“0TPR”Session 13 : Close System Approach

COORDINATOR & FACILITATOR

Manoj M Ghadge

“Bureaucracy: A Closer Look”

Discussion Points

1. What is a close system approach?

2. What is Bureaucracy?

3. Is Bureaucracy still relevant?

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“Closed System”

Assumes organizations as tools designed to achieve

preset ends, and all of them ignore or minimize the

constraints and opportunities posed by connections

to wider environment.

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Closed System – “Theorists”

Scientific Management - Taylor (1911)

Bureaucratic Theory - Weber (1968)

Administrative Theory - Fayol (1919)

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“Bureaucracy”

A form of organizational structure in which people can

be held accountable for their actions because

they are required to act in accordance with rules

and standard operating procedures

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Bureaucracy: a closed rational system

Rationality refers not to the selection of goal(s) but to their

implementation

Bureaucracy is about functional or technical rationality

It refers to the extent to which a series of actions is organized in such a

way as to lead to predetermined goals with maximum efficiency

Two important element in rationalization –

1. Goal Specificity

2. Formalization

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Goal Specificity and Formalization

Goals are the conception of desired end

Goals supply criteria for choosing among alternative activities

Formalization can contribute to rationality in many ways…

– Status battles are reduced by formalization

– Make the structure look external to the participating actors

– Functioning of organization is made independent of the feeling of

members

– Structures are independent of participation of any individual

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Weber’s work on Bureaucracy

“It is about authority and control”

Three types of authority

1. Traditional authority – the belief that ruler had a natural right to

rule. Example: Kings and Queens

2. Legitimate authority – based on formal written rules which have

the force of law. Example: Authority of President

3. Charismatic authority – the belief that the ruler had some special,

unique virtue, either religious or heroic. Example: Religious leaders

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Weber’s characteristics of Bureaucracy

Job specialization: Jobs are broken down into simple routine well defined task

Authority hierarchy: Positions are in a hierarchy of authority, with each

position under the authority of a higher one

Employment and career : All personnel are selected and promoted on the

basis of their technical qualifications and offered a full-time career

Recording: Administrative acts and decisions are recorded in writing

Rules and Procedure: All employees are subject to rules and procedures that

ensure reliable, predictable behaviour

Impersonality: procedure and rules are impersonal, and apply to managerial

and non-managerial employees alike

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Weber’s characteristics of Bureaucracy

Job specialization: Jobs are broken down into simple routine well defined task

Authority hierarchy: Positions are in a hierarchy of authority, with each

position under the authority of a higher one

Employment and career : All personnel are selected and promoted on the

basis of their technical qualifications and offered a full-time career

Recording: Administrative acts and decisions are recorded in writing

Rules and Procedure: All employees are subject to rules and procedures that

ensure reliable, predictable behaviour

Impersonality: procedure and rules are impersonal, and apply to managerial

and non-managerial employees alike

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Dysfunctional Consequences of Bureaucracy

Goal Displacement

Employee alienation

Concentration of Power

Nonmember frustration

Inappropriate application of rules and regulation

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Threats to Bureaucracy

Growth in size

Increasing diversity

Rapid and unexpected change

Change in managerial behavior

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Bureaucracy is not dead !

It works

Large size prevails

Social values are unchanging

Bureaucracy maintains control

Natural selection favors bureaucracy

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Thank you

Happy Reading !

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