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Bureaucracy
Working within a large bureaucracy can be at once frightening and comforting, frustrating and easy. Three of the advantages of working within a large bureaucracy include role differentiation, anonymity, and clarity of procedures, rules, and regulations. For example, because of the hierarchical structure of the organization, employees know their roles. Role conflict and job task confusion is relatively rare in organizations with strict hierarchical structures because each individual performs a specific set of tasks and reports to specific supervisors. Working within a large bureaucracy also affords a level of anonymity not available to those who work in smaller companies. Employees who prefer to keep their professional and personal lives separate, for example, might prefer the anonymity of the large corporate structure. Finally, large bureaucracies are renown for their "red tape," the rules, official procedures, and paperwork that comes with the territory. However annoying it can be at times, such red tape can minimize internal disputes and prevent mistakes.
The disadvantages of working within a large bureaucracy often stem from the same features that make working in a bureaucracy enjoyable. Therefore, the three disadvantages of working within a large bureaucracy are the same as the advantages: role differentiation, anonymity, and red tape. For instance, strict role differentiation can lead to job dissatisfaction and boredom. Employees might not be able to make changes to their position, to move into other positions, or to suggest new ways of doing things. Supervisors might pigeonhole employees, which would prevent them from making the career changes they desire. Second, the anonymity might seem stifling for some employees. Too much distance between the employee and his or her supervisors or coworkers can impart a sense of loneliness, frustration, and job dissatisfaction. Finally, the same rules and procedures that can come in handy at large bureaucracies can also be a major disadvantage. Paperwork is often redundant and unnecessarily time-consuming; official procedures might be ineffective but the employee is powerless to suggest alternatives.
Ethics In viewing the basic definition of bureaucracy and in noting some of the country's most recent examples of success and failure in the bureaucratic business world, one can see that the issue is clearly two-sided and will likely remain so for many years to come. However, despite the split in opinion, the question of ethics and bureaucracy can be delved into in rational manner that, in the end, finds in
An empowered employee may disobey rules and procedures to help a customer and in turn the organization itself. For further analysis of delegation and empowerment, we need to understand the concept of power itself. In bureaucracies, work is simply done by following preset procedures. Leadership doesn't usually have to impose power, in fact power is granted to employees to choose the best available choice (decision-making) cohering with the rules and
Bureaucracy as a Necessary Evil: The Formalized of the Organizational Structure of Government Agencies The creation of an efficient and competitive civil service that is the bureaucracy found in most governments today is often identified as a "necessary evil." Described as a specific form of organization that aims "to provide as much efficiency as possible" and to set up a "hierarchically structured decision-making process that reduces...personal factors to a minimum" (Jackson,
This makes the mentor more of a leader for training, but elevates training far beyond "Do this, do that, and bring it to me when you're done." Kaye (2002) makes an important point about mentoring: with the push to make businesses and government leaner, often there simply are not enough executives to go around to mentor all the candidates. A group approach can be one solution. She suggests that those
Communication Within an Organization Communication at Marketing Solutions Marketing Solutions is a national company with offices located in New York and around the country, and it offers 30 years' experience working with a variety of companies to develop marketing communications programs. These programs are designed to promote more profitable relationships with customers. The company began by providing newsletter design and content, and the business has expanded to include brochures, web campaigns,
People need look no further than their own homes to see the interdependence of world trade; no further than their neighborhoods to see the results of international migration and multiculturalism; no further than the news to see the causes and effects of global economics, ecology and ethnic conflicts. "While domestic debate continues over the nature of these connections, few can doubt their existence. As these connections increase, educators, utilizing a