Bureaucracy in Organization and Bureaucratic personality

Sept 10, 2007 Lecture 6 HSS 205

Structure of bureaucracy

Bureaucracy is an organisational model rationally designed to perform complex tasks efficiently.

Six key elements:

1. Specialisation- special duties with special knowledge
2. Authority is structure by hierarchy, lies with position not person.
3. Rules and regulations- operation is guided by rationally enacted rules and regulations
4. Technical competence- each officer is expected to be technically capable to carry out duty. Evaluation is based on impersonal performance
5. Impersonality- rules take precedence over personal whim, formality and uniform treatment for each client and workers.
6. Formality is stressed.

Chief merits of bureaucracy

• Technical efficiency- precision, speed, expert control, continuity, discretion and optimal returns on inputs
• Complete elimination of personalized relationship and non-rational consideration.

Note: Merton points out the bureaucratization separates the individuals from the means of production; in modern society, in order to work, one must be employed by a bureaucracy.

Dysfunctions of bureaucracy:

Refers to the inborn mechanism which allows bureaucracy to be efficient and accurate, will inevitably inhibit he organisation goals being achieved.

Importance of personal discipline:

Because efficiency will only possible when ideal pattern support by strong sentiments,
- devotion to duties,
- Know limits of own authority and competence
- Methodical performance of routine activities.

But, when these sentiments become too intense, will result in phenomenon of technicism and Red tape.

- Bureaucratic inefficiency and ritualism, Red cape which refers to a tedious preoccupation with organisational routines and procedures (Robert Merton 1968). Ritualism is a preoccupation to the point of thwarting organisation goals.

- dehumanise and alienate individuals
- Alienation, the impersonality that fosters efficiency simultaneously denies officials and clients the abilities to respond to each other’s unique and personal needs.
- Extreme case is “bureaucratic virtuoso” leads to over conformity.

Structure source of dysfunction, is not about individuals’ personality or incapability, But rather when individuals are

- Expected to adapt thoughts, feelings and actions to prospects of career
- Shared sense of common destiny
- Identifying the corporate work with way of life
- Stressed on depersonalization of relationships
- Their official roles are vested with definite authority

The development of bureaucratic personality is formed and has impacts on each individual.

Source of conflict- Pressure for formal and impersonal treatment from organization, but clients desire for personalized consideration.


The Organization Man (William Whyte)

Large Scale Corporation will systemically impact on individuals, not only within corporate life but also in his private life.
He also observed the rising of professional school, which were prepared for corporation.
- Training for organisation
- The rise of personnel – human resource, personality test, (select employees who are willing to conform to maintain corporate culture)
- Individuals belong to organisation, their work also affect their family life.

There are two social processes:

1. Growing individualism, correlated with great individuals responsibilities
2. Growing large-scale social organization

Q: How does the individual deal with large-scale organization?

Habermas’s Life world gives some ground work for this analysis

System vs. Life world

Habermas refers “system” as any political, economic dominated by large scare organisations. While life world, refers to anything else not within system.

Life world including three dimensions:
1. Social
2. Cultural
3. Personality

Social aspect of life world-

How successful will an individual in dealing with large scale organisation depends on his/her social capital, which refers to the social knowledge one accumulated over time. The social knowledge, consist of formal and informal part, is important to one’s success.

Interstitial Social relationships
1. Familiar relationship: such as family, provides social cultural capital in a very strategic way, family provides”
- Linguistic patterns
- Reasoning skill
- Habitués, a set of acquire patterns of thought, behaviours and tastes.
- Importance of formal education

2. Friendship networks
- More extensive than in the past
- Wider spectrum of social relationships
- Source of practical knowledge, about normative structures in corporate and government sectors.


3. Self-help group
- Part of emerging life world
- Problems that results of economical and social development which is too big for family to handle and too small for the state to involve
- How to negotiate system, egg, health care system

4. Voluntary association
- Three type:
- Civic association
- Special interests group
- Professional association

Implication: Individualisation is an essential feature of industrial urban life, but individuals require supports of interstitial organisation.