Classical Organization Theory

Theory of BureaucracyMax Weber

Max Weber, a German sociologist Born on April 21, 1864 in Prussia One of the leading scholars and he is one of

the founder of modern sociology Accomplished much economic work in the

style of the youngest German Historical School

His most famous economic work was produce in 1905 – name The Protestant Ethic & The Spirit of Capitalism

Other publications:i. Economy and Society, 1914ii. Politics as a Vocation, 1918iii.General Economic History, 1923iv.The Methodology of the Social Sciences,

1949

He emphasized on the ‘actions’ of individuals.

His works and approaches influences other scholars in sociology.

Since his death in 1920, his own writings are best remembered for his studies of Protestantism in relation to the rise of capitalism, bureaucracy, religion, music and industry.

Organizational communication (OC)a)Similar & distinct from other types of

communication.b)OC has sources & receivers who are

engaged in the decoding & encoding of messages.

c) OC related with competencies of individuals, their fields of experiences, the communicative context & the effect or results of interactions.

(Shockley-Zalabak, P, Fundamentals of Organizational Communication, 2002, p28)

OC – process through which organization are created and in turn create & shape events. The process can be understood as a combination of process, people, messages, meaning & purpose. (Shockley-Zalabak, P, Fundamentals of Organizational Communication, 2002, p28)

o OC - “(the) field that conceptualizes organization as symbolically achieved cooperation” (Carlone, D & Taylor, B, “Communication

Theory” 8, Aug 1998, p.339)

An organization can be viewed as a mechanism that plans & accomplishes the activities to reach its goals, where an individuals making up the structure are the enablers.

There are many theories that can be applied in the organization. One of them is the classical theory by Max Weber which simply known as the B Theory.

What is bureaucracy? It comes from a combination of two

French words: bureau – office cratic – rules

The term bureaucracy has origins in the field of sociology.

Sociologist Max Weber laid the foundations for modern discussion and understandings of bureaucracy

(in Macionis, John J, Society: The Basic, 6th ed.)

In our common sense and negative reactions, bureaucracy is like – hierarchical and layered, rule-driven and insensitive to any individual needs and complexities.

In reality and practices until today, any complex organizations still have these qualities which advocated and promulgated as the ideal organization by Weber.

Weber posits that it is the best way for the organization to manage the complexity of work of individuals with a common aim.

Thus, Weber defines an organization as a system of purposeful, interpersonal activity designed to coordinate individual tasks.

(Weber, M, The Theory of Social and Economic Organizations, 1947, p.151)

Weber outlines his theory in capacity of authority, specialization and regulation.

History – during French Revolution 1750 The Process of Industrialization in Europe (early

1800) ----------------------------------------------------------

Weber produced a great quantity of work and human institutions – better known as theory of bureaucracy

This theory has give impact on social change (e.g.- authority, specialization)

Get influence from Adam Smith (Capitalist Theory) It fall under classical theory To explain the impact of human behavior on the

development of organization Bureaucratic organization is the answer for

managing the organization

3 main elementsAuthoritySpecializationRegulations

Authority Comes with power. Authorized formally by the organization. The organization effectiveness depends

on the extent to which management is granted legitimate power by the organization.

• Example: you will obey your boss because the organization grants your boss the legitimate authority to give orders.

Rational-legal authority – a rational system by force of rule in the organization.

• Example – When you “report” to someone in the organization, you understand that the individual has the authority to ask and tell you what to do.

• The way to organize rational-legal authority is by hierarchy which carefully defined by the regulation. So, only the head of the organization has authority overall.

Bureaucratic authority – employees in the organization do not share ownership of the organization.

Specialization Division of labor occurs. Each person have their job task in the

organization. In large organization, division of labor is

extensive.

Regulation Any of organizational coordination is

possible through the implementation of a common set of regulations that govern everyone’s behavior.

In doing so, the organization rules should be rational and are designed to achieve the organizations’ goals.

So, careful records must be kept of all organizational operations.

Theory of B was aimed to help organization learn how to accomplish their goals in spite of any individual goals workers may have

It exist in both govt. & private sectorsGovernment Sector (rigid, process, rules

and time taken)Private Sector (less rigid, faster decision

making) – but still existNGO’s – (committee, sub committee, etc)

StrengthClear structure of the organizationDivision of labor into spheres of influencesClear norms of rulesSelection to office is by technical

qualificationDiscipline & controlPrecision – quality is primePromotion by Seniority (experience/ability)

Weaknesses Iron cage of control – over controlRed tapeDecision – long processResistant to changeHierarchy – many levels Irrational Inhumane (workers is like machine)

Create difficulties among the publicTime taken too long

Encourage corruption & malpractices. Although still prevalent in the

management today, a counterpoint has been the human relations movement, which advocates vesting much power in ordinary employees.

No other good system to replace bureaucracy

This theory don’t say much about communication per se, but Weber’s principles did lay down a base of powerful assumptions that affected the image of communication in organizations.

Weber’s model follows a top-down, mechanistic view of how the organization should coordinate their activities to achieve common goals, especially in large corporations.