that the organization would serve the
Stockholders, represented by the board of directors, rather than the people within the organization.

Specialization of sub-units promised accountability, control and expertise.
If specialists were in charge of each function of the organization, then top management could be certain that an educated or trained person was responsible for that function. In addition, top management could be reasonably certain that the people handling that function were expert in that function. Both of these benefits promised more certain control and effectiveness.
Prior to the twentieth century, people were given responsibility for managing most often because of their wealth, class or family–not necessarily because they were trained or skilled. So, having specialists handle functions seemed like a big improvement over having people manage things because they were the boss’s son, or the family had contacts.

Being impersonal promises objectivity, consistency and equality.
The theory suggests that if you wipe out the human elements of the business
transaction, and focus only on the "business" side, that you could be sure that no
Customer or citizen was treated better or worse than another. If you treat everyone identically, as though they had no individual differences, then you could ensure fairness through equal treatment. You could also ensure consistency.
This was highly valued in those days because many people felt they didn’t get treated equally with those of wealth, power or position. In the various European and North American cultures of the early twentieth century, customers were not always treated equally by businesses, and government did not treat citizens equally. Bureaucracy promised fairness and equality.

Employment based on technical qualifications promises equal opportunity, and protection from arbitrary dismissal promises job security to those who can pass a test and follow the rules.
Equal opportunity meant that a middle class educated person had the same
Opportunity of entry into government as an upper class or wealthy person. That was highly valued in an era when government tended to be controlled or dominated by those with money, power or position.
Job security was little known in the early twentieth century, but highly valued and highly prized. Bureaucracy promised protection against arbitrary dismissal. People with wealth, power or position exerted powerful control over businesses and government. Workers were subject to arbitrary dismissal if they offended the wrong people.

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