Transcript Chapter 4_5 Structure of formal organizations

The Structure of
Formal Organizations
Chapter 4.5
Formal Organization
 Term to describe a large complex
secondary group that has been
established to achieve specific goals.
 Includes schools, businesses,
government agencies, religious
organizations, youth organizations, labor
unions, etc.
BUREAUCRACY
 A ranked authority structure that
operates according to specific rules and
procedures.
 Existed in ancient Egypt, China and
Rome, but came to prominence with the
Industrial Revolution.
“Rationalization of Society”
 Rationality-involves subjecting every
feature of human behavior to calculation,
measurement and control.
Bureaucracies have many departments or
bureaus.
If you have ever been to get a driver’s
license, or hospital you have dealt with
bureaucracy (wait till you go to college!)
Weber’s Model of Bureaucracies
Weber’s IDEAL model of bureaucracy Division of labor-each person performs specific
duties.
 Ranking of Authority-clear-cut lines of responsibility
 Employment based on formal qualifications
 Rules and regulations
 Specific lines of promotion and advancement
Voluntary Association
 Less bureaucratic
 Typically a nonprofit organization formed
to pursue a common interest (sport/band
boosters)
 Officers and workers are often unpaid
volunteers
THINK ABOUT IT: You spend
much of your time in a formal
organization-school. Describe
some of the formal structures that
guide day to day life in the school.
1927-1932 Study on worker
productivity-electric company
 Three workers involved – wirer, solderer,
inspector. Wirer connected wires
together, Solderer soldered them, then
the inspector examined for completion.
 The workers were paid according to the
number of circuits they completed
(management assumed each worker
would try to complete as many as
possible = more money).
 THIS WAS NOT THE CASE!
 An informal structure formed among the
workers – they decided what the norms
would be for a day’s production.
 Workers who produced more were called
“rate busters.” Less were called
“chisellers.” Workers who gave
information to the supervisor were called
“squealers.”
 Conformity to norms was enforced
through negative sanctions –ridicule and
exclusion.
The Effectiveness of Bureaucracies
 Good method of containing large
numbers of people to achieve large
scale goals
 Create order by clearly defining job tasks
and rewards
 Provides stability as individuals come
and go
Weaknesses of Bureaucracy
 Often lose sight of their original goals.
 Sociologists say that bureaucracies tend to
encourage the ‘bureaucratic personality.’ (Some
begin to focus too much on rules and ignore
goals).
 Power tends to fall into the hands of the few
and they promote their own ‘self-interest.’
 People are sometimes
promoted to jobs that
they are not qualified
for.