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Bureaucracies

Bureaucracies. Characteristics. A bureaucracy is a group that has become dominant in social life All bureaucracies have: Clear levels with assignments flowing downward and accountability flowing upward A division of labor Written rules Written communications and records

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Bureaucracies

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  1. Bureaucracies

  2. Characteristics • A bureaucracy is a group that has become dominant in social life • All bureaucracies have: • Clear levels with assignments flowing downward and accountability flowing upward • A division of labor • Written rules • Written communications and records • Impersonality and replacability

  3. The rationalization of society • Max Weber viewed bureaucracies as such a powerful form of social organization that he predicted they would come to dominate social life • Goal Displacement- even after a organization has achieved it’s goal and no longer has a reason to continue, it still continues • Example: March of Dimes, NATO

  4. Dysfunctions of Bureaucracies • Red Tape: A Rule is a Rule- so bogged down by rules that the results can be illogical • Bureaucratic Alienation- many workers begin to feel more like objects than people • Workers no longer identify with their product • Resisting Alienation- forming primary groups at work, decorate their work area with personal items

  5. More Dysfunctions • Bureaucratic Incompetence • Peter Principle: each employee is promoted to his/her level of incompetence • Promoted until they are promoted to a level at which they can no longer handle the responsibilities well • There they hide behind the work of others and take credit for accomplishments of the employees under them

  6. Working for a Corporation • Stereotypes can affect your career • Corporate and department heads look for people who have similar characteristics as them to hire and promote • They feed better information to workers with those characteristics, putting them on the fast track • With these advantages, workers perform better which then confirms the boss’s expectation or stereotype • The opposite happens for workers who are corporate leaders

  7. The “hidden” corporate culture • Stereotypes and their powerful effects on workers remain hidden to everyone, even the boss • On the surface- the workers getting promoted are those who have superior performance and commitment to the company • Hidden- these higher and lower expectations and the open and closed opportunities that produce the attitudes and accomplishments

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