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Unit 2 Culture and Social Structures
Calvin doesn’t think that bureaucratic rules should apply to him if they interfere with his wishes.
People submit to authority because they believe it is the right thing to do. With respect to authority, bureaucratic organizations are like pyramids. The greatest amount of authority is concentrated in a few positions at the top, with decreasing amounts of authority in a larger number of lower positions. This is what is meant by “hierarchy of authority.”
❖ A system of rules and procedures. Rules and procedures direct how work is to be done and provide a framework for decision making. They stabilize the organization because they coordinate activities and provide guidelines to follow in most situations.
❖ Written records of work and activities. Written records of work and activities are made and then kept in files. This organizational “memory” is essential to smooth functioning, stability, and continuity.
❖ Promotion on the basis of merit and qualifications. Jobs are filled on the basis of technical and professional qualifications. Promotions are given on the basis of merit, not favoritism. The norm in a bureaucracy is equal treatment for all.
Max Weber and Bureaucracy
Max Weber was the first to analyze the nature of bureaucracy. Although he recognized there were problems with this type of organization, overall he believed that bureaucracies were very efficient in dealing with the needs of industrial societies.
What are the advantages of bureaucracy? In Chapter 1, you read how Weber feared the dehumanizing effects of bureaucracies. As the values of preindustrial societies began to weaken, however, Weber also saw advan- tages to bureaucracy. On these advantages, he wrote the following:
The decisive reason for the advance of bureaucratic organization has always been its purely technical superiority over any other form of or-