Advantages and Disadvantages of Bureaucracy - Example

Advantages and disadvantages of bureaucracy Name Institution Introduction The concept of bureaucracy in management is a concept that has been debated upon by countless scholars across the globe. While some of these scholars think highly of the concept and appraise it as a useful tool in management, others differ (Adler 1999, p. 36). Those who differ with this notion are mainly the contemporary scholars who believe that bureaucratic measures in management are there to waste resources and time. They believe that an organization communication channel should be open and the flow of information from one level to the other, either vertically or horizontally made seamless. The others who support the concept believe that as much as the communication should be open, there should be some checks and balances that govern how these organizations operate and how policies flow from one end to the other (Balle 1999, p. 190). In this regard, this essay examines the concept of bureaucracy from both angles. The essay investigates how bureaucracy is applied in various organizations both in the past as well as in the present. The essay also looks at the advantages as well as the disadvantages of bureaucracy in the past and in the present times. A comparison will be offered in the concluding segment to determine whether the bureaucracies are appropriate today in the workplaces for effective and efficient management. Bureaucracy defined Before embarking into the discussion of how the concept of bureaucracy is applied in various organizations, it is important to offer a definition of the concept of bureaucracy here. Various scholars have their own definition and perception of bureaucracy as a concept applied in management. Adler (1999, p. 36) thinks of bureaucracy as a concept that denotes red taping, bosses who are over-controlling and apathetic employees. There is a discordant between the way employees and their bosses relate (Adler 1999, p. 36). Balle (1999, p. 190) agrees with this notion by Adler (1999, p. 36) but he goes forth to state that bureaucracy may be considered a mess but in actual sense, it comes in handy in cleaning up messes. In other words, bureaucracy reduces wastage especially in huge companies. Dwyer (2006, p. 1234) in his definition of the organization in the contemporary society differs slightly with Balle (1999, p. 190) on the capacity of bureaucracy to reduce wastage. Rather, bureaucracy only leads to wastage of time, energy and resources. The creation of multiple channels in an organization only leads to wastage (Dwyer 2006, p. 1236). Balle (1999, p. 190) defends his stand and states that in large organizations, the lack of a special structure through which people have to follow unconditionally leads to more wastage. Therefore, bureaucracy in this case would be a small price to pay for managing the possible wastage. Johnson et al (2009, p. 39) presents another formulation and definition of bureaucracies. True bureaucracies are dependent upon rules that have been imposed hierarchically onto an organization founding upon legal authority and legitimate channels of command and control (Johnson et al 2009, p. 39). In other words, formation of bureaucracies entails a certain level of control and command that has been passed down the organization. Therefore, technically speaking, through this approach, people do not even realize much that they are in some form of bureaucracy tunnel in their organizations. Advantages of Bureaucracy in the past and in present times One of the major advantages of bureaucracy is the fact that it leads to specialization and division of labor. Through following certain rules, guidelines and procedures, an organization is capable of ensuring that the various personnel in the organization perform set tasks (Johnson et al 2009, p. 42). This leads to division of labor. Division of labor and specialization leads to efficiency and effectiveness of production. People know exactly what they are supposed to do and they do it without looking up to somebody else. In other words, people will conduct their affairs in and around the organization depending on their levels of specialization. For instance, if one is an accountant in a huge organization that manufactures say cars, he or she is not expected to be in the engineering department telling people how to fix cars. An engineer is also not expected to be doing books of accounting because it is not his area of specialization. Bureaucracy in such a setup dictates that people stick to what they know how to do best. This will make the line of work move faster and the production increases in effectiveness. This is important both in the present as it was in the past. In the past, when the world was on the brink of industrialization, bureaucracy was important that it allowed people to concentrate on lines of production and grow these companies (Balle 1999, p. 194). In the present, the contemporary society is more concerned about turnaround times and bureaucracy offers this through a system of specialization and division of labor. Bureaucratic systems also enhance predictability in an organization (Hodgson 2004, p. 84). Predictability brings about a sense of order. Order results into stability. Stability in an organization is a very important issue. Within a bureaucratic system, there are rules, regulations, specialization and training that bring about a concept of predictability. Everybody in the organization is mandated to conform and follow these rules. This is what brings about the concept of stability in an organization. In a predictable organization, it is hard for things to go wrong because everything follows a certain predetermined pattern and course. If issues go out of hand, it is easy to rectify them because there is availability of documentation. An organization that has a high degree of bureaucracy has a lot of fairness in the way it conducts their affairs (Stazyk & Geordel 2010, p. 647). In other words, there is a heightened level of democracy. People are employed based on merit. These companies lay an emphasis on qualifications of individuals and their technical competencies. The officials who undertake this process use prescribed policies and practices rather than favoritism and privileged treatment. Disadvantages of bureaucracy both in the past and in the present Even in the past, bureaucracy had been viewed as bringing about unnecessary infringement on an organization’s capacity to produce and run effectively. The post-bureaucracy organizations existing in the world today term bureaucracy as being rigid (Hodgson 2004, p. 81). The inflexibility and compliance with certain set rules and regulations discourages creativity. People do not feel the urge to think out of the box because they think that the system does not allow room for such creativity. In the present world, the massive competition between companies results into a high rate of employee turnover. Modern companies hire people and encourage the concept of innovativeness. If these people are innovative, this means that the company will be in a position to develop new products that are suited to the modern market. With bureaucracy curtailing that innovativeness, it would be hard to increase the production levels and capacities in these organizations. Another disadvantage of bureaucracy both in the past as well as in the present is that bureaucracy leads to compartmentalization of various activities in the organization (Walton 2005, p. 569). Through the concept of bureaucracy, jobs become divided into various categories. Division of jobs into various categories means that people become restricted from performing particular jobs or activities that they feel they are capable and qualified in performing. The implication is that people cannot be able to explore the level of their capacity and skills because they are not allowed to venture further than their work description allows. In the modern society where people do multiple jobs at a time, this becomes a real hindrance to the personal as well as organizational development of these people. Bureaucracy also encourages the maintenance of defunct and redundant jobs. Some jobs, especially in ministries have suffered from entropy and have failed to catch up with the heavy demands in the world today. However, because of bureaucratic structures and processes, you find that those jobs still exist and they eat in the salaries and expense accounts of these companies while adding nothing into their revenue streams. Another disadvantage that is that with bureaucracy, people embark on a process of empire building. This used to be the case in the past where people created an ‘empire’ through utilizing their positions and their resources for their own self-interests (Sorensen 2007, p. 388). People who were high ranking in the government had the power to make waves in the political arenas resulting from their positions in various organizations. The higher the number of people working under somebody, the higher the symbol of power and prestige that is associated with this person. Bureaucracy allows such structures to develop especially in government organizations. Many people exploit these structures for their own personalized gain. In the past as well as in the present times, bureaucracy has led to a lot of red taping. Red taping is a process where there is a presence of delays and frustrations during the performance of a certain task (Hales 2002, p. 53). For instance, one may want something performed in a certain organization but because of numerous frustrations, checks, balances and red tapes, this may not become possible. An example can be provided here in some government ministries for instance the ministry of immigration. Here, a person has to follow numerous checks and delays and sometimes frustrations before he or she can be cleared by the customs. Another feature that forms a disadvantage of bureaucracy is paperwork. Bureaucracy involves a lot of paperwork as every stage, process and decision must be put and communicated in form of writing. Documents have to be maintained in their original as well as in their draft forms. This excessive clutter and paper work only leads to wastage of space, time and even money. High levels of bureaucracy, both in the past as well as in the present results into communication breakdown (Dwyer 2006, p. 1233). Employees who are at the bottom of the cone in the organization may find themselves at a loss when it comes to communicating. In an open post- bureaucratic organization, employees should have the freedom to be able to communicate their opinions to the relevant people without having the feeling that they would not be heard. Communication in a bureaucratic setup is very hard to achieve. This is because, when one employee has an issue, he or she has to follow certain processes and procedures of communication in a chain before the matter can land in the desk of the intended person. Most times, the information gets lost along the way or becomes distorted before the intended recipient receives it. Conclusion The above essay has discussed the concept of bureaucracy in details. The definitions offered by different scholars has shown bureaucracy to be a systematic manner of following up certain set rules and procedures on a hierarchical base. The various advantages and disadvantages of the concept, both in the past as well as in the present have been highlighted. Bureaucracy has been shown as having the capacity to increase the level of efficiency and effectiveness in a certain organization. Through breaking down various production channels, people are able to specialize and this increases their production capacities. Division of labor is also facilitated by this concept of bureaucracy. On a negative notion, bureaucracy has been seen to break down channels of communication in an organization, encourage empire building and red taping. The result of this is not only a heightened level of employee turnover but also a reduction in the production capacities of the organizations. The post-bureaucracy organizations have been observed to fair better when compared to those that have high levels of bureaucracy. Therefore, this paper concludes by stating that high bureaucracy levels are not appropriate in workplaces today for effective and efficient management. References Adler, PS 1999, ‘Building better bureaucracies,’ Academy of Management Executive, vol. 13, no. 4, pp 36-47. Balle, M 1999, ‘Making bureaucracy work’, Journal of Management in Medicine, vol. 13, no. 3, pp 190-200. Dwyer, RJ 2006, ‘Formal organizations in contemporary society’, Management Decision, vol. 43, no. 9, pp 1232-1248. Hales, C 2002, ‘”Bureaucracy-lite” and Continuities in Managerial Work’, British Journal of Management, vol 13, pp 51-66. Hodgson, DE 2004, ‘Project Work: The Legacy of Bureaucratic Control in the Post- Bureaucratic Organization’, Organisation, January, vol. 11, no. 1, pp 81-100. Johnson, P, Wood, G, Brewster, C, Brookes, M 2009, ‘The Rise of Post-Bureaucracy: Theorists’ Fancy or Organizational Praxis?’ International Sociology, pp 24-37. Sorensen, JB 2007, ‘Bureaucracy and Entrepreneurship: Workplace Effects on Entrepreneurial Entry’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 52, pp 387-412. Stazyk, EC, Geordel, HT 2010, ‘The Benefits of Bureaucracy: Public Managers’ Perceptions of Political Support, Goal Ambiguity, and Organizational Effectiveness’, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 21, pp 645-672. Walton, EJ 2005, ‘The Persistence of Bureaucracy: A Meta-analysis of Weber’s Model of Bureaucratic Control’, Organization Studies, vol. 26, no. 4, pp 569-600. Read More