Page 184 - Fundamentals of Management Myths Debunked (2017)_Flat

People commonly assume that bureaucracies—or

mechanistic structures—are inefficient. Critics claim these

organizations are slow, rule-bound, and have too much “red

tape.” The media makes you think bureaucracies are

extinct—replaced by empowered teams and loosely

structured and adaptive organizations. Although many

organizations today do look like that, the truth is that

bureaucracies are still alive and well. Most medium-sized

and large organizations are structured as a bureaucracy

because its traits—specialization, formal rules and

regulations, clear chain of command, and

departmentalization—help efficiently structure

people and tasks.

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