advantages and disadvantages of bureaucratic management theory

The organizations positions are organized in a hierarchy, with lower levels reporting to and being supervised by the level above them. Alfred P Sloan, who was appointed chairman of the board of General Motors (GM) in 1937, was a bureaucratic leader who stretched the managerial limits of the style. Interest groups may provide valuable statistics to government agencies, and they are motivated to have their point of view heard. German sociologist Max Weber was the first person to formally study bureaucracy. Collin is another well-known politician who adopted the Bureaucratic Leadership Style. Katz D, Kahn RL (1978) The social . It is difficult to maintain high morale within a bureaucracy. Not a lot of good is said about bureaucracies and the complaints people have about the organizational model are valid. Rationality: A measure of objectivity is ensured by prescribing in advance the criteria far decision making in routine situations. Guidelines must be standard but flexible. That allows each person to focus their strengths toward what they do best, including the leader, who helps to ensure that all questions are answered by the correct people. The bureaucratic structure is an efficient, rule-based leadership framework that has proven to be a smooth way to govern and to organize societies. The finding of the study indicated that there is no correlation between bureaucratic management and workplace well-being. For some, bureaucratic leadership looks like a mess of red tape. Working together, these three groups set most government policies. Because of this, Bureaucratic leaders are often doing family-run businesses. 1. If you meet the quota, then youve done your job. 4. Bureaucracy is a system of administration. Empire Building: People in bureaucracy tend to use their positions and resources to perpetuate self interests. Bureaucratic leaders might find it difficult to adapt to change. Here are the additional advantages and disadvantages of bureaucracy. It completely revolutionizes and improves layout, routing, scheduling, purchasing, stores keeping and accounting. The goal of the worker is to achieve the top position possible within that specialization to create the best possible personal outcome. "Parkinson's Law." It is easy to fit into a bureaucracy. Job performance that is judged by productivity, or how much work an individual gets done. For many teams, the best result is to maintain current productivity levels with better quality over time. Although this does place a limit on how creative influences can sometimes be applied, it does allow for an organization to have confidence in the results a bureaucratic leader may promise. 2, JSTOR, December 29, 2010. Creativity thrives within a bureaucracy. It provides trained minds for achieving higher degree of excellence in all branches of shop management. It has a clear hierarchy that defines who has authority and how much. Selection in a formal setting Employees are hired, dismissed, and promoted depending on their qualifications, performance, and compliance with company policies. That is 334 times greater than what the average worker salary happened to be in that year. Chains of command are clear, as are expectations and decision-making power. At worst, bureaucratic leaders can create sharp drops in productivity. I am a Digital Marketer and an Entrepreneur with 12 Years of experience in Business and Marketing. A bureaucratic leader may be able to recognize these opportunities, but be able to do nothing about them, because the organizational structures in place do not offer the flexibility required to act. (2) A hierarchy of authority and chain of command throughout the organization, with a regulated system of appeal. Another disadvantage to a bureaucratic structure is the way finances are managed, more specifically, the way the budget is allocated. State departments of motor vehicles, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), financial lending organizations like savings and loans, and insurance companies are all bureaucracies that many people deal with regularly. It is a process that fosters safe productivity, but limits the true productive potential of individuals and departments. It may be, as is often claimed by business management writers, that in 2018, flatter is better for some companies. Bureaucracy is a system for controlling or managing a country, company, or organization that is operated by a large number of officials employed to follow rules carefully. 4. Separation of jobs and relationships. Churchill is also a thorough and detail-oriented leader, which are characteristics shared by Churchill. Favoritism is no longer a factor in the equation, Roles, duties, and expectations are all evident, A system of processes and rules that are extremely apparent, As everything must go via a chain of command, it is inefficient, It doesnt support a persons personal or professional development, Creativity, invention, and free thought are all stifled, This style of leadership doesnt encourage teamwork or the development of relationships, Because of a well-defined structure, it limits forward movement, Increasing productivity can be a challenge, Basing decisions concerning how their projects and teams look on paper, means it might prioritize appearance over reality. Cons. They must be able to tolerate potentially harmful conditions. Strong leaders and their top-down corporations were highly admired a couple of decades ago and now, like aging rock stars, are dismissed as old, slow and in the way unable to keep up in this rapidly morphing digital world. "The Study of Administration." The main features of this approach are as follows: 1. Disadvantages of Bureaucracy: The following are the disadvantages of Bureaucracy:1. Definition and Examples, Complex multi-level administrative hierarchy, Standard set of formal rules or operating procedures, A chain of command that is hierarchical; the top bureaucrat has ultimate control, and authority flows from the top down, A clear division of labor in which every individual has a specialized job, Clearly written, well-established formal rules that all people in the organization follow, A clearly defined set of goals that all people in the organization strive toward. Most people either work in a bureaucracy or encounter one every day. It creates predictability. Everyone is expected to follow the regulations which govern the work in the same way. Rules and laws abound, making people accountable and responsible to a governing body. It employs standard rules and procedures for organizing business and is . There is a lot of paperwork and red tape, which is the primary criticizing point of every bureaucratic organization. While employees may work hard to earn raises and promotions, there is no guarantee advancement or rewards will be given immediately. List of the Disadvantages of Bureaucratic Leadership. Required fields are marked *. Collin displayed exceptional leadership abilities, earning him the rank of general in the US Army and the position of Secretary of State. Most recently, Liz has been writing about accountants working in the cannabis industry on CPA Trendlines and reporting on cannabis trends for Southern Oregon Good Herb magazine in Oregon. For instance, in a bureaucratic business, typically, money is available for the current cycle only. However, the portions are often governed by the rules that they create for them. From the early years Weber proved to be very intelligent. Advantages of Bureaucracy. It also encourages preservation of jobs even when they become redundant. 1. 1. Centralized management resembles a dictatorial form of leadership where employees are only expected to deliver results according to what the top executives assign them. 7. who was considered the father of the bureaucratic management theory, Karl Marx 1818- 1883 , who was an advocate for communism; John . In the 1970s and 1980s, the heyday of celebrity CEOs, were corporate stars such as Chrysler's Lee Iacocca and General Motor's Jack Welch, who not only made the news and who apparently added value to their corporations, but who also wrote books explaining their powers as strong leaders. 3. What Extent Do Shareholders Control the Activities of a Corporation? From the C-suite, communication flows further downward in successive management levels, until it reaches the lowest levels of the hierarchy; often, these are the hourly workers that have limited opportunities to inform, criticize or feed information upward. All administrative and management activities are delegated to permanent offices, allowing for clear lines of authority, accountability, and responsibility. The fundamental characteristics of this leadership style have their advantages and disadvantages. A: Taylor's scientific management It is also known as the Classical management theory. This can become an issue if one team member is extremely efficient and another is not. Smaller groups also have the opportunity to make micro-decisions as necessary. People who work within a bureaucracy often have a higher level of education than the general public, have more self-direction, are more open-minded, and embrace their creativity in ways that promote the general good compared to those who are not bureaucrats. Summary. Two more companies that have thrived with a strong bureaucratic structure are Microsoft, first led by the company's founder, Bill Gates, and then by the successors he's selected; and, Berkshire Hathaway, founded in the 19th century and floundering in the 1960's until taken over by Warren Buffett, who changed everything, using his investment principles to lead the company from a valuation of $11.50 per share in 1965 to its 2018 value of $291,000 per share. If the flaws within this system can be managed well and rule expansions limited to necessary safety needs, it is an effective system that corporations and governments can use every day. Subordinates under bureaucratic management should be able to do the assigned task. In the 21st century which is the information age characterized by discontinuity, it is evident that the random people with irregular ideas are the one who creates different business models that generate significant returns compared to bureaucracy. It reduces the opportunity to quickly adapt to changing circumstances. Merit-based hiring and promotion; no granting of jobs to friends or family unless they are the best qualified. If workers are paid on a fixed salary and are asked to work extra hours, then their work productivity levels invariably decline. Definition and Examples, Classified Information: Definition, Examples, and Laws, What Is Transnationalism? They also tend to focus more on the general good compared to those working for other types of organizations. In his 1887 essay The Study of Administration, Wilson wrote that bureaucracy created a purely professional environment devoid of allegiance to fleeting politics. He argued that the bureaucracy's rule-based impersonality made it the ideal model for government agencies and that the very nature of a bureaucrat's job enables bureaucrats to remain insulated from outside, politically-biased influence. The impersonal nature of bureaucracy is often criticized, but this "coldness" is by design. The structure is inherently laden with rules and more policies and procedures can be added at any time, making workloads and roles more complicated. Political pressure is secondary to the clout that comes with doing a good, consistent job. This is how bureaucracy encourages working within an economy of scale. High discipline. Conformity to rules and roles in the structural framework bring about order to cope with complexity. If problems are discovered, then it becomes possible to correct them before the rest of the business, government, or society is affected by the issue. Collin gained his experience and understanding of the bureaucratic leadership style from there. Here are some of the key advantages and disadvantages of the bureaucratic leadership style to discuss. Examples of bureaucracies can be found everywhere. Weber has observed three types of power in organisations: traditional, charismatic and rational-legal or bureaucratic. If your work is supervised by another person, that is a bureaucratic structure. Advantages of Contingency Theory of Management Dynamic. Googling "power struggle at Amazon," returns results of many books about power struggles that are for sale at Amazon, but not a single article about anyone trying to wrestle control from Bezos. Bureaucratic Management Theory. 5. The bureaucratic organizational structure may inhibit productivity, diminish innovation and decrease morale. In addition, when left with no latitude to deviate from the rules, frustrated employees can become defensive and indifferent to the needs of the people who deal with them. Bureaucratic organizational structures, although unfashionable, still have certain advantages. Even though he mostly depended on a certain structure to keep his firm running, he nonetheless encouraged his employees to be creative and imaginative. These are the following: The systems demonstrate a lack of initiative and flexibility, There is a lot of compliance with regulations and procedures, Webers theory of bureaucratic leadership suggests six key reasons behind its importance, let us have a look at them here and now-, The following characteristics are comprised by the bureaucratic ways of leading a team-. It's generally less challenging for an individual to fit into a bureaucratic culture as compared to a flatter organizational structure. A bureaucratic leader follows the structured procedures established by the organization. The primary disadvantage of this theory is that it doesn't directly state how to act in order to achieve specific results. Because of this lack of freedom, there can be low levels of morale frequently found on teams run by a bureaucratic leader. Therefore, the hypothesis of the study is rejected. They must be dedicated to their profession. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-bureaucratic-organization-structure-2761.html. Defining products, roles, and the logic of . New York Udy SH Jr (1959) Bureaucracy and rationality in Weber's organization theory: an empirical study. People who work in bureaucracies are informally known as bureaucrats. The benefits of this approach are explained in detail below: Specialization or Expertise: In bureaucracy management, the work is divided among the employees . This creates low morale because the goals of the individual become a higher priority than the goals of the bureaucratic structure. There is a desired outcome to achieve. For example, the vice president of the research and development division may have a background in management and software engineering. This creates a starting line where everyone has the same chance to succeed. If circumstances change quickly, the structures of bureaucracy can make it difficult to adapt. He developed this idea in response to the rising need for a more efficient method for running these organizations, which had previously relied on favoritism. Critics are arguing that with the certain steps needed to carry out tasks and the need to follow a chain of command to proceed, lots of time can be lost especially if decisions and results are needed immediately. The author argues that power struggles are brought about by internal politics and strategic games, as employees seek to gain control or take over new job positions. Every leadership style has some level of innovation which must be built into the best practices over time. Clinicians and other frontline staff who actually help patients are subject to more, not fewer, fragmenting directives . Max Weber, a German sociologist was one of the first people in modern times to think seriously about the importance of bureaucracy. Efficiencies create the potential for increased productivity from each worker. The structure can limit productivity because bureaucratic leaders use rules and regulations to create consistency. With greater predictability comes more opportunities for personal growth for everyone. The big thinkers of the day conceived it as a way to streamline operations, increase productivity and enhance the bottom line. The average wage of a Chief Executive Officer in the United States at a major company in 2015 was $12.4 million. In these three types, bureaucratic leadership fell under the first- legal-rational type of legitimate power. Scientific Management is an "approach to management based on the application of work study techniques to the design and organisation of work in order to identify the one best way" (Fellenz &Martin, 2010). The establishment of work study, planning department, training of workers, and standardization requires more money. 2. 2. Whether a department has 1 worker or 100 workers, the rules in place create a shared efficiency where every worker produces similar results so that an outcome of any size can be achieved. This may include additional forms to fill out, new filing regulations, or new evaluations that must be conducted. 4. 8. Job security is provided. Democracy: Emphasis on qualifications and technical competence make the organization more democratic. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/bureaucracy-definition-examples-pros-cons-4580229. Furthermore, a bureaucratic culture is based on impersonal relationships, discouraging favoritism. Bureaucratic vs. Autocratic Leadership Styles, Characteristics ofBureaucratic Leadership. By encouraging specialization, a bureaucracy naturally promotes problem-solving and cost efficiencies at the same time. The issue with a bureaucratic leadership style is that the focus tends to be on specialization and consolidation. Secondly, the organization and its members are governed . Classical Management theory has a clear structure for management. The opposite is actually true. Companies can keep adding teams to their structure to take on more work because they are confident that each project will be completed to the same skill and quality levels. A bureaucracy is an organization, whether publicly or privately owned, made up of several policymaking departments or units. In an ideal bureaucracy, the principles and processes are based on rational, clearly-understood rules, and they are applied in a manner that is never influenced by interpersonal relationships or political alliances. If it is not used, then the expenditures will not be accounted for in the next budget cycle. In 2098, that's all changed. Added time creates additional costs to all who are involved. List of Disadvantages of Bureaucracy. Despite all difficulties, he displayed tenacity in carrying out his goals. How Much Influence Does a Leader Have on Employees? Specific roles and duties are dictated by a bureaucracy, allowing people to have defined rules for productivity. 3. This system lets subordinates follow normative rules and adhere to the authority of the leader in a well-defined manner. Although people with the right experience may be asked to fill multiple roles on occasion, the goal of this leadership style is to create siloed experts. It can take so long, in fact, that a second evolution can take place before the bureaucracy has adapted to the first evolution. The vice president of the research and development division is responsible for the department heads. It fosters a structure that doesnt create true productivity. As an example, consider a software firm. A bureaucracy that is not structured well can be inefficient and cost more in time and financial resources than it will save. If it's not used, then expenditures will not be accounted for in the next budget cycle. The output of this study contributes to a complex discussion about the effect of bureaucratic management on workplace well . This sprang from his desire to govern the company in a sensible yet (then) contemporary manner; by doing so, he revolutionized not only GM but the automobile industry as a whole. 3. Max Weber, a German social scientist, analyzed the formation and administration of enterprises. It is a style of leadership which encourages familiarity. Bureaucratic leadership is based on a clear line of command, stringent regulations, and follower conformity. In 2019, the most admired corporate structures are flattish (lots of independence at every corporate level) or completely flat, like the Valve Corporation.

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